Top Scientist Warns Against GM And Glyphosate

5/20/13
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GM Soy Wars Rage in Paraguay
November 28th 2012
Sam Burcher met Paraguay’s Oscar Rivas, who described a recent GM­driven, political coup there
Oscar Rivas is now Paraguay’s ex­environment minister because in June a de facto coup took
place that ousted him and President Fernando Lugo, who were working to reform the takeover
of agriculture by the multi­nationals. Some 2,000 government workers sympathetic to the
reforms were also sacked, while the vice­President Frederico Franco was quickly sworn in.
There is massive conflict over land ownership and land invasion in Paraguay where, one week
before the coup, the attempted eviction of campesinos, or peasant farmers, on a farm in
Caraguatay sparked a shoot­out between police and peasants resulting in 17 deaths.
The campesinos were protesting about lands that they say were illegally handed over to private
ownership by Lugo’s predecessor, General Alfredo Stroessner. Lugo had promised to return
land to 87,000 landless peasants before he was elected in 2008.
An alliance between Friends of the Earth in Paraguay and the UK helped Oscar Rivas make a
fleeting visit to Britain to explain his country’s economic situation and his concerns about the
effects of the corporations on people and planet. In November he addressed the All Party
Parliamentary Group on Agroecology, which was well attended by a number of cross­party MPs
and food and farm organizations.
It is clear to Oscar Rivas that sustainable development has been hijacked by the oligopolies, which are dividing the land in South
America into three main monocultures: trees for paper, sugar for bioethanol fuel and GM soya for factory farm animal feed.Some
40% of all exports are GM soya, owned by the corporations.
Read more: GM Soy Wars Rage in Paraguay
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Rudolf Kirst 1928­2011
Rudolf Kirst was an extraordinary man who cared for and helped many people in his lifetime. Firstly, as
a music and German teacher at the Rudolf Steiner school in Leeds, and then as Headmaster of
Whittlesea School in Harrow, for kids with multiple learning difficulties.
Rudolf was the son of two musicians and Anthroposophists. As a teenager growing up in Cologne during World War II , he was
called up by the Youth Division. He refused saying, “Hitler is an evil man and I will not volunteer.”
Standing up for what he believed in became a hallmark of Rudolf's life. He expressed his opinions as clearly as the bells he is
holding. Rudolf always stood up for the underdog, and in his later years, campaigned against the genetic modification of food,
the mass medication of drinking water with fluoride, and for the care and treatment of the elderly; starting with good food and
good sleep in hospitals. The bells also represent the 'small' person against the big corporations.
Rudolf’s strong convictions and determination meant that he never gave up on people or causes. He thanked everyone that he
came into contact with and remembered everyone in his greetings and thoughts.
We became great friends and had some wonderful discussions on our trips to the EU Parliament and as members of the All Party
Parliamentary Group on Agroecology. Rudolf was also a member of the All Party Environment Group, a Friend of the Earth, and
part of the GM Freeze campaign. He supported the Camphill movement and was a keen biodynamic gardener. In 2002, he
successfully launched the Ways to Quality symposia in the UK, which is now a recognised course.
Rudolf was an early proponent of the DIY culture, getting things done in the face of apathetic governance, and was an advocate
of life­long learning. He is greatly missed.
Top Scientist Warns Against GM And Glyphosate
On the 1st November 2011, Professor Don Huber, an eminent American plant pathologist, who has
raised the alarm about a new pathogen caused by GM feed and a broad spectrum pesticide called
glyphosate, addressed an invited audience in Committe Room One at the House of Commons
Don Huber explained that glyphosate, also known as Roundup, changes soil biology and the organisms that normally provide
natural biological control or disease suppressive activity are very susceptible to damage by glyphosate causing an increase in
crop disease. He warned that in the US entire groups of organisms do not exist in the soil anymore. This renders glyphosate
useless because “you can’t kill off plants in sterile soil”. And, could explain why pesticide application rates have trebled in the US
in the last few years, and why the FDA has increased the level of glyphosate permitted in foods.
Glyphosate also has a devastating affect on micro­nutrients. Manganese and zinc levels in the US have gone from excess
manganese in crops, feed and food fifteen years ago to a defecit today. The levels of micro­nutrients are dropping even more
dramatically in GM crops. Don Huber reported a third less manganese available in GM alfalfa animal feed and severe
deficiencies in zinc compared to non­GM alfalfa. Human inflammatory bowel disease,which is strongly linked to GM feed, has
increased 40­fold since 1992 in the US.American vets say they universally find managese deficiency as a cause of disease in
swine and cattle, which is forcing producers out of business.
Glyphosate has now been linked to human birth defects. This has prompted the
recent Earth Open Source report, Roundup and Birth Defects, Are The Public Being
Latest Pins:
Kept in the Dark? EU offficials have delayed a 2012 review on glyphosate until
2015. Even more worryingly, the Livestock of America Cattlemans Association gave
testimony before the US Senate Agricultural Commmitte in 2002. They were
concerned that cattle fed GM feed were prematurely ageing. Their stomach linings
were yellow, which is characteristic of an allergy response, compared with the cattle
Sam Burcher
fed non­GMO (pictured, Carmen et al, 2010). Their guts were leaking and high
Director at Pinecone Productions
numbers of animals were experiencing reproductive failure. A virus­like pathogen
Environment Correspondent at
Caduceus Magazine
was discovered by vets, which has so far not been named.
London, United Kingdom
Read more: Top Scientist Warns Against GM And Glyphosate
View Profile
Who really benefits from GM crops?
30 June 2011
'Agroecology' offers real solutions to world hunger after decades of GM hype La Via Campesina (the Peasants’ Way) is emerging as a potentially powerful international movement (www.viacampesina.org),
mobilizing resistance against the GM corporations, which have consolidated their agro­chemical companies into just five major
global players; Monsanto, Bayer, BASF, Syngenta and Dupont.
A recent report by the Friends of the Earth1 has highlighted the struggle between the two forces for control of the seeds. On one
side are the 1.5 million members of the Via Campesina, who are demanding food sovereignty or the right to grow healthy food
from local, time­honoured seeds. Opposing them are the mega­corporations, which have gained so much power through patents
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on GM crops, seeds and pesticides.
Spain is the last bastion of GM crops in Europe. Monsanto has cause for concern that even Spain is back­tracking as the Basque
and Catalonia regions prepare to go GM­free, along with the neighbouring Canary Islands. Monsanto has urged Spanish
Embassy officials to step up pressure on Brussels, ‘Because if Spain falls the rest of Europe will follow.’1
Europe has already spoken on GM crops with 61% of the population against them and 23% less GM crops grown in the past two
years. Monsanto’s MON810 maize is banned in France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Luxembourg and Bulgaria, where there is a
total GM ban. Switzerland has a GM moratorium until 2013.
Read more: Who really benefits from GM crops?
Who Owns Life, Not Monsanto?
Percy Schmeiser is a real life hero who played David to Monsanto’s Goliath, and like David, he won.
Governments approve Monsanto’s GM crops
Percy Schmeiser and his wife Louise are third generation farmers from the prairies of Western Canada in the province of
Saskatchewan near the city of Saskatoon. They feel really blessed not only that his grandparents moved there, but by the fact
that in Central Saskatchewan so many types of grain crops can be grown; pulses, oil seeds, in what the locals call God’s Country.
The Schmeisers, like hundreds of thousands of farmers all over the world, were using their canola (oilseed rape) seed from year
to year and developing new varieties suitable for climatic soil conditions on the prairies. Percy had also been the Mayor of his
town for over thirty years, a member of the provincial Parliament and an active member of agricultural committees representing
his province on new agricultural policy, law and regulations for the benefit of farmers.
In 1996, the Canadian Federal Government and the US Government gave regulatory approval to four GM crops: soya, corn or
maize, cotton and canola. At the time not all GM crops in Canada were herbicide tolerant except for Monsanto’s Roundup Ready
canola and soya, both resistant to the company’s herbicide Roundup. The US Government had also approved Bt cotton and Bt
corn that has the added GM toxin from Bacillus thuringenisis (Bt). The Canadian government were fully complicit in allowing
Monsanto to develop GM crops on Government test plots and research stations in return for a royalty on every bushel of GM
crops sold.
Read more: Who Owns Life, Not Monsanto?
Who is Anti­Science? Hilary Benn & Other GM Supporters
The Cabinet minister betrays his true colours in a head to head with Vandana Shiva and other
proponents of organic agriculture as evidence piles up against the safety of GM food and feed
Hilary Benn had failed to respond to an open letter from Dr Eva Novotny cautioning him on the safety of GM crops and food (see
Letter to Hilary Benn MP on GMOs.), and was then conspicuously absent from a recent major organic food and agriculture
conference he was billed to speak at, choosing instead to address the participants via telephone­link. The following is a transcript
of how he responded to questions from Gundula Azeez, former Policy Manager of the Soil
Association and Dr Vandana Shiva of Navdanya, New Delhi who were present at the Bristol
conference. The questions were moderated by organic gardener Monty Don, who started off
by inviting Hilary Benn to talk about the recently approved application for controlled trials of
GM crops in the UK, and what the benefits of GM crops might be.
Read more: Who is Anti­Science? Hilary Benn & Other GM Supporters
Global GM Crops Area Exaggerated
Ten years on, and the ‘growth’ in GM crops area is exposed to be more
hype than substance as opposition heightens
PR masquerading as fact
The biotech industry’s mouthpiece, the International Service for the Acquisition of
Agrobiotechnology Applications (ISAAA), has been exposed for grossly inflating the figures of
GM crops grown globally. Its latest report lists countries growing GM crops that do not grow them, or that have banned them. For
example, Iran is down as having grown tens of thousands of hectares of commercial GM rice in 2006, despite the fact Iran has
never approved or grown GM rice on any commercial scale.
Bob Phelps of Gene Ethics Network criticizes the report for making these unsupported claims and ignoring the negative impacts
of GM crops: “The report emphasizes that 10.3 million farmers grew GM crops in 2006, but this is just 0.7 percent of farmers
world­wide. And just 600 000 farmers grew 85 percent of all GM crops on industrial farms in North and South America. Small
Third World farmers are misused as fodder in the ISAAA’s PR war.”
India’s bid to ban all GM field trials
The ISAAA launched the report in India, where the Supreme Court has recently banned any new GM crop trials until further
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notice. However, the exception to the ban, GM mustard developed at Delhi University, involves a genetic engineering
“Terminator” technique called a GURT (Genetic Use Restriction Technology) that renders the seeds from the plant sterile. (See
Chronicle of An Ecological Disaster Foretold, SiS 16). The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) group, which instigated the ban on GM
crops in India, are now pursuing a ban even on GM mustard because the University failed to reveal the full scientific facts to the
Court.
Read more: Global GM Crops Area Exaggerated
UN Caution over GM Trees
Why there should be a moratorium on GM trees
The threat of GM trees recognised
The Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) passed a formal declaration at its Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP­8) in
Curitiba, Brazil on 31 March 2006 to recognize the threats posed by genetically modified (GM) (same as genetically engineered
(GE) trees, and urging all countries to approach the technology with caution [1].
This important declaration came in support of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) call for an international framework to
assess the safety of GM trees in 2005 [2]. Many groups are hoping that the UN involvement will finally address the environmental
and socio­economic impact of GM trees on global forest diversity, and on local and indigenous communities.
Pierre Sigaud, FAO expert in forest genetics, warned against rushing to commercialise GM trees before conducting
environmental risk assessments in accordance with national and international biosafety protocols. He said, “The issue goes
beyond country level since pollen flow and seed dispersal do not take account of national boundaries and wood is a global
commodity.” To counteract the contamination of native stands by GM trees, a robust framework to govern research and
application is essential, Sigaud added.
Moratorium backed by developing countries
The increasing use of biotechnology in the forestry sector has led to the spread of GM tree planting in at least thirty­five countries.
According to the FAO, most research is confined to the laboratories, but many millions of GM trees have already been released in
open field trials in China, North America, Australia, Europe, and India , and to a lesser extent, South America and Africa [3].
Nine developing countries supported calls for a moratorium on G M trees proposed by government representatives of Iran and
Ghana [4 ]. Among these countries are Ecuador, Egypt, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal and Madagascar, and Malawi, some of
whom are home to the richest, most biodiverse forests on Earth. The motion was opposed only by Canada and Australia, both
governments having vested interests in biotechnology. But they too agreed that a detailed investigation into the impact of GM
trees is needed.
Read more: UN Caution over GM Trees
Lead Us Not Into GM
A resounding "No" to GMOs.
The response to
GM crops in the
UK's GM Nation?
public debate is an
overwhelming
"No". A total of
36,557 people
returned the
questionnaire
accompanying the
debate. The vote is
one of the largest
ever to be returned
by the public. The results are as follows:
54% of respondents said they never want to see GM
crops grown in the UK
18% said they would only find GM crops acceptable if
there were no risk of cross­contamination
13% requested more research before government
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decisions are made
2% said GM crops were acceptable in any
circumstances.
When asked if they were happy to eat GM food:
86% were not happy to eat GM food
8% were happy to eat GM food
6% were undecided.
The GM Nation? organisers also conducted a sub­survey of
members of the general public who didn't take part in the
debate to see how different their views on GM were. They
found a consensus on seven key points:
People are generally uneasy about GM
The more people engage in GM issues, the more their
attitudes harden against the technology
There is little support for early commercialisation
There is widespread mistrust of government and
multinational corporations
There is a broad desire to know more and for more
research to be done
Developing countries have special interests
The debate was welcomed and valued.
This latest poll confirms that the public is as hostile as ever
towards GM. But the government may still push ahead with
commercialisation of the crops because UK ministers are
keen to avoid upsetting EU­US relations. Trade secretary
Patricia Hewitt is mindful of the recent US­launched legal
action against the EU under World Trade Organisation rules.
Read more: Lead Us Not Into GM
GM Trees Lost in China’s Forests
GM poplars released and unregulated are hard to trace,
GM trees are a potential ecological disaster and should
be banned
One million GM trees
Fifty years of
relentless
development
has forced
China’s forests
into retreat.
Inevitable
environmental
consequences
such as
desertification
and flash
floods have resulted in China becoming a net importer of wood. The
Great Green Wall project (2001) sponsored by the Government aims
at planting a 2800­mile long shelterbelt of trees across the northwest
rim skirting the Gobi desert. This is intended to combat sandstorms
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blowing closer to Beijing, at a cost of 96.2b yen.
Over one million GM trees have been planted in "reforestation"
initiatives since commercialisation was approved by The Chinese State
Forestry Administration in 2002. In the northwest regions of Xinjiang
province 8 000 square kilometres of farmlands are given over to GM
tree mono­plantations. A further 400 000 GM poplars planted around
the headlands of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers continue to be
plagued by insect pests although they are engineered to be pest
resistant. GM trees introduced into the environment without any
proper controls have subsequently been "lost" to monitoring.
Wang Huoron from the Chinese Academy of Sciences told the UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2003 that the GM poplars
"are so widely planted in China that pollen and seed dispersal cannot
be prevented." He also reported to the FAO that without any licensing
system and exchanges between nurseries of traditional and GM plant
varieties has made it "extremely difficult to trace" the location of GM
trees.
Read more: GM Trees Lost in China’s Forests
No to GM Trees
Sam Burcher reports on a global movement to ban GM trees.
Some 400 GM birch trees (Betula pendula) in a
single GM field study situated in Punkaharju,
Finland have been either ripped up or cut down
by unknown parties at an estimated cost of
1.21 million euros in June 2004.
After the attack, the researchers at the Finnish
Forest Research claimed that their purpose
was to examine the environmental risks of
horizontal gene transfer. When they originally
applied for permission for the field trial in 2000,
however, it was to study the carbon­nitrogen
processes of GM trees.
Protests against GM trees greeted the 4 th UN
Forum on Forests (UNFF) in Geneva in May 2004 because of the “Decision” to draft plans
for GM tree projects made at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP9)
in Milan in December 2003.
GM trees have been included in the Kyoto Protocol as a means of generating carbon
credits under the Clean Development Mechanism. Carbon credits sold in this way are not
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subject to the traceability legislation that applies to all other GM imports into Europe and
therefore countries hosting GM trees will have no way of knowing whether their credits are
GM free or not.
Read more: No to GM Trees
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