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Science Forum Index » Agriculture Forum » PUBLIC UNMOVED BY GE
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| David Kendra |
 Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 7:25 am |
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PUBLIC UNMOVED BY GE
September 19, 2003
UMR Research & LSN
Concern about genetic engineering features way down the list of problems
facing New Zealand, the latest UMR Research survey reveals.
When asked Owhat do you think is the most important problem facing this
country today¹, GM came in at number 20, well behind more pragmatic issues
such as taxes, crime, education and health care. Race relations made it to
number one.
The UMR Research nation-wide omnibus survey is a telephone poll of 750 New
Zealanders 18 years of age and over. The surveys were conducted in August
and have a 3.6% margin of error.
The lack of interest in this issue from the general public might be
reflected in the low turnout to anti-GE protests in recent days; 12 people
in Timaru, eight in Rotorua and just 30 in Wellington. |
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| Klaus Wiegand |
| Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2003 1:22 pm |
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david, you forgot the disclaimer to all these postings!
so here it is subsequently:
-------
Agnet is produced by the Food Safety Network at the University of
Guelph and is sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and
Food, Plants Program at the University of Guelph, Agricultural
Adaptation Council (CanAdapt Program), AGCare, Canadian Council of
Grocery Distributors, ConAgra Foods, Inc., Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited
(Canada), Ag-West Biotech, Inc., Monsanto Canada, Meat and Livestock
Australia, National Pork Board, Pew Initiative on Food and
Biotechnology, Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Council for Biotechnology
Information, Canadian Animal Health Institute, Croplife Canada,
Syngenta Seeds Canada, Inc., Canadian Food Information Council,
Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization, JIFSAN,
National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Food Processors
Association, The Steritech Group Corporation, Ontario Agri-Food
Technologies, Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Ltd.,
BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Feedlot Health
Management Services, Syngenta Crop Protection, Ontario Corn
Producers' Association, DuPont Canada, Inc., Office of Consumer
Affairs, Burger King, Sobeys Ontario, McCain Produce Inc., Canadian
Institute for Food Inspection and Regulation, Canadian Wheat Board,
National Meat Association, Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Ontario Soybean
Growers, Bunge, Ltd., UC Davis Biotechnology Program, Consumer
Federation of America Foundation, Optibrand, University of Idaho
Department of Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Tactix
Government Consulting, Inc., Plant Bioscience Ltd., CanAmera Foods,
Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management, Inc., Hartono and
Company, Agri Business Group, Inc., and Global Public Affairs.
-----
the full basket of companies who in exchange for support money for a
pro-gm mailing list EXPECT agricultural and especially gm news to be
published in pink. hardly impressive and as convincing as prakash,
rolleston, "mr. supersonic" trewawas, buthelezi or wambugu. these
people are not only tunnel-minded and do not contribute ANYTHING to
science, even worse: they have become ANNOYING like loudspeakers on
political campaign cars.! and by these means they meanwhile do more
damage to GM-industry than being of any help. speaking with jane
austin: "they have enlightened us long enough".
so: results i'm willing to pay for, please and no advertisements !!
The Institute of Science in Society
http://www.i-sis.org.uk
Argentina's GM Woes
*******************
Proponents claim that GM crops are necessary for fighting hunger
in developing countries and decreasing the use of pesticides. The
evidence shows otherwise. GM crops have exacerbated poverty and
hunger, increased herbicides use, brought new health hazards,
destroyed agricultural land and livelihoods, and resulted in
deforestation. Report by Dr. Lilian Joensen in Buenos Aires,
Argentina and Dr. Mae-Wan Ho in London, UK.
The references for this article are available in the ISIS members
site (http://www.i-sis.org.uk/full/AGMWFull.php). Full details
here http://www.i-sis.org.uk/membership.php
Within the past decade in Argentina, 160,000 families of small
farmers have left the land, unable to compete with large farmers.
GM soya has served to exacerbate this trend towards large-scale,
industrial agriculture, accelerating poverty.
Roundup Ready (RR) soya clearly requires more, not less,
herbicide than conventional soya. In 2001, more than 9.1 million
kg of extra herbicide was used with GM soya compared with non-GM.
The use of glyphosate doubled from 28 million litres in the
period 1997/98 to 56 million litres in 1998/1999, and reached 100
millions in the last (2002) season.
RR soya crops also yield 5% to 10% less compared with the non-GM
varieties grown under similar soil conditions, confirming
findings in the United States. Scientists at the University of
Arkansas showed that root development, nodule formation and
nitrogen fixation worsened in some varieties of RR soya and the
effects are exacerbated under strong drought conditions or in
relatively infertile fields. That is because the symbiotic
bacterium responsible for fixing nitrogen in soya, Bradyrhizobium
japonicum, is very sensitive to drought and to Roundup.
Argentina started to transform its economy to an export-led focus
on soya when it had to pay back foreign debt with money gained
through export commodities. During the last quarter century,
soybean production increased at an unprecedented rate from an
area of 38 000 hectares in 1970 to approximately 13 million
hectares today. Around 70% of the soybean harvested is converted
in oil-processing plants, most of which is exported, providing
81% of the world’s exported soya oil and 36% of soybean meal.
Soya was identified as a buoyant market, and Monsanto’s offer of
subsidized Roundup Ready Soya seed and heavily discounted
glyphosate prices in 1996 proved irresistible to Argentinean
farmers.
Practically all of 13 million hectares of soya crop are GM, in
particular, RR soya. Bt cotton and Bt maize cover another million
hectares between them. Monsanto is in the process of applying for
a permit to grow RR maize.
Argentina is currently the second biggest producer of GM Soya in
the World. The countryside has been transformed from traditional
mixed and rotation farming, which secured soil fertility and
minimized the use of pesticides, to almost entirely GM soya.
Financial problems for farmers are set to worsen with Monsanto
now starting to charge royalties for their seeds, where before,
it was allowing farm-saved seeds. Twenty-four million acres of
land belonging to bankrupted small farmers are about to be
auctioned by the banks.
With an increase in poverty, a glut in soya, and a deficit of
other agricultural products, the government began to promote soya
as a healthy alternative to traditional foodstuffs such as meat
and milk. A campaign, Soja Solidaridad (Soya Solidarity) was
launched. Soup kitchens served soya-based meals and cookbooks
were written with soya-based recipes. As a result, many people
are consuming soya-based foods on a daily basis.
There is a large body of scientific evidence showing that an
unbalanced diet based on soya can have nutritionally damaging
effects. Too much soya can inhibit absorption of calcium, iron,
zinc and vitamin B12, and doctors in Argentina are already seeing
such symptoms. Among the most worrying observation is the early
onset of puberty in girls, possibly linked to the high levels of
phytoestrogen in soya.
Other health problems have been caused by the widespread
increased use of glyphosate (Roundup). Glyphosate is entering the
water supply. There are reports of crop sprayings by plane,
dousing people and their homes. The more visible symptoms of this
spraying include skin and eye irritations and recent field
research (personal communications by local people and medical
doctors) suggests that there is a great increase in the incidence
of cancer within populations surrounding RR soya fields.
Peasants in Santiago del Estero, North Argentina, who have been
living there for generations, say that they are being threatened
by big land-owners linked to seed companies and supported by
local police and parapolice-like forces. To intimidate the
peasants, they set fire to the forests while shooting around the
people in order to take their land for planting RRsoya.
Studies carried out by the University of Formosa Province have
reported serious health problems in peasant communities due to
pesticide fumigation on surrounding RRsoya fields. Their crop and
animal production, which families depend on to survive, have been
completely destroyed. A judge has forbidden the use of pesticides
on RRsoya, but companies have flouted the prohibition and kept on
fumigating.
Roundup resistant weeds have appeared. A list of the resistant
weeds published to-date include Commelia erecta, Convulvulus
arvensis, Ipomoea purpurea, Iresine difusa, Hybanthus
parviflorus, Parietaria debilis, Viola arvensis, Petunia
axillaris, Verbena sp, Hybanthu sparviflorus, Tragopogon sp,
Senecio pampeanus, Sonchu soleraceus, Sonchu sasper and Taraxa
cumofficinale.
Highly toxic herbicides, some of them banned in other countries,
which glyphosate was supposed to replace, have had to be brought
back in use in addition to glyphosate. These include 2,4D, 2,4DB,
Atrazine, Paraquat, Metsulphuron Methyl, Imazethapyr. There are
also reports of a fungus, new in Argentina (Phakopsora sp.) which
is spreading and requiring additional fungicide.
In order to fight the "insect complex" that invade soya
plantations (Nezara viridula, Piezodorus guildinii, Edessa
meditabunda, Dichelops furcatus) producers are recommended to use
endosulphan together with cipermetrine, which together are
labeled as extremely toxic for bees and fish and very toxic for
birds. Prices for the insecticides, including air-fumigation are
specified in the recommendations.
Argentina’s balance of agricultural products has been seriously
affected by the focus on a soya-led export economy. Production of
traditional Argentinean products such as milk, wheat and meat has
gone down, and the country now imports where it used to export.
Other produce, such as lentils, peas, sweet maize, as well as
different potato and sweet potato varieties have disappeared
together with the industries linked to their processing. Honey
producers have been affected due to GM contamination, the loss of
flora diversity, as well as well as death of bees by herbicide
poisoning. These are not only bad for the country’s economy but
also devastating for the health and nutrition of the entire
population.
Soya plantations began in the Argentina Pampas, one of the six
most agriculturally productive regions in the world. Its soils
cover some 9 million hectares and used to be rich in nutrients
and organic matter. The ‘no tillage` method was introduced 10
years ago to reduce soil erosion on farms. Seeds are planted
directly into the soil, without the need for ploughing, and
herbicides are used to remove weeds. For this reason, direct
seeding is often promoted as an environmentally friendly farming
technique.
When herbicide tolerant GM soya was introduced, it became very
popular in Argentina, as it fit in perfectly with no tillage. The
rate of adoption of GM soya has surpassed even the industry’s
highest expectations. Farmers can now use glyphosate to remove
weeds in combination with glyphosate-tolerant GM soya.
But problems soon appeared. Although direct seeding has reduced
the rate of erosion, new diseases and pests have emerged, and the
levels of nitrogen and phosphates in the soil were markedly
reduced. Most recently, herbicide-resistant weeds have appeared
requiring the use of more poisonous herbicides as mentioned
earlier.
Development of land for RR soya plantations has led to
deforestation in Argentina, with serious impacts on biodiversity
and water resources. "We have already lost more than 130,000ha of
forest," says the director of the Argentina’s Fundación Vida
Silvestre (Wildlife Foundation), Javier Corcuera. "If we carry on
like this we can expect more flooding and less natural resources
for the population."
The no-till technique promoted with RR soya as a means of
reducing carbon dioxide emission actually produces worse damages
by compaction of the ground, requiring more agrochemicals every
year.
"In Argentina, the "success" of the GM soya bean story must
largely be attributed to marketing by the seed companies
involved, rather than scientific evidence and farmer experience,"
says Walter Pengue, agricultural engineer specialised in genetic
improvement at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
-----
a proposal: you stop flooding this newsgroups with dozens of mails
daily and i won't start my flooding. promised: for every mail from you
i can easily send 3 or 4 for the other side.
problem: this simply wouldn't contribute to any *useful* discussion
in sci.ag. why ? we all do have our own personal views on this topic
and it would be ridiculous to assume, that personal preferences and
choices are solely based on science. if this would be true, we would
all drive a low-consumption and low-hp-powered car for simple
transportation purposes in fords preferred color: black!
btw: what has become of the "excessive shopping gene" discovered 1 1/2
years ago ??
here's more of these "pseudo-sciences" we start to see in increasing
numbers:
Frontiers of Science
New scientific research has shown the mood of a family dinners can be
dramatically improved by serving Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread. Dr.
Alan R. Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research
Foundation in Chicago, has published an important study on "The Effect
of the Smell and Taste of Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread on Family
Interactions." Two identical spaghetti dinners were served to 50
families, but only half were given the garlic bread. The results:
"Researchers found that eating Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread reduced
the number of negative family interactions by 22.7 percent and
increased the number of pleasant interactions by 7.4 percent." From
this he calculated that for a family of four, a serving of the
Pepperidge Farm product "results in thirty-one fewer negative
interactions and forty-five more positive interactions per dinner."
Now that's real science. Dr. Hirsch's research was made
possible by funding from Campbell Soup (owners of guess who), showing
once again the importance of corporate involvement.
(Harper's 5/99, p.12)
(conclusion reached by me: 4 servings will result in >100% fewer
negative interactions per dinner, a clear shift to the positive side.
for the sake of your family life: eat more garlic !!!)
klaus |
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