Monsanto-fed “SUPER-INSENCTS” thriving in this summer’s drought
August 9, 2012
This summer, a severe drought and genetically modified crops are delivering a one-two punch to US crops.
Across the farm country, years of reliance on Monsanto’s Roundup Ready corn and soy seeds—engineered for resistance to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide—have given rise to a veritable plague of Roundup-resistant weeds. Meanwhile, Monsanto’s other blockbuster genetically modified trait—the toxic gene of the pesticidal bacteria Bt—is also beginning to lose effectiveness, imperiling crops even as they’re already bedeviled by drought. Last year, I reported on Bt-resistant western rootworms munching on Bt-engineered corn in isolated counties in Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.
This summer, resistant rootworms are back like the next installment of a superhero blockbuster movie franchise. In a July 30 post, University of Minnesota extension agents Ken Ostlie and Bruce Potter report they’ve seen a “major [geographical] expansion” of rootworm damage throughout southern Minnesota, where Monsanto’s corn is common. The severe drought, they add, has “masked” the problem, because rainstorms typically make rootworm-damaged corn plants fall over, and rainstorms haven’t come this year.
Drought plus a plague of rootworms presents a compounded problem to farmers: The bugs tend to thrive under dry conditions, and the damage their incessant root munching does to plants above ground, like stunting their growth, is “magnified” by lack of water and heat stress, Ostlie and Potter add.
Last week, Minnesota Public Radio reporter Mark Steil filed a report on a workshop on Bt-resistant rootworms at which Potter spoke. Apparently, the entomologist minced no words:
Potter told them [the workshop’s 100 attendees] the genetically modified corn is basically backfiring. “Instead of making things easier, we’ve just made corn rootworm management harder and a heck of a lot more expensive,” Potter said.
Source
I’m terrified of what other crazy implications from genetically-modified/fortified/whatever-fied crops we’re going to eventually uncover.
![chemicalfreelife:
GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD: Update on *Label GMOs* Campaign (California)
Big Pesticide and Processed Food Companies Put Out Millions of Dollars to Block Honest Labeling of GMOs
Big Pesticide, Food Companies Drop $10 Million to Fight Honest Food Labels
New campaign finance reports show that pesticide and processed food companies just contributed nearly $10 million to oppose Proposition 37, which would require labeling of genetically engineered foods.
According to the California Secretary of State disclosure forms, the largest of these contributions come from Dupont Pioneer ($2,441,500), Bayer Cropscience ($1,064,000) and BASF Plant Science ($996,500). Other contributions include $500,000 each from Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle USA, General Mills and ConAgra.
“These corporations are desperate to keep us from finding out what’s really in our food,” said Stacy Malkan, Media Director for California Right to Know. “They will not prevail. This is America. We have the right to know what’s in the food we eat and feed our children.”
The huge contributions from pesticide companies, now topping $7 million with the new donations, shine light on a little known fact about genetically engineered foods.
“Rather than reducing the need for hazardous pesticides, [Genetically Modified] herbicide-resistant seeds have driven a massive increase in herbicide use that has been linked to significant environmental and public health concerns,” explains Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, PhD, senior scientist at Pesticide Action Network, in a statement supporting Proposition 37.
“It’s clear that genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant seeds are the growth engines of the pesticide industry’s sales and marketing strategy. These seeds are part of a technology package explicitly designed to facilitate increased, indiscriminate herbicide use and pump up chemical sales,” said Dr. Ishii-Eiteman.
For more information about the Yes on 37 California Right to Know campaign, please see CaRighttoKnow.org.
For full list of contributions and links to the resources in this release see here.
SOURCE California Right to Know Campaign; photo-digitaljournal.com](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8r9q5dciu1r7yhvfo1_500.jpg)
![thepeoplesrecord:
Monsanto-fed “SUPER-INSENCTS” thriving in this summer’s drought
August 9, 2012
This summer, a severe drought and genetically modified crops are delivering a one-two punch to US crops.
Across the farm country, years of reliance on Monsanto’s Roundup Ready corn and soy seeds—engineered for resistance to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide—have given rise to a veritable plague of Roundup-resistant weeds. Meanwhile, Monsanto’s other blockbuster genetically modified trait—the toxic gene of the pesticidal bacteria Bt—is also beginning to lose effectiveness, imperiling crops even as they’re already bedeviled by drought. Last year, I reported on Bt-resistant western rootworms munching on Bt-engineered corn in isolated counties in Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.
This summer, resistant rootworms are back like the next installment of a superhero blockbuster movie franchise. In a July 30 post, University of Minnesota extension agents Ken Ostlie and Bruce Potter report they’ve seen a “major [geographical] expansion” of rootworm damage throughout southern Minnesota, where Monsanto’s corn is common. The severe drought, they add, has “masked” the problem, because rainstorms typically make rootworm-damaged corn plants fall over, and rainstorms haven’t come this year.
Drought plus a plague of rootworms presents a compounded problem to farmers: The bugs tend to thrive under dry conditions, and the damage their incessant root munching does to plants above ground, like stunting their growth, is “magnified” by lack of water and heat stress, Ostlie and Potter add.
Last week, Minnesota Public Radio reporter Mark Steil filed a report on a workshop on Bt-resistant rootworms at which Potter spoke. Apparently, the entomologist minced no words:
Potter told them [the workshop’s 100 attendees] the genetically modified corn is basically backfiring. “Instead of making things easier, we’ve just made corn rootworm management harder and a heck of a lot more expensive,” Potter said.
Source
I’m terrified of what other crazy implications from genetically-modified/fortified/whatever-fied crops we’re going to eventually uncover.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8h6bycoQk1r6m2leo1_400.jpg)
