1.Hysterics Win A Round In Farm Debate
2.Non-GM breakthroughs

NOTE: This Denver Post article (item 1) has been very widely circulated. In it Vincent Carroll, the author damns those concerned about GM crops as hysterics, Luddites, science-challenged, fear-mongers, comparable to witch burners and as promoting fairy tales.

The joke is, of course, that when it comes to illustrating the virtues of GM crops, Carroll proves to be either seriously science-challenged or a peddler of fairy tales. Here's what Carroll says:

"For a contrasting view of GM crops, we might consult villagers in Bangladesh about a new variety of rice that can withstand submersion for weeks during floods. Pamela Ronald, a University of California at Davis geneticist who helped develop the variety, says 4 million tons of rice are lost to flooding each year in the region – enough 'to feed 30 million people for one year.'

That's roughly 100 times the population of Boulder County, in case you wondered."

Carroll then goes on to use a positive quote by Pamela Ronald about GM. But despite the fact that Ronald is an ardent GM enthusiast, the flood resistant rice she helped develop is *non-GM*. Indeed, it seems the researchers tried to develop it with GM and failed.

Of course, Carroll is not alone in claiming this non-GM breakthrough as a GM success story. The former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government, no less, has proven equally science-challenged and prone to promoting GM fairy tales.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/09/david-king-gm-crops

And the same unscientific assumptions popped up again recently with another flood-resistant rice – "snorkel rice".
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/11447-non-gm-qsnorkel-rice-could-feed-millionsq

But when GM is so long on promises and so short on delivery, is it any wonder that its desperate promoters have to resort to tirades of abuse and raiding the cornucopia of non-GM breakthroughs in order to try and gain some traction?

Check out what non-GM plant breeding is delivering with little of the hype, special pleading and massive diversion of resources that are involved in GM – item 2 .
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1.Hysterics Win A Round In Farm Debate
Vincent Carroll
Denver Post, August 29 2009
http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_13225799

The Luddites won a round this week in Boulder County.

Yes, the science-challenged activists who fear genetically modified crops succeeded in keeping GM sugar beets from being grown by six farmers on open space land – at least for the time being.

If I seem to harp on this conflict, having laid out the farmers' case some weeks ago, it's because the overall stakes are so large. Fear-mongers have retarded the adoption of GM crops elsewhere, too, even when their advantages are clear.

GM crops are mostly prohibited in Europe, for example, because of popular fear of "Frankenstein foods." Then again, Europeans used to execute witches by the thousands, too, with roughly the same degree of supporting evidence. Some things never change.

The Boulder farmers were so shocked by the raw emotion of opponents that they eventually asked commissioners to postpone a decision. Naturally the commissioners obliged. You wouldn't expect three beleaguered officials to tell the hysterics to take a hike, would you?

Never mind that county staff recommended the commission approve the applications, or that genetically modified corn is already grown on open space there. For that matter, the county already slashes rates for leaseholders willing to switch to organic farming, open space director Ron Stewart told me recently. What's next: outright payments to accelerate the transition?

For a contrasting view of GM crops, we might consult villagers in Bangladesh about a new variety of rice (not a GM – CSP) that can withstand submersion for weeks during floods. Pamela Ronald, a University of California at Davis geneticist who helped develop the variety, says 4 million tons of rice are lost to flooding each year in the region – enough "to feed 30 million people for one year."

That's roughly 100 times the population of Boulder County, in case you wondered.

"Some people worry that genetically engineered crops will cross-pollinate nearby species and invade pristine ecosystems and destroy native populations," Ronald explained to Reed Magazine. "Others fear that genetically engineered foods are unsafe or unhealthy to eat. So far, those concerns are driven more by technological anxiety than by science. There is broad consensus in the scientific community that the process of genetic engineering poses no more risk than that of conventional breeding."

Ronald is married to an organic farmer and is far from complacent about the use of pesticides. Indeed, she sees genetic engineering as a potential boon to organics, as she and her husband explain in "Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food" (Oxford University Press, April 2008). Incredibly, federal organic standards bar genetically engineered ingredients.

To be fair, the fierce opposition to GM beets is fueled in part by loathing for Monsanto, which owns the beet seeds and whose Roundup is used in growing them. But it's not just Monsanto that stokes passions. It's fear of genetic engineering itself and an exaggerated belief in the superiority of organic food.

If some folks want to pay a premium for organic products, so be it. But they should spare us their litany of fairy tales. Organic farming no doubt can be better for the land in many locales – and reducing pesticide use is a laudable goal – but its lower yields are woefully unsuited to meet the world's needs.

Nor is organic food necessarily safer to eat. As The New York Times explained in March, "An organic certification technically has nothing to do with food safety."

Nutrition? "On the basis of a systematic review of studies . . . there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs," researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine concluded recently in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

When I contacted Professor Dawn Thilmany of Colorado State University's Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, she told me a similar story. The evidence is "inconclusive in terms of nutritional values," she said, adding only that vitamin C might be enhanced by organic farming and antioxidant levels perhaps improved.

"We need a vision for what we want to have happen on our agriculture open space," commissioner Ben Pearlman declared. Please notice: He said a vision, not a Luddite-driven hallucination. So maybe there's hope yet that reason will prevail.
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2.Non-GM breakthroughs
http://www.bangmfood.org/feed-the-world/17-feeding-the-world/14-non-gm-breakthroughs

* Introduction
* Non-GM breakthroughs
* More non-GM developments

*Introduction

Does mention of allergen-free peanuts, striga-resistant cowpeas, salt-resistant wheat, beta-carotene rich sweet potatoes, virus-resistant cassavas make you think of GM?

If so, you've missed the great unpublished story – all the non-GM breakthroughs solving precisely the kind of problems (drought-resistance, salt-resistance, biofortification etc.) that GM proponents claim only genetic modification can provide the answer to.

While often speculative claims of potential GM "miracles" win vast amounts of column inches, the non-GM success stories generally get minimal if any reporting in the popular media. Without GM's often exaggerated crisis narratives and claimed silver bullet solutions, it seems there is no story!

The biotechnology industry and its PR people are keen to keep it that way, particularly because the non-GM solutions are often way ahead of the work on GM. They also bring none of the uncertainties that surround GM.

All of this makes keeping track of the many non-GM success stories especially important.

Another reason it's important is because – thanks to the lack of success with GM "solutions" – non-GM success stories can end up being claimed as GM breakthroughs!!

This happened again recently with the UK Government's retiring chief scientist, David King, claiming an important non-GM breakthrough in Africa as evidence of why we need to embrace GM.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8624
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8618

The real lesson of the example King chose is that we need to do the exact opposite, i.e. stop being distracted by GM and get the funding and support behind the non-GM solutions to the problems we so badly need to address.

These are just a few of the non-GM successes we have come across recently. Some of the progress is being made with the help of biotechnological approaches that do not involve the same kind of risks and uncertainties as GM, and which are making it obsolete. Read more about this here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/oct/26/food.comment/print

*Non-GM breakthroughs

New salt-tolerant wheat set to bring life to "dead" farmland

Scientists have developed a non-GM salt-tolerant wheat which could allow farmers to crop a third of the 1.8 million hectares of agricultural land lost to salinity across Australia's wheat belt.
http://www.gene.ch/genet/2004/Aug/msg00004.html
Non-pesticide, non-GM cotton management success in India
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7990

Zambia: better non-GM maize harvests

Although drought-prone Zambia is still facing many problems, huge improvements have been reported in its maize harvests – its main staple crop. A report from Inter Press Service notes, "... production changed dramatically after President Levy Mwanawasa took over from Frederick Chiluba in 2001.... [He] promoted innovations like mixed farming and conservation farming. Mwanawasa rejected GM maize and encouraged the growing of non-GM maize, resulting in bumper harvests for the past three consecutive years." When the Zambian government rejected GM maize in 2002, there were calls from the US Ambassador to the FAO for its leaders to be tried "for the highest crimes against humanity in the highest courts of the world."
http://freezerbox.com/archive/article.asp?id=339
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36398

Non-GM drought-resistant rice in pipeline

Japanese researchers have made progress in breeding non-GM drought-resistant rice, intended for planting in Africa and other dry regions.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8165
GM drought tolerant maize way behind non-GM

During March 2007, the South African authorities gave Monsanto permission to conduct GM drought tolerant maize field trials in South Africa. The African Centre for Biosafety released a report on the issue, pointing out that drought tolerance is at least 8-10 years away from commercialisation. Nevertheless, GM drought tolerant crops are being used as PR tools by biotech lobbyists to promote acceptance of GM crops, expand existing markets and develop new markets. Finally, the report points out that traditional breeding, marker assisted selection, and building up organic content of the soil are proven methods of dealing with drought.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7969

Philippines new non-GM drought-resistant corn

A Philippines scientist has developed a new non-GM corn variety that was able to survive a drought for 29 days.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8361

Indigenous rice better than GM for dealing with stress

A New Delhi-based NGO, together with farmers from nine Indian states, has developed a register documenting over 2,000 indigenous rice varieties. They say GM rice strains are not only costly to cultivate but also are a poor match to the native strains in fighting pests, diseases and environmental fluctuations.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8359

Body blow to grain borer

The larger grain borer is taking a beating from CIMMYT (Internation Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre) breeders in Kenya as a new non-GM African maize withstands the onslaught of one of the most damaging pests.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8361

*More non-GM developments

Non-GM process for allergen-free peanuts
SOURCE: EurekAlert, USA
AUTHOR: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA
URL: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-07/ncas-naf072307.php

Non-GM approach to Striga-resistant cowpeas in Africa
SOURCE: University of Virginia, USA
AUTHOR: Press Release
URL: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=2334

Gates Foundation supports non-GM b-carotine rich sweet potato in Africa
SOURCE: International Potato Center, Peru
AUTHOR: Press Release
URL: http://www.cipotato.org/pressroom/press_releases_detail.asp?cod=19

Non-GM virus-resistant cassava for East and Central Africa
SOURCE: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, USA
AUTHOR: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria, Press Release
URL: http://www.cgiar.org/newsroom/releases/news.asp?idnews=574

Non-GM technology reduces aflatoxins in maize in Nigeria
SOURCE: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, USA
AUTHOR: Story of the Month
URL: http://www.cgiar.org/monthlystory/july_august2007.html

Iron-fortified non-GM maize cuts anaemia rates in children
SOURCE: SciDev.Net, UK
AUTHOR: Ochieng Ogodo
URL: http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews
&itemid=3651&language=1

Austro-Indian non-GM research cuts 50% of cotton insecticides, adds 75% profitability
SOURCE: Inter Press Service News Agency, Italy
AUTHOR: Neena Bhandari
URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38073

Molecular Marker research could feed the world without GM
SOURCE: Kansas State University, USA
AUTHOR: Press Release, by Jianming Yu
URL: http://www.news-medical.net/?id=30582

New non-GM drought-resistant corn
SOURCE: Minda News, Philippines
AUTHOR: Allen V. Estabillo
URL: http://www.bic.searca.org/news/2007/oct/phi/04.html

Dutch researcher bred non-GM fungi-resistant tomato
SOURCE: Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, The Netherlands
AUTHOR: Press Release
URL: http://www.nwo.nl/nwohome.nsf/pages/NWOA_6ZPA4C_Eng

Texas-sized sorghum: New non-GM solution for fuel?
SOURCE: Texas A&M University
AUTHOR: Press Release
URL: http://www.seedquest.com/News/releases/2007/april/19087.htm

Non-GM tomatoes made to drink less water
SOURCE: ANSA, Italy
URL: http://www.gene.ch/genet/2007/May/msg00042.html

Non-GM rice with bacterial leaf blight-resistance genes developed
SOURCE: Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India
AUTHOR: Press Release
URL: http://www.icar.org.in/pr/20042007.htm

Non-GM solution found for cassava root-rot devastation in Africa
SOURCE: New Scientist, UK
AUTHOR: Fred Pearce
URL: http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19426002.000-
africas-cassava-comeback.html

U.S. grape researcher breeds non-GM vines resistant to Pierce's Disease
SOURCE: Wine Spectator, USA
AUTHOR: Lynn Alley
URL: http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Features/0,1197,3739,00.html

Non-GM method to produce virus-resistant brassica crops
SOURCE: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, UK
AUTHOR: Press Release
URL: http://www.gene.ch/genet/2007/Nov/msg00027.html

High-yielding, soybean cyst nematodes-resistant non-GM soybeans
SOURCE: Wallaces Farmer, USA
AUTHOR: Rod Swoboda
URL: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/mr/07/1109/soybeans.doc

Non-GM success in combating cassava mosaic virus in Africa
SOURCE: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Italy
AUTHOR: Press Release
URL: http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/field/2007/1000693/index.html

Non-GM beans developed for harsh Mediterranean conditions
SOURCE: INRA, France
URL: http://www.inra.fr/presse/amelioration_haricot_sous_contraintes
_mediterraneennes