[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Mystery Science: More Details on the Strange Organism That Could Destroy Monsanto Mystery Science: More Details on the Strange Organism That Could Destroy Monsanto By Melanie Warner | May 5, 2011 6 Comments .. Food Fight Melanie Warner Contact Author Bio Twitter.BiographyMelanie Warner Melanie Warner, a writer based in Boulder, CO, covered the food industry for The New York Times. Follow her on Twitter at @melanieruth. ..More from Commentary Best Buy Pulls the Plug on Electric Cars, and Isn't That Charged About Scooters, Either Gender Wars: Cigna Exec Claims She Was Denied Promotion Over a "Style Thing" How the U.S. Is Turning Into a Banana Republic Get to the Meat of Your Sales Message! 7 Vastly Overrated Business Books .View more .. Back in January, a noted plant scientist who spent much of his career at Purdue University sent a letter to the USDA informing the agency that hed discovered a mysterious new disease-causing organism in Monsantos (MON) genetically engineered Roundup Ready corn and soybeans. Now, that scientist Don Huber has written a follow-up letter to the USDA and appears in a videotaped interview where he presents an even scarier picture of the damage he claims Monsantos herbicide chemical glyphosate (the main ingredient in Roundup) is doing to both plants and the animals who eat them. In the 20-minute interview, which was conducted by Food Democracy Nows Dave Murphy, Huber makes a strong case for his own credibility, appearing as a droll, erudite Midwestern scientist with deep connections to corn and soybean growers and livestock farmers. Although Hubers findings have not yet been verified by outside scientists or published in a peer reviewed journal, the severity of his claims is such that the USDA ought to give them immediate attention. Its not the genes, its the herbicide Hubers issue is not with genetic engineering per se, but with the huge amounts of glyphosate (185 million pounds in 2007) in herbicide now used on Americas farms. Use of glyphosate has soared thanks to widespread use of Monsantos soy and corn seeds, which are genetically modified to survive its effects. The problem with glyphosate, Huber says, is that it effectively gives a plant AIDS, weakening its defenses and making it more susceptible to pathogens, such as the one his team discovered. The scientists have taken to calling the bug the electron microscope (EM) organism, since it can only be seen with an electron microscope. A big part of the problem, Huber says, lies with the way glyphosate prevents plants from absorbing vital nutrients, particularly the mineral manganese. In the Food Democracy interview, Huber says some studies have shown that Roundup Ready soybeans and corn have up to 50% less manganese than conventional varieties. Huber claims that the double whammy of weakened defenses and the new EM organism have contributed to unexplained epidemics of disease on farms sudden death syndrome of soybean crops and Goss wilt on corn. The problem in pictures Here are photos he included with his follow-up letter, which was also sent to EU and UK officials at their request, showing dead or dying Roundup Ready corn and RR soybeans planted side by side with their thriving non-GE brethren: Huber says the same thing has happened in animals. Hes heard from cattle farmers who are struggling because theyre experiencing a 15% infertility rate and 35% rate of spontaneous abortions among their herds. When the farmers switch to non-GE soy and corn for feed, the problems decline dramatically. Huber has talked to other animal vets whove experienced high death rates and have found that their GE-fed animals are severely deficient in manganese. And whenever Huber has worked with vets to analyze tissue samples from GE-fed animals that were inexplicably sick or had fertility problems, the tests always come back positive for the EM organism. Its anecdotal, not data but its still scary Of course, all this is merely anecdotal. Whether it can be scientifically proven that farm animals are suffering because theyre eating Roundup Ready soy and corn is another story. But since GE food crops are such a fundamentally new part of agriculture (first planted in 1996) and Hubers account if accurate spells disaster for American agriculture, its worth finding out whats going on before allowing more of Monsantos RR crops onto the market. But thats not what the USDA did. A week and a half after Huber had his letter hand delivered to secretary Tom Vilsack, the agency gave the greenlight for Roundup Ready alfalfa. Huber was deeply disappointed: I would have hoped that there would have been a delay and the resources allocated to answer the questions, to verify that were not going to further increase the severity of this organism
. Can we afford to just open the floodgates wide open before we have the answers. Whats the urgency? Related: The Smoking Gun That Will Take Down Monsanto. Or Not The USDA Says Yes to Monsanto, And Now Organic Milk May Cost Even More What Co-Existence Means for Biotech Crops: No More Rubber Stamp Approvals The Harsh New Reality for Biotech Foods: Show Consumer Benefit or Else Hey, GM Crops Are Great If You Like Superweeds, That Is .
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
|
||
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
[Register]
|