|
|
Farmers Were Assured Of Better Returns If They Grew Transgenic Food Crops
In 1996 Monsanto introduced commercially a genetically modified cotton with in-seed insect-protection against the cotton bollworm. In 1997 Monsanto introduced commercially a genetically modified corn which had in-built protection from the European corn borer. Also, that year, a new transgenic cotton variety which had both bollworm resistance and glyphosate tolerant properties.
Farmers were promised higher yields and lower costs and thus more profit if they grew these transgenic crops. Have the biotech companies been able to deliver on these assurances.
India.
According to Andrew Malone writing in the Daily Mail, it is proven what Prince Charles said about thousands of farmers in the Maharashtra state, India, committing suicide after running up large debts due to the crop failure of transgenic pest proof varieties of cotton. The farmers were promised that the genetically engineered cotton would not need pesticides, would be free of disease and insect pests. Instead their cotton was devastated by the parasite pink bollworm. This was because the Bt cotton is resistant to green bollworm but not pink bollworm.
Though the yields were lower some forty percent of farmers did manage to make a small profit, as compared to the sixty percent of farmers who made a loss, from growing the cotton. But because the quality of the Bt cotton is poor, the fibres are shorter, farmers are paid a reduced amount per kilo. So farmers who grow Bt cotton have smaller yields and get lower returns on the Bt cotton they do produce. Why would any farmer desire to grow genetically modified Bt cotton.
To make matters worse the seeds sold to the farmers are "terminator" seeds. This means that the cotton plants only beget infertile seeds. So even if the farmer does manage to grow even a low yield of Bt cotton he can not make use of these seeds to plant next years crop but has to buy new seeds every year and these transgenic seeds are very expensive.
South Africa.
Farmers in three provinces -- North West, Free State and Mpumalanga, in South Africa -- have had up to eighty percent crop shortfall with three varieties of genetically engineered corn. Monsanto blamed the crop failures on a mistake in the laboratory, made during the seed formation process. Opponents of transgenic food, however, say that the science behind genetic modification is amiss.
Super-weeds.
Another disadvantage of growing transgenic crops that are made to be tolerant of glyphosate is that over time when crops are sprayed with the weed killer, the weeds also become resistant to the herbicide. According to The International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds there are now nine weed species, in different areas within the United States, that are resistant to the glyphosate herbicide.
When you consider that glyphosate is one of the most harmful and most popular of all weed killers then once a weed species becomes tolerant to it, it may be hard to find a weed killer that will decimate the weeds but leave the food crop standing.
When farmers are finding their arable land infested with these super-weeds they are been advised to increase the amount of glyphosate they normally use on the food plants and if this does not fix the problem they are advised to add a number of different herbicides. So farmers end up by spraying the food crops with many different types of weed killers including ample amounts of glyphosate. Using more weed killers means more costs and lower returns.
Georgia, United States.
The state of Georgia is being invaded, not by Triffids, but by pigweed (Palmer Amaranth). Over one-hundred thousand acres of arable land in Georgia is badly infested with this glyphosate tolerant superweed says weed technical expert Stanley Culpepper from the University of Georgia.
Pigweed is a fast-growing, drought-resistant, incredibly prolific weed that smothers the cotton plants starving them of sunlight, nutrients and water. The infestation has got so bad that some farmers are weeding their cotton plants by hand. Other farmers are giving up and abandoning their land to the weeds.
Long Term Trends.
The evidence seems to suggest that growing genetically modified crops will eventually lead to lower yields and greater costs, which means deflated profits.
When Searching For Excellent Quality Farm Tractor Tires, Should One Hunt For Used Or Completely New?
The tractor has made the life of every farmer easy and farmer's work much lighter and easier. It has become one of the most important tools to run a farm and to keep it in good condition. However, tractors must be well maintained to give a long service life.
When To Plan A Budget Adventure Travel Vacation
When the urge to get away becomes unbearable, and you can't really afford to get away to your usual adventure travel destination, then it's time to make some inquiries about a budget Adventure Travel Vacation. You might start by doing a general search on the Internet
How Do Your Teenagers Cope With Acne Effects
As we are all aware, there are emotional effects that are caused by acne, which are more than just those obvious red bumps on your face. There are effects of acne that can not be healed by the use of any cream or acne solution, they are the emotional scars left by acne.
What Do You Want To Know About Hair Loss In Females
Most of us are used to seeing bald men, but hair loss in females is also a frequent occurrence, and approximately thirty million women in the United States are currently losing their hair.
Music Lovers Must Have Some CD Duping Information
An important piece of CD duping information to remember, is that there is a processing difference between CD duplication and replication. To replicate a CD or DVD, a stamper is made from a glass master and data is physically pressed onto new CD discs.
Do You Need To Learn About Puppy Training Basics
A puppy can present lots of happy moments to you and your family, but you will need to learn some puppy training basics, so that you can train your dog to learn some manners, before you will be able to thoroughly enjoy his company.
The Numerous Possible Causes Of Domesticated Bee Colony Collapse Disease
Beekeepers have always suffered losses of their honey bees but in the past those losses were slow and the beekeeper was always able to find the cause, usually a bacteria, mite or some other pathogen and take appropriate action. Not so with colony collapse disorder.
The Good Points Of CD Duping
The process of CD duping is the means of making several copies of various types of CDs without doing a full scale replication. The term is used to describe the need to copy a short run quantity of CDs or DVDs.
|
More Articles
Blogroll
|
