GMWatch News Review archive

GMWATCH MONTHLY REVIEW No. 80

From Claire Robinson, Monthly Review editor
Website: http//www.gmwatch.org
Profiles: http://bit.ly/12UAI2
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMWatch
Facebook: http://bit.ly/c6OnaX

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MONTHLY REVIEW CONTENTS  
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LATEST NEWS:
*LOBBYWATCH
*CORPORATE TAKEOVER
*FEEDING THE WORLD
*GM FAILURES
*RESISTANCE

REST OF THE MONTH'S NEWS IN BRIEF:
*TAKE ACTION
*MONSANTO MELTDOWN
FEEDING THE WORLD
BIOFUELS
RESISTANCE
CONTAMINATION
GREENWASH
CORPORATE TAKEOVER
CORPORATE CRIMES
FOOD SAFETY
GM HYPE
GM FAILURES

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LATEST NEWS
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LOBBYWATCH
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+ CANADA: BILL RAISES ANGER FROM GM PUSHERS
A proposed bill that would require that an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new GM seed is permitted is being opposed by the Canadian Canola Growers Association. The Association claims the bill "will put agricultural innovation and the livelihood of Canadian farmers at risk".
http://bit.ly/cCuOpj
http://bit.ly/a4A4lN

+ UN LAUNCHES SUSPECT BIOTECH NETWORK FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
The United Nations has lauched a new network - the International Industrial Biotechnology Network (IIBN) - to target "developing countries wanting to make more of their biotechnology resources". IIBN "plans to target Africa for collaborations later this year." The IIBN network "will be co-ordinated by the Institute of Plant Biotechnology for Developing Countries [IPBO], Belgium". IPBO is an initiative of Ghent University and was founded by Dr Marc Van Montagu, a GM pioneer and keen lobbyist for GM crop acceptance with strong industry links. He is President of the European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) - corporate membership includes Monsanto Europe. EFB also has a number of national bioindustry associations as members, including the US's major trade body for biotech - BIO, and the association of German biotech companies (VBU), of which Bayer is a member. Van Montagu was also the cofounder of Plant Genetic Systems which went on to be bought by Bayer. Van Montagu is also a member
of
the industry linked pro-GM lobby group, the Public Research Regulation Initiative (PRRI).
More: http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12176

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CORPORATE TAKEOVER
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+ MONSANTO CLAIMS MEAT AS INVENTION
Monsanto has a patent application pending which would claim meat stemming from pigs being fed with its patented GM plants. A similar patent has been applied for on fish from aquaculture. Far-reaching patents on food have already been granted: Monsanto received a European patent in 2009, which covers the chain of food production from seeds of GM plants up to food products such as meal and oil.
http://www.gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12178

+ DEFEND SERALINI AND TRANSPARENCY OF GM RISK ASSESSMENT
Prof Gilles-Eric Séralini, professor of molecular biology at the University of Caen in France, is one of the world's leading researchers into the risks of GMOs. He has become the target of a concerted campaign to vilify and discredit him, involving not just Monsanto, EFSA and FSAANZ, but also scientific societies representing biotechnology in France: the French Association of Plant Biotechnology and the French High Counsel on Biotechnology. This seriously threatens his funding to continue research for public good and also his job.  A large number of academics and researchers have signed up to protest against the victimisation of Séralini, and to defend transparency in the risk assessment of GMOs. The protest is being organised by the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) http://www.ensser.org/. They have produced a letter with full details. To sign up, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your name,
academic position, institution and country. Please also forward this letter to your colleagues.
http://www.gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12173

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FEEDING THE WORLD
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+ AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY LEADER CHALLENGES GATES FOUNDATION SCHEME
The Gates Foundation is pursuing a strategy that will largely help corporate (mostly US) agricultural interests and hurt smallholder farmers, said Josphat Ngonyo of the Kenyan Biodiversity Coalition. Ngonyo said he believes the Gates Foundation is probably well-meaning in its efforts to help improve farming in Africa, but "They need to reconsider what they are doing ”¦ This will be very damaging."
http://bit.ly/bpnNpS

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GM FAILURES
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+ NEW ZEALAND: MUTANT COWS DIE IN GM TRIAL
GM cows were born with ovaries that grew so large they caused ruptures and killed the animals. The experiment happened during a study by AgResearch scientists at Ruakura, Hamilton, to find human fertility treatments through GM cows' milk. AgResearch is studying tissue from one of three dead calves to try to find out what made the ovaries grow up to the size of tennis balls rather than the usual thumbnail-size. Tests on mice failed to show up the problem.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12185
Video of good interview with ex-GM scientist on the deaths
http://bit.ly/aJA6BI
GMWatch comment: It would be interesting to find out how much NZ taxpayers had to fork out for this piece of insanity.

+ NEW ZEALAND: FORMER SPY CLEARS WAY FOR GM ANIMALS
The decision by New Zealand's Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) to approve GM goats, sheep and cows at AgResearch’s Ruakura research facility is a decision Dr Strangelove would be proud of, said the Green Party's GM spokesperson Sue Kedgley. "New Zealand is moving into the strange, brave new world of transgenic animals, and into the realms of science fiction, and the person guiding us there is New Zealand's former spy chief," said Ms Kedgley. ERMA's current chair is former head of the Security Intelligence Service, Richard Woods.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1004/S00162.htm
Superb commentary on how the GM animal decision smells of both U.S. and related political influence:
http://bit.ly/dxgNS9

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RESISTANCE
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+ U.S.: GM CROPS GO TO HIGH COURT
The US Supreme Court has been hearing Monsanto's arguments in favour of overturning a lower court's order that prevented farmers from planting Roundup Ready alfalfa since 2007.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12172
http://bit.ly/9Egx5f

+ CALIFORNIA FILES LEGAL BRIEF OPPOSING MONSANTO IN SUPREME COURT
http://bit.ly/9Egx5f

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REST OF THE MONTH'S NEWS IN BRIEF
For those who do not receive GMWatch's Weekly Watch
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TAKE ACTION
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+ UK: HOW TO TACKLE CANDIDATES AND THE MEDIA ON GM IN THE ELECTION
http://bit.ly/cm2b5x

+ UK: TELL SUPERMARKETS TO GET OUT OF GM SOY GREENWASH EXERCISE
http://bit.ly/c7v2jb
 
+ US: TELL YOUR SENATOR TO REMOVE GM CLAUSE FROM FOOD SECURITY BILL
http://bit.ly/a7c93x

+ US: STOP SUBSIDIES OF DIRTY CORN ETHANOL
http://bit.ly/agKM4z

+ INDIA: STOP MINISTER CHAVAN’S PRO-GM FOOD BILL
http://ow.ly/1vqXj

+ EUROPE: ONE MILLION VOTES AGAINST GM FOOD IN EUROPE NEEDED SIGN PETITION
We’re now well over half way to our target.
http://bit.ly/cnR7aw

+ EUROPE: FREE BANNER FOR AVAAZ PETITION
Free banner (animated), promoting Avaaz GM ban petition for websites, facebook etc., available from GMWatch:
http://bit.ly/19B2Kh

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MONSANTO MELTDOWN
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+ MONSANTO PROFITS FALL 19%
Monsanto said its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 19 percent and earnings this year will be at the lower end of its forecast because of dropping prices for Roundup weedkiller.
http://bit.ly/agFLuI
http://bit.ly/aPPaIm
http://bit.ly/b5CuUw

+ MONSANTO IN TROUBLE FINANCIAL ANALYST
"Monsanto is in so much trouble”¦ feels like a falling knife, it does not seem to want to stop." - Jim Cramer, financial analyst, commenting on Monsanto's latest financial results
http://www.madmoneyrecap.com/madmoney_nightlyrecap_100407_4.htm

+ FARMERS MAY FORCE MONSANTO PRICE CUT
Analyst Don Carson of UBS Bank thinks Monsanto will be forced to reduce the prices of its new GM corn and soybean seeds, Smartstax and RoundUpReady2 Yield, in a bid to entice farmers to buy them.
http://bit.ly/cXNwON

+ SEED PRICE HIKES DRAW U.S. DEPT OF JUSTICE SCRUTINY
Monsanto’s seed price hikes are a focus of the antitrust investigation by the US Dept of Justice.
http://ow.ly/1wWCv
Another report, plus Chuck Benbrook interview:
http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1686&category=Environment

+ MONSANTO LEADS IN GM, TRAILS IN ETHICS
In addition to the US Justice Dept investigation into its monopolistic business practices, and the news than its GM seeds might cause organ failure, Monsanto has recently been named on a list of the world's most to least ethical corporations, says a report for WalletPop.
http://srph.it/b6HrOt

+ POLL ON MONSANTO CONTROVERSIES AND INVESTMENT
Do the controversies surrounding Monsanto affect your investment decisions regarding the company? Vote here:
http://bit.ly/bsB62m

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FEEDING THE WORLD
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+ ZAMBIA’S FARMING REVOLUTION
In 2002 the US told Zambia: "Eat GM or starve!" But they're finding a better way. Farmers in Zambia are getting higher yields and better income from conservation farming, which relies on sustainable methods like minimal soil disturbance, crop rotation, and natural fertilizers, says an article for BBC News.
http://bit.ly/9G2ZGG

+ FARMERS CAN FEED THE WORLD WITHOUT HI-TECH FIXES
There’s no need for GM and every reason to go down the ecological farming route in Africa, say Kumi Naidoo and Nnimmo Bassey.
http://bit.ly/9Y6Rwb

+ SELF-APPOINTED SPOKESPERSON FOR AFRICA - MONSANTO MAN
Monsanto advisor Ron Paarlberg "says others shouldn't speak on behalf of Africans but nominates himself as spokesperson" - Saliem Fakir, in a review of Paarlberg's book Starved for Science.
http://bit.ly/dgOuVi

+ GM “INEVITABLE” - GATES MAN
GM crops will be an "essential" part of increasing yields in Africa, said Calestous Juma, director of the Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "In the medium to long run, genetic engineering is going to become inevitable," he said.
http://bit.ly/c88diH
More on Gates Foundation: http://www.spinprofiles.org/index.php/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation

+ OXFAM AMERICA SUPPORTING GM CROPS AGAIN
A group of NGOs has written to Oxfam America to express their grave concerns with the recent position publicized by Oxfam America in support of GM crops as a viable solution for addressing poverty faced by resource poor and subsistence farmers in developing countries. The NGOs say Oxfam America appears to be positioning itself as a broker for research on Bt cotton in West Africa with support from the Gates Foundation.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12130
http://ionglobaltrends.blogspot.com/2010/04/gm-crops-us-branch-of-oxfam-being-used.html
This isn't the first time that Oxfam America has been accused of cosying up to the biotech industry:
http://www.spinprofiles.org/index.php/Oxfam_America

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BIOFUELS
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+ BIOFUELS BOOST FOOD PRICES NPR ON WORLD BANK REPORT
http://tinyurl.com/4u5uxr

+ STUDY: ALGAE BIOFUEL PRODUCTION GUZZLES WATER AND ENERGY
http://bit.ly/c8Z9Vd

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RESISTANCE
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+ SOUTH AFRICA: FARM WORKERS RALLY AGAINST SYNGENTA
Farm workers and allies from the Western and Northern Cape (in South Africa) converged on Lutzville on the West Coast to protest against the agricultural practices of Syngenta.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12136

+ KENYA FREEZES SOUTH AFRICA GM MAIZE EXPORTS
About 40,000 tons of GM maize exported to Kenya are stuck at Mombasa harbour as environmental groups protest against the technology. The groups, led by the Kenyan Biodiversity Coalition, said Kenya had had a bumper harvest and that the import of GM maize had not been sanctioned by the Kenyan government. Mariam Mayet of the African Centre for Biosafety, said South Africa was “a springboard to contaminate the rest of the African continent”.
http://bit.ly/bfCuy2
http://bit.ly/a6XKdJ
http://bit.ly/aVvVVi
Background accusations of fraud and corruption:
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12184

INDIA: 80% OF FARMERS WOULDN’T GROW GM INSECTICIDAL CROPS
A survey conducted in India found 80% of farmers polled would not cultivate food crops from seeds containing a poison to control pests. The response was consistent across big and small farmers and educated and uneducated farmers.

About 80-90% of farmers said they would not use technology (herbicide tolerant GM seeds) that allowed the use of chemicals to control all weeds effortlessly but also destroyed surrounding flora (medicinal plants, fodder plants, leafy greens, etc.). Farmers were also not inclined to cultivate crops with seeds that would not allow mixed cropping.
http://bit.ly/bNmzsQ

+ INDIA: GM FOOD AND CROPS CAN ONLY BE SPREAD THROUGH FASCISM
One response by GM advocates to the recent moratorium on GM Bt brinjal (eggplant/aubergine) has been to introduce a new legal authority the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI).  One of the most astonishing elements of the new law calls for arrests and fining of individuals that "mislead the public" about GM products. The BRAI states that such individuals can be imprisoned for up to one year.

Dr. Vandana Shiva observed:  "It is becoming increasingly clear that GE crops and foods can only spread through such fascism. We have to make a choice: Either we will have food dictatorship in which the biotech industry imposes toxic and unsafe GE foods on us or we will stay GE free and defend our food freedom."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12121

+ INDIA: SUICIDES CONTINUE AMONG BT COTTON FARMERS
This report from Radio Netherlands Worldwide doesn’t try to whitewash the Bt cotton factor in farmer suicides:
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/drought-and-debt-drives-more-farmers-suicide

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CONTAMINATION
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+ CHINA: ILLEGAL GM RICE WIDELY AVAILABLE IN HUBEI
China Newsweek has reported widespread cultivation of illegal GM pest-resistant rice in Hubei Province. The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture had approved two types of rice and one type of corn for experimental use only in August 2009. Though many farmers in Hubei Province plant illegal GM rice, they are cautious about eating it themselves. As for rice for China's elite, reported Associated Press, it "has a very small output. It tastes very good. And it doesn't involve genetic engineering".
http://bit.ly/aoJbpJ

+ CHINA: WEB USERS UNITE AGAINST GM SOY OIL
A group of web-users in China have launched an online survey aiming to organize people to buy non-GM soybean oil, as experts continue to debate the safety of GM food.
http://bit.ly/95W3Iz

+ GM WHEAT AND BARLEY TO BE TRIALLED IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
http://bit.ly/cfAdwi

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GREENWASH
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+ SOY GREENWASH BODY FACES SETBACKS
The Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), a much-criticised initiative for the certification of soy as ‘responsible’, has stepped up its lobbying to be included under the EU's Renewable Energy Directive to certify ‘sustainable agrofuels’. This would give RTRS-approved soy, much of which would be produced in unsustainable and damaging monoculture farming, the EU's seal of approval in the context of the EU 10% agrofuels target. But the RTRS' lobby efforts are now facing setbacks as an important Brazilian player, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIOVE), has left the RTRS and the Dutch government seems to be having seconds thoughts about ‘responsible’ soy. The RTRS has so far been financed principally by the Dutch government.
http://bit.ly/9I9mym

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CORPORATE TAKEOVER
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+ MEXICO: RESEARCH BODY CLIMBS INTO BED WITH SYNGENTA TO DEVELOP GM WHEAT
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has climbed into bed with Syngenta to develop GM wheat.
http://bit.ly/a5dNkL

+ U.S.: HOW OBAMA SOLD THE FARM
An article for The Atlantic criticizes “the Obama administration's schizophrenic approach to agriculture policy””making PR gestures toward sustainable farming with one hand while nudging ahead the agendas of agribusiness giants like Monsanto and Dow Chemical with the other”. Obama has installed Islam Siddiqui as the chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Siddiqui was a vice president and lobbyist for pesticide industry body CropLife America.
http://bit.ly/aVOAQy

+ U.S.: ARE REGULATORS DROPPING THE BALL ON GM CROPS?
According to a surprisingly clear-eyed article from Reuters, research shows that GM crops could be creating unforeseen problems in plants and soil, thanks to an ill-equipped regulatory process and a government that does more to promote global acceptance of GM crops than to protect the public and farmers from possible harmful consequences.
http://www.gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12141

+ U.S.: "STRIP GM MANDATE" FROM FOOD AID BILL
Experts, scientists and advocates from around the world have petitioned the US Senate in an attempt to strip what they term a "stealth corporate giveaway" embedded in a foreign aid bill. The "Global Food Security Act" (S.384), sponsored by Senators Casey and Lugar, is intended to reform aid programs to focus on longer-term agricultural development. While lauding the bill's intentions, the petitioners object to a clause earmarking GM crops for potentially billions of dollars in federal funding. $7.7 billion in US funds are associated with the bill and no other farming methods or technologies are mentioned. Monsanto has lobbied more than any other interest in support of this bill.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12135
URGENT ACTION: The Senate is expected to vote on this soon. If in US, please email your Senators directly on this:
http://action.panna.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2901

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CORPORATE CRIMES
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+ PFIZER ORDERED TO PAY WHISTLEBLOWER IN GM “AIDS-LIKE VIRUS” CASE
In what is being hailed as a major victory for workers in the biotech and nanotech fields, a former scientist with pharmaceutical firm Pfizer has been awarded $1.37 million for being fired after raising the alarm over researchers being infected with a GM "AIDS-like" virus.
http://bit.ly/aMLvKx

+ BRAZIL: GMOs, PESTICIDES, AND VIOLENCE
A Terra de Direitos (Organization for Human Rights) has published a case study on the various human rights violations by Syngenta Seeds. The alleged violations include murder, physical and moral violence against landless rural workers, maintenance of private armed militias, carrying out forced evictions without a court order, soil contamination with pesticides, contamination of agro-biodiversity with GM seeds, and criminalization of social movements, among many other actions.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12136

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FOOD SAFETY
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+ RUSSIA SAYS GM FOODS ARE HARMFUL
An article in the Voice of Russia says Russian scientists have proved in a 2-year feeding trial that GMOs are harmful for mammals, affecting their ability to reproduce.
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/04/16/6524765.html

+ USA: SUPERWEEDS, BEES AND DIABETES
The Organic Center's chief scientist Dr. Charles Benbrook recently spelled out seven serious problems that don't bode well for health, natural resources, and climate change. While Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and Michelle Obama's campaign are trying to bring awareness to the lousy American diet, TOC examines the adverse results of agricultural policies and practices. Dr. Benbrook lists the rise of superweeds, ineffective antibiotics, and autism as examples, offering practical solutions for farms and the government.
Dr Chuck Benbrook's 7 Food Safety Predictions:
http://bit.ly/cESntE

+ GM DNA DETECTED IN REFINED GM OIL
A study in the journal Food Research International has shown that it is possible to detect and quantify GM DNA in fully refined soybean oil. Previous studies that failed to detect GM DNA used very small samples, say the authors. GM supporters and some regulators have claimed there is no need to label oils derived from GM crops on the assumption that GM DNA is not present in the refined oil.
http://bit.ly/aUrYjA

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GM HYPE
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+ GM CHICKEN TO BOOST POULTRY INDUSTRY AND FIGHT CANCER, AIDS AND PARKINSON'S!
Indian scientists have inserted a jellyfish gene for luminescence into a chicken, claiming it is "for therapeutic use in fighting viral diseases and cancer, AIDs and Parkinson's disease". But the Wall Street Journal says India's GM chickens are not only for treating diseases but will boost its poultry industry by increasing its productivity and generating "a huge quantity of flesh". The Hindu, on the other hand, says the GM chickens are "not edible". Pick a fairytale”¦ any fairytale!
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396362.ece
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303828304575179812834664070.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
http://bit.ly/9saGfS
For more GM fairytales
http://www.gmwatch.eu/gm-myths

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GM FAILURES
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+ U.S.: STUDY SAYS OVERUSE THREATENS "GAINS" FROM GM CROPS
A new study of the impact of GM crops on US farmers has been published by the National Research Council, which is affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences. The report, which shows signs of growing realism regarding GM crops, claims that they have provided "substantial" environmental and economic benefits to American farmers, but overuse of the technology is threatening to erode the gains as Roundup resistant weeds proliferate. At the press conference the study chair said Roundup resistance is "growing, it's real and it's going to get worse." However, even the benefits claimed in the report for GM crops are based on questionable assumptions. For example, it claims that GM crops have allowed farmers to either reduce chemical spraying or to use less harmful chemicals. But a 2009 report based on USDA official data shows that GM crops have promoted increased use of pesticides.
http://www.gmwatch.eu/component/content/article/11682-gm-crops-cause-big-jump-in-pesticide-use-report
Also, the NRC report assumes that glyphosate is less toxic to animals than many other herbicides and does not last that long in the environment - but both claims are seriously open to question.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GTARW.php
http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Roundup-Glyphosate-Factsheet-Cox.htm
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12134
Long time Monsanto associate Peter Raven was among the NRC report's authors
http://www.spinprofiles.org/index.php/Peter_Raven