With the recent advances in science,the world saw the advent of a new branch called biotechnology.This has various applications in our daily life,infact most of the life saving medicines,vaccines,food products etc. depend solely on it. How many of you are aware about genetic engineering?It’s different from hybridization where two varieties are cross bred into a hybrid with desirable qualities.Rather, it’s a technique by which manipulations are made at the genetic level intended to create a desired trait. Every good thing has its own bad aspects.
‘MONSANTO’ is a publicly traded American multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri.It concentrates mainly on the production of genetically engineered(GE) seeds and the herbicide glyphosphate under the names ‘roundup’ and ‘roundup ready’ respectively.Other products include agent orange,PCBs,DDT,polystyrene,synthetic fibres, recombinant bovine somatotropin etc.Monsanto over the years has been subject to countless controversies mainly because of the litigation,seed commercialization practices,lobbying governmental agencies, misleading advertisements, and the changes it brought to the field of agriculture.
The GMO seeds are genetically tailored as to have resistance against the herbicides like glyphosphate.This claims to allow the farmers to plant the rows closer.Over 90% of maize,soybean,canola etc. in the United States belong to this variety.They also developed another variant which has been modified to produce a crystalline insecticidal protein from Bacillus thuringiensis,which is expected to target only the ‘Cry’ and ‘Cyt’ genes and not affect the harmless organisms without the corresponding receptor,eg.Bt cotton,Bt maize etc.Similarly ,the ‘stacked traits’ contain within it multiple modifications.Most of these assert to increasing yield,pest resistance as well as taste. But there has been rising concern about the health risks and environmental mutilation the GMO seeds could lead to.
> There’s no proven scientific evidence as to emphasize that the seeds so produced don’t harm our health in the long run.Novel hazards could emerge from them in a way we have never seen before.
> Foods containing manipulated genetic material could be allergic although it may not be evident instantaneously.For eg,reports of allergic tendency to kiwi fruit was recognized later on,and the same is applicable here.
> Pollen from genetically modified crops could fly away through wind and land on neighbouring non-GMO plants and could possibly result in cross pollination.If this cross pollination occurs with a weed, chances are that the weed could grow (super weeds)to be resistant to the concerned herbicide.
> Gene flow could occur from a plant to an animal which consumes it.It poses harsh risks to the food chain.
> It’s against the morality to go in opposition to the nature’s intrinsic methods.
> The yield as until now has not reached upto their claims,and there are reports of decreased yields especially in developing countries like India.
> Studies also emphasize on the probabilities of humans becoming resistant to antibiotics because of the antibiotic resistant marker genes inserted with the GM material.
> High price of the seeds in addition to the ‘not so great’ yields,poor quality of cotton fibres which are short in length,increased use of fertilizers and machinery has led to the suicide of hundreds of farmers in India. These poor farmers end up generating massive gains for the multinationals without a return to themselves.It’s a matter of social injustice.
> The method doesn’t offer the checks and balances of nature as in traditional breeding.
> scientists are warning that the Round Up itself may have dire consequences for agriculture such as rendering soils infertile, crops non-productive, and plants less nutritious.
> A further problem appears to be the vulnerability of Bt cotton to pink bollworm because the Bt endotoxin protects only against the green bollworm and not against the pink bollworm. Farmers will have to continue pesticide sprays to control the pink bollworm
The company is increasingly being called ‘evil’ around the globe.There are many number of incidences counting years back.
> Percy Schmeiser is a farmer from Saskatchewan Canada, whose Canola fields were contaminated with Monsanto's GE Round-Up Ready Canola by pollen from a nearby farm. Monsanto says it doesn't matter how the contamination took place, and is therefore demanding Schmeiser pay their Technology Fee. Rodney Nelson’s is yet another example.
> The company sued Oakhurst allegedly that they don’t possess the right to put in the picture that their product is devoid of the Monsanto recombinant bovine somatotropin(claimed to increase the milk yield). They argued that the mere statement can make the Monsanto product appear inferior.
> Monsanto continues to dump millions of tons of PCBs into open pit landfills and rivers.The chemical is associated with melanoma,cancer of liver,brain,biliary tract;irritations of skin, nose, eyes; neurological defects,risks in pregnancy,effects on thyroid,immune system and many more.
> Exposure to their agent orange has been linked to severe birth defects,neurological disorders, asthma, disorders of immune system,thyroid etc.The most outrageous fact is that they still deny the chemicals are toxic.
> The company makes double profit by taking control of the water resources they pollute,filter it and sell it back to the people.
Although these are the common concerns of the population at present,a few incidents have been noted where there were increased yields as in certain cocoa cultivations. The following are the standpoints of the GMO supporters:
> Advocacy groups such as Greenpeace, The Non-GMO Project and Organic Consumers Association say that risks of GM food have not been adequately identified. Scientific publishing on the safety of GMOs has become controversial in a way different from most scientific fields. One of the first incidents occurred in 1999, when Nature published a paper on potential toxic effects of Bt maize on butterflies,it produced a public uproar and demonstrations against Bt maize; however by 2001 several follow-up studies had proven that "the most common types of Bt maize pollen are not toxic to monarch larvae in concentrations the insects would encounter in the fields".
> The American Association for the Advancement of Science stated "Foods containing ingredients from genetically modified (GM) crops pose no greater risk than the same foods made from crops modified by conventional plant breeding techniques”.
> A 2005 review in the journal Allergy stated that "no biotech proteins in foods have been documented to cause allergic reactions".
> Genetic modification can also be used to remove allergens from foods, potentially reducing the risk of food allergies.
> The risk of horizontal gene transfer between plants and animals is very low.
> A 2009 study in China concluded that the increase in secondary pests depended on local temperature and rainfall conditions and occurred in half the villages studied.
> No GM foods have yet been designated as unacceptable by religious authorities.
To be supporting Monsanto or the farmers relies on our inner voice.But always remember we may be too dumb to foresee what’s yet to happen.
[SOURCE : healthyeatingstartshere, wikipedia, naturestears]
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The GMO seeds are genetically tailored as to have resistance against the herbicides like glyphosphate.This claims to allow the farmers to plant the rows closer.Over 90% of maize,soybean,canola etc. in the United States belong to this variety.They also developed another variant which has been modified to produce a crystalline insecticidal protein from Bacillus thuringiensis,which is expected to target only the ‘Cry’ and ‘Cyt’ genes and not affect the harmless organisms without the corresponding receptor,eg.Bt cotton,Bt maize etc.Similarly ,the ‘stacked traits’ contain within it multiple modifications.Most of these assert to increasing yield,pest resistance as well as taste. But there has been rising concern about the health risks and environmental mutilation the GMO seeds could lead to.
> There’s no proven scientific evidence as to emphasize that the seeds so produced don’t harm our health in the long run.Novel hazards could emerge from them in a way we have never seen before.
> Foods containing manipulated genetic material could be allergic although it may not be evident instantaneously.For eg,reports of allergic tendency to kiwi fruit was recognized later on,and the same is applicable here.
> Pollen from genetically modified crops could fly away through wind and land on neighbouring non-GMO plants and could possibly result in cross pollination.If this cross pollination occurs with a weed, chances are that the weed could grow (super weeds)to be resistant to the concerned herbicide.
> Gene flow could occur from a plant to an animal which consumes it.It poses harsh risks to the food chain.
> It’s against the morality to go in opposition to the nature’s intrinsic methods.
> The yield as until now has not reached upto their claims,and there are reports of decreased yields especially in developing countries like India.
> Studies also emphasize on the probabilities of humans becoming resistant to antibiotics because of the antibiotic resistant marker genes inserted with the GM material.
> High price of the seeds in addition to the ‘not so great’ yields,poor quality of cotton fibres which are short in length,increased use of fertilizers and machinery has led to the suicide of hundreds of farmers in India. These poor farmers end up generating massive gains for the multinationals without a return to themselves.It’s a matter of social injustice.
> The method doesn’t offer the checks and balances of nature as in traditional breeding.
> scientists are warning that the Round Up itself may have dire consequences for agriculture such as rendering soils infertile, crops non-productive, and plants less nutritious.
> A further problem appears to be the vulnerability of Bt cotton to pink bollworm because the Bt endotoxin protects only against the green bollworm and not against the pink bollworm. Farmers will have to continue pesticide sprays to control the pink bollworm
The company is increasingly being called ‘evil’ around the globe.There are many number of incidences counting years back.
> Percy Schmeiser is a farmer from Saskatchewan Canada, whose Canola fields were contaminated with Monsanto's GE Round-Up Ready Canola by pollen from a nearby farm. Monsanto says it doesn't matter how the contamination took place, and is therefore demanding Schmeiser pay their Technology Fee. Rodney Nelson’s is yet another example.
> The company sued Oakhurst allegedly that they don’t possess the right to put in the picture that their product is devoid of the Monsanto recombinant bovine somatotropin(claimed to increase the milk yield). They argued that the mere statement can make the Monsanto product appear inferior.
> Monsanto continues to dump millions of tons of PCBs into open pit landfills and rivers.The chemical is associated with melanoma,cancer of liver,brain,biliary tract;irritations of skin, nose, eyes; neurological defects,risks in pregnancy,effects on thyroid,immune system and many more.
> Exposure to their agent orange has been linked to severe birth defects,neurological disorders, asthma, disorders of immune system,thyroid etc.The most outrageous fact is that they still deny the chemicals are toxic.
> The company makes double profit by taking control of the water resources they pollute,filter it and sell it back to the people.
Although these are the common concerns of the population at present,a few incidents have been noted where there were increased yields as in certain cocoa cultivations. The following are the standpoints of the GMO supporters:
> Advocacy groups such as Greenpeace, The Non-GMO Project and Organic Consumers Association say that risks of GM food have not been adequately identified. Scientific publishing on the safety of GMOs has become controversial in a way different from most scientific fields. One of the first incidents occurred in 1999, when Nature published a paper on potential toxic effects of Bt maize on butterflies,it produced a public uproar and demonstrations against Bt maize; however by 2001 several follow-up studies had proven that "the most common types of Bt maize pollen are not toxic to monarch larvae in concentrations the insects would encounter in the fields".
> The American Association for the Advancement of Science stated "Foods containing ingredients from genetically modified (GM) crops pose no greater risk than the same foods made from crops modified by conventional plant breeding techniques”.
> A 2005 review in the journal Allergy stated that "no biotech proteins in foods have been documented to cause allergic reactions".
> Genetic modification can also be used to remove allergens from foods, potentially reducing the risk of food allergies.
> The risk of horizontal gene transfer between plants and animals is very low.
> A 2009 study in China concluded that the increase in secondary pests depended on local temperature and rainfall conditions and occurred in half the villages studied.
> No GM foods have yet been designated as unacceptable by religious authorities.
To be supporting Monsanto or the farmers relies on our inner voice.But always remember we may be too dumb to foresee what’s yet to happen.
[SOURCE : healthyeatingstartshere, wikipedia, naturestears]
Hell yes they are evil!What goes around comes around.Hopefully them and their families suffer the same afflictions that are being forced upon a unsuspecting populace.I hate the sob's
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