Growers returning to unaltered crops

High sale prices of non-GMO yields have many buying conventional seeds

ST. LOUIS -- Five years ago, Dan Beyers took his farm in a new direction. Or, rather, back in an old direction. The Pana, Ill.-area farmer had been using corn and soybean seeds genetically modified to work with glyphosate -- the generic name for Monsanto's signature Roundup herbicide. But he reached a point at which he said it no longer made sense from a dollars standpoint.

So he turned his back on GMO crops.

"As they added more traits, we didn't really see a yield advantage. And every time they added a trait, they added cost," said Beyers, who said he also worries that GMO seeds could be damaging his soil.

Roundup may cause potentially fatal 'adrenal insufficiency'

GMWatch & The Ecologist

A new study finds that the Roundup herbicide disrupts the hormonal system of rats at low levels at which it's meant to produce no adverse effects. By the same mechanism It may be causing the potentially fatal condition of 'adrenal insufficiency' in humans.

Perspective: GMOs, Herbicides, and Public Health

Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., and Charles Benbrook, Ph.D.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not high on most physicians' worry lists. If we think at all about biotechnology, most of us probably focus on direct threats to human health, such as prospects for converting pathogens to biologic weapons or the implications of new technologies for editing the human germline. But while those debates simmer, the application of biotechnology to agriculture has been rapid and aggressive. The vast majority of the corn and soybeans grown in the United States are now genetically engineered. Foods produced from GM crops have become ubiquitous. And unlike regulatory bodies in 64 other countries, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require labeling of GM foods.

Two recent developments are dramatically changing the GMO landscape. First, there have been sharp increases in the amounts and numbers of chemical herbicides applied to GM crops, and still further increases — the largest in a generation — are scheduled to occur in the next few years. Second, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified glyphosate, the herbicide most widely used on GM crops, as a “probable human carcinogen” and classified a second herbicide, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), as a “possible human carcinogen.”

On July 31, 2015, we renewed the Sarson Satyagraha by taking a pledge at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial at Rajghat to protect the diversity, purity and safety of our mustard because “Anna Swaraj” is our birthright.

Source: http://www.asianage.com/columnists/gmo-my-mustard-259

The claim that ‘Terminator Mustard’ will increase yields by 30% is scientifically false and a blatant lie… The traits being introduced by GM mustard are known to be hazardous and are illegal…

India is the home of oilseed diversity — coconut, groundnut, linseed, niger, mustard, rapeseed, safflower and sesame. Our food culture have evolved with our biodiversity of oilseeds. Sarson is called sarsapa and rajika in Sanskrit. Diverse varieties of sarson are grown and used in India, including Krsna Sarsapa (Banarsi Rai), Sita Sarsapa (Peela Sarson), Rakta Sarsapa (Brown Sarson), Toria and Taramira.

The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has on 7th August 2015, lodged an appeal to Agriculture, Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Senzeni Zokwana, against the general release approval of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) maize, MON87460 granted by the Executive Council (EC): GMO Act. Such approval means that Monsanto can sell the GM maize seed, MON87460, to farmers in South Africa for cultivation. MON87460 is alleged to be ‘drought tolerant;’ a claim the ACB vehemently disputes.

Administrative justice, procedural fairness and sound science to the test

The appeal is a test for administrative justice and procedural fairness in regard to GM decision-making in South Africa. Administrative decision-making must be based on rigorous food safety, environmental and socio-economic assessments of the potential adverse effects of MON87460, taking into international biosafety best practice. According to the ACB, the EC’s approval is typical of GM decision-making, which simply reiterates and summarises information provided by Monsanto, who has a clear vested interest in the approval. Such “rubber stamping” is unlawful. The EC is under a legal obligation to apply a risk averse and cautious approach, which takes into account uncertainties and the limits of current knowledge about the consequences of approving MON87460 for commercial production. The GM variety will introduce novel proteins into human food and animal feed chains as well as the environment. There is no reliable history of safe use of the GM variety to justify its introduction in South Africa.

GM crop ban

Downloads 09/08/2015 00:01

Scotland Agriculture

Scotland to protect clean, green status and prohibit GM crops.

Growing genetically modified (GM) crops will not be permitted in Scotland, Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has announced as he moved to protect Scotland’s clean, green status.

Mr Lochhead has confirmed that the Scottish Government intends to take advantage of new EU rules allowing countries to opt out of growing EU-authorised GM crops.

The Scottish Government will shortly submit a request that Scotland is excluded from any European consents for the cultivation of GM crops, including the variety of genetically modified maize already approved and six other GM crops that are awaiting authorisation.

The Cabinet Secretary said:

“Scotland is known around the world for our beautiful natural environment - and banning growing genetically modified crops will protect and further enhance our clean, green status.

“There is no evidence of significant demand for GM products by Scottish consumers and I am concerned that allowing GM crops to be grown in Scotland would damage our clean and green brand, thereby gambling with the future of our £14 billion food and drink sector.

“Scottish food and drink is valued at home and abroad for its natural, high quality which often attracts a premium price, and I have heard directly from food and drink producers in other countries that are ditching GM because of a consumer backlash.

“That is why I strongly support the continued application of the precautionary principle in relation to GM crops and intend to take full advantage of the flexibility allowed under these new EU rules to ban GM crops from being grown in Scotland.

Protest over plans to end regions right to be GMO free

Hawke's Bay premium food producers have accused the government of a "back door" move to strip regions of the power to stay free of genetically modified organisms.

New Zealand's pure image boosts produce growing exporters to earn a premium in global markets for their fruit, veges, wine and food.

But some believe this is now threatened by a draft regulation which would end councils' right to ban GMO trees from their patch.

The proposed National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry, drafted by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), means that once the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) had approved a genetically-modified tree-type for planting, no council could prevent it from being planted in their areas.

In its submission, Pure Hawke's Bay, a lobby group of produce, wine and food exporters, said staying GMO-free was key to preserving and developing the region's brand as a premium, natural food-producing region.

"Key markets remain sensitive even to the risk of contamination with trace levels of GM content," it warned.

Docs, farmers, scientists promote organic farming

Meerut: Environment activist and author Vandana Shiva kick-started a nationwide campaign, Anna Swaraj Andolan, from Meerut on Sunday. The campaign is meant to make farmers aware of the benefits of organic farming and also inform them of the hidden agenda of multi-national companies, which allegedly attempt to control the national agronomy by introducing genetically-altered seeds.

"Meerut's farmers had stood against colonialism in 1857. Now, the time has come for the city to fight again against another kind of colonialism which not only wants to capture our agronomy but also wishes to play havoc with our health through genetically mutated seeds and pesticides," Shiva said.

Stop the toxic soybeans! Support our call!

Testbiotech, 23 July 2015

Testbiotech is warning that EU market authorisation might be given to a new genetically engineered soybean produced by Monsanto. Soybean MON 87708 × MON 89788 was made resistant to two pesticides, glyphosate and dicamba. Spraying soybean crops with these herbicides leaves residues in the plants which might be carcinogenic. Glyphosate was recently classified as “probably carcinogenic” by an international expert group. Dicamba degrades to compounds such as formaldehyde, which has already been classified as carcinogenic for several years. It follows that the harvested soybeans will regularly contain a combination of residues from these herbicides. If they are imported, the food and feed chain could be permanently exposed to this specific mixture.

This is the first time that this combination of herbicides will be used to spray soybeans.

New plant breeding techniques, such as those involving site-directed or sequence-specific modifications to the genomes of crop species, have emerged as a group that is different from conventional breeding and standard genetic modification. Current international biosafety regulations for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) may not be applicable to all novel products arising from these new techniques, giving rise to the concern on how to assess, monitor and regulate them properly.

A report by GenØk–Centre for Biosafety, Norway, reviews the potential applications and knowledge gaps related to two new plant breeding techniques, site directed nucleases (SDN) and oligonucleotide directed mutagenesis (ODM). The aim is to both create a historical record of the emergence of these technologies and to serve as a case study in how ‘early warnings’ may be incorporated into risk assessments of new technologies.