Headlines on GM Food This Week
Pest evolves resistance to GM crops
Emergency measures on Chinese rice products
France halts genetically modified (GM) corn
These are some of this week’s headlines in GM/GMO news as it relates to food production. We are seeing some of the effects that were feared come to fruition, (pun intended), in the first wild insect pest becoming resistant to the cotton that has been modified genetically to kill pests when they bite into the product. Now, not only will we have super weeds, but super pests. This is the nature of mother nature. If an insect can evolve and adapt to live on top of oil(safe as long as only its legs touch the oil), or in the gills of a crab, they will evolve to beat GM crops. It didn’t take very long for this evolution to occur. (Read more below) In other news the Europeans are trying to be smart, by not allowing Chinese rice in without inspections and testing to make sure they aren’t tainted with GM rice. This in an effort to keep the EU food supply safe. “Rice from China is to be accompanied by an analytical report to demonstrate that the product does not contain ‘Bt63′. European Union (EU) Member States will also be required to take appropriate measures, including random sampling and analysis, for products already on the market.” This is sure to drive up the price of rice everywhere, as China tries to recoup its cost of testing and reporting. My opinion: it is too late. The food supply is already tainted. GM food companies have rushed in with bottom line profits as their only goal. To get to that goal they want to own and control the whole food supply.
And this is an article that raised the hair on the back of my neck.
GM trials in India threaten trade ties
India, who has been at the mercy of giant corporations for years now is getting it from another end. India has, as the articles says “permitted”, I doubt if they’ve had a choice, permitted field testing of GM food crops, exposing conventional crops to the risk of transgenic contamination. Now Russia has imposed a restriction, and insists on written confirmation from the government that “no GM crops in rice, groundnuts and sesame seeds exist in India”. Even though extensive testing and field trials have been going on in India, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC)issued a crooked no-contamination certificate, misleading, as the ongoing GM field trials in rice and groundnuts are meant to be a prelude to commercial production. ( The GM plants are growing there. There is no difference between plants in field trials and plants for use or consumption.
As the EU and other countries try to protect their crops and land from the genetic consequences of GM crops from other countries we are going to see a lot more conflict between countries. The developing nations that have been forced to grow GM crops will now not be able to sell them, except to the U.S. and other developing nations who allow these crops to be grown. This will increase the poverty of the poorer countries forced to grow export crops. The WTO who is already in the middle of it all will try to impose more and more trade sanctions as they use Free Trade as their weapon, causing even more conflict. I applaud the EU and Russia for sticking to their guns in an attempt to block these untested crops from coming in. But, the wind does blow and contamination comes with it. It may already be too late to stop the damage done.
This is a link to an article entitled 50 harmful effects of genetically engineered (GE), genetically modified (GM), food « Food Democracy, from the Food Democracy blog, if you would like to hear more about why we don’t want genetically altered food in our food chain.
The other blog articles are below.
Pest evolves resistance to GM crops
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Friday, 8 February 2008
An insect pest that is supposed to be killed by a type of genetically modified cotton crop with an in-built toxin gene has developed resistance and is beginning to spread in parts of the United States, a scientific study has found.It is believed to be the first documented example in the wild of an insect pest becoming resistant to this particular type of GM crop, which was thought to be immune from the problems that have plagued conventional pesticides. The bollworm moth is one of the most destructive pests of cotton crops. The resistant form of the moth’s caterpillar was found in a dozen fields in the southern states of Mississippi and Arkansas between 2003 and 2006, when the surveys were conducted.The GM cotton was developed by inserting a gene into the plant that is normally found in a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The bacterial gene produces a protein toxin that is poisonous to certain insects, but normally harmless in other animals.Bruce Tabashnik of the University of Arizona, who led the research team, said: “What we are seeing is evolution in action. This is the first documented case of field-evolved resistance to a Bt crop.”In the case of the GM cotton crop, the bollworm insect developed resistance because of the huge area of land in America and elsewhere where GM crops modified with Bt genes are now grown. This has generated one of the largest forces of natural selection for insect resistance that the world has ever known, according to the researchers, whose study will be published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Source: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/community-news/organic-cotton-sheets-47011601, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/pest-evolves-resistance-to-gm-crops-779794.html
Emergency measures on Chinese rice products
A European Commission committee yesterday decided to put special requirements on imports of rice products from China to make sure the products do not contain an unauthorized genetically modified (GM) rice.The decision was taken in Brussels at the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health because of an unauthorized genetically modified rice found in rice products manufactured in China.The measures will apply from 15 April and require consignments of rice products from China to be accompanied by an analytical report to demonstrate that the product does not contain ‘Bt63′. European Union (EU) Member States will also be required to take appropriate measures, including random sampling and analysis, for products already on the market.This decision will apply from 15 April to allow Member States to take the practical arrangements for its implementation. The Food Standards Agency will be providing advice to enforcement authorities, industry and consumers shortly. The Agency is not aware of any health implications for consumers who eat rice products containing ‘Bt63′.Traces of the GM rice, referred to as ‘Bt63’ were first found in rice products imported from China that were on sale in Member States in September 2006, and the Commission has been working closely with the Chinese authorities to ensure that products exported from China complied with European Community requirements.Bt63 is not authorised for sale on the Chinese market. The resulting measures taken by the Chinese authorities appeared to be effective initially but further contaminated products were identified in Germany and some other Member States in 2007.As the Chinese authorities have been unable to implement measures to ensure the absence of ‘Bt63′ in products exported to the EU, the Commission has brought forward measures to control their import so that effective and consistent action is taken across Member States.
France halts genetically modified (GM) corn
The French government on Saturday suspended the use of genetically modified corn crops in France while it awaits EU approval for a full ban. The order formalized France’s announcement Jan. 11 that it would suspend cultivation of Monsanto’s MON810, the seed for the only type of genetically modified corn now allowed in the country.
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