Sunday, November 11, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
(GM) Bt 176 Corn Killing Livestock
Biotechnology giant Syngenta has officially been
outed for deliberately hiding data that proves the company's
genetically-modified (GM) Bt 176 corn is directly responsible for
killing livestock. Dr. Eva Sirinathsinghji writing for QW Magazine explains
that Syngenta is now facing criminal charges for willfully concealing
the results of an internal, company-run study on Bt 176 corn from 1996
that was abruptly ended when four cows died after just two days of
consuming the "Frankencorn."
Gottfried Gloeckner, a German farmer from Woelfersheim, originally filed the suit roughly a decade after dozens of his own dairy cows died from exposure to Syngenta's Bt 176 corn. Gloeckner first began feeding his cattle Bt 176 corn as part of their diet back in 1997 when Syngenta gained government approval to run field trials of the crop on Gloeckner's property. And by 2000, Bt 176 corn was the only thing Gloeckner was feeding his cows.
As this transition from natural feed to GM feed was taking place, however, Gloeckner noticed that his cows were increasingly developing serious illnesses, many of which resulted in the animals' rapid death. By 2001, five of Gloeckner's cows had died, and another seven died by 2002, upon which Gloeckner decided to remove all GMOs from his livestock feed. But most of Gloeckner's remaining cows ended up suffering intestinal damage, decreased milk production, and other ailments that resulted in their having to be put down as well.
Syngenta lied about dangers of Bt 176 corn in 2007 civil court case
At the time, Syngenta partially compensated Gloeckner for the loss of his 65-head herd as a result of Bt 176 corn. But the company ultimately refused to admit that Bt 176 corn was definitively responsible for the harm caused, a sentiment that the German and EU governments also appeared to embrace in their refusal to investigate the situation. So for years, Gloeckner has remained burdened with insurmountable debt from his losses, and with no legal remedy at his disposal.
Gottfried Gloeckner, a German farmer from Woelfersheim, originally filed the suit roughly a decade after dozens of his own dairy cows died from exposure to Syngenta's Bt 176 corn. Gloeckner first began feeding his cattle Bt 176 corn as part of their diet back in 1997 when Syngenta gained government approval to run field trials of the crop on Gloeckner's property. And by 2000, Bt 176 corn was the only thing Gloeckner was feeding his cows.
As this transition from natural feed to GM feed was taking place, however, Gloeckner noticed that his cows were increasingly developing serious illnesses, many of which resulted in the animals' rapid death. By 2001, five of Gloeckner's cows had died, and another seven died by 2002, upon which Gloeckner decided to remove all GMOs from his livestock feed. But most of Gloeckner's remaining cows ended up suffering intestinal damage, decreased milk production, and other ailments that resulted in their having to be put down as well.
Syngenta lied about dangers of Bt 176 corn in 2007 civil court case
At the time, Syngenta partially compensated Gloeckner for the loss of his 65-head herd as a result of Bt 176 corn. But the company ultimately refused to admit that Bt 176 corn was definitively responsible for the harm caused, a sentiment that the German and EU governments also appeared to embrace in their refusal to investigate the situation. So for years, Gloeckner has remained burdened with insurmountable debt from his losses, and with no legal remedy at his disposal.
But the situation changed in 2009 when Gloeckner discovered
Syngenta's 1996 study, which prompted him to initiate legal action
against the company. He has since been joined by Bundnis Aktion
Gen-Klage, a German activist group, and Urs Hans, a "farmer turned
activist," both of which are also in hot pursuit of justice against
Syngenta.
The revelation of Bt 176 corn's extreme toxicity in cattle proves that Syngenta has been lying for years about the crop's supposed safety. The company falsely testified in a civil court case back in 2007 that Bt 176 corn was safe, which resulted in the dismissal of charges against the company that Bt 176 corn was responsible for cattle deaths. Now, suspicions that Syngenta was indeed withholding crucial information about Bt 176 corn have been confirmed by Syngenta's own study.
Syngenta also appears to have manufactured a phony study on sheep several years later in an attempt to whitewash the findings of the 1996 study. A 2008 report from GM-Free Cymru explains that the study, which was conducted in Italy between 2002 and 2005, was a poor attempt at making Bt 176 corn appear harmless and identical to natural varieties of corn. Not only was data obviously manipulated in that particular study, but sample sizes were too small, and the amount of GM materials added to animal feed was miniscule and unrealistic
NationofChange is a 501(c)3 nonprofit funded directly by our readers. Please make a small donation to support our work.
SOURCE: http://www.nationofchange.org/syngenta-corporation-faces-criminal-charges-covering-livestock-deaths-gm-corn-1340811738
The revelation of Bt 176 corn's extreme toxicity in cattle proves that Syngenta has been lying for years about the crop's supposed safety. The company falsely testified in a civil court case back in 2007 that Bt 176 corn was safe, which resulted in the dismissal of charges against the company that Bt 176 corn was responsible for cattle deaths. Now, suspicions that Syngenta was indeed withholding crucial information about Bt 176 corn have been confirmed by Syngenta's own study.
Syngenta also appears to have manufactured a phony study on sheep several years later in an attempt to whitewash the findings of the 1996 study. A 2008 report from GM-Free Cymru explains that the study, which was conducted in Italy between 2002 and 2005, was a poor attempt at making Bt 176 corn appear harmless and identical to natural varieties of corn. Not only was data obviously manipulated in that particular study, but sample sizes were too small, and the amount of GM materials added to animal feed was miniscule and unrealistic
NationofChange is a 501(c)3 nonprofit funded directly by our readers. Please make a small donation to support our work.
SOURCE: http://www.nationofchange.org/syngenta-corporation-faces-criminal-charges-covering-livestock-deaths-gm-corn-1340811738
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Cyanide Gas Investigation
(NaturalNews) Today I visited the ranch of Jerry Abel in Elgin, Texas,
site of the mysterious death of 15 cattle after exposure to cyanide gas
spontaneously produced by hybridized Bermuda - Tifton-85 forage grasses.
This is a story with nationwide interest, having also been covered by
ABC News and others (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57459357/gm-grass-linked-to-texas...).
Along with Darrin McBreen from InfoWars.com, who was also present at the farm today, we spoke with Jerry and his wife about the bizarre events that have unfolded there.
There are some mysterious facts surrounding this incident, including the sudden disappearance of a document by Dr. Larry Redmon, entitled, "Potential Toxicity Issues with Tifton 85 Bermuda grass." Earlier this morning, that document was suddenly pulled from the Hays County Agriculture & Natural Resources web page. It originally appeared here: http://haysagriculture.blogspot.com/2012/06/potential-toxicity-issues...
As of this writing, that page now reads, "Sorry, the page you were looking for in this blog does not exist."
InfoWars researchers, however, were able to acquire this report from another source, and they provided it to NaturalNews. It states:
Recently, 15 head of Corriente roping calves died as a result of prussic acid poisoning in Bastrop cattle in a clean field of Tifton 85 bermudagrass. While this has never been reported before, results of analyses of rumen contents and the fresh forage confirmed death was due to prussic acid poisoning. Forage specialists and researchers here and the vet diagnostic lab at first denied the possibility of this. Even the researchers and breeders at USDA-ARS -- Tifton, GA, doubted the findings, but after multiple site visits, multiple forage analyses, and DNA analysis of plants from several fields from several environments across Texas, we can come to only one conclusion -- the death of the cattle was indeed due to prussic acid [cyanide gas] poisoning.
Three things are important to note in this statement:
1) This outbreak of cyanide gas producing grass has never been reported before. This is a first, at least in this report.
2) The cyanide gas produced by the grass did, indeed, kill the cattle.
3) This is happening on more than one farm. This report quotes a farm in Bastrop, Texas. The ranch I visited where other cattle perished is in Elgin, Texas. In Elgin, the rancher there told me that many other fields across the county tested positive for cyanide gas production.
It is a hybridized grass, not genetically engineered. There's a huge difference in this. Hybridization means the grass was cross-bred with another grass to produce a sterile new strain with desired traits. Genetic engineering, on the other hand, means inserting genetic material into the DNA of the plant, often from an insect or animal, in order to generate a completely artificial phenotype expression, such as generating pesticides in a corn crop.
I also posed this question to Jeffrey Smith: Is there any evidence that Tifton-85 grass is genetically engineered?
He responded, "I have not heard of any commercialized GM grass. So I doubt it's a GMO."
Other evidence pointing to the non-GMO status of this grass is that the owner of the ranch in question, Jerry Abel, told me he planted the Tifton grass somewhere between 15 and 18 years ago, and it's been baled every year since then, growing back on its own and basically just acting like a very boring field of forage for cattle.
If this is true, 15 years ago there was no GMO forage grass, so that would exclude GMOs from the original grasses put into the field. This doesn't exclude possible GMO contamination from outside the field, but it is at least evidence that GMOs were not originally put into the field.
Unless, of course, you believe Jerry Able is a secret government agent plotting to destroy the world with an experimental deadly gas crop. This idea is absurd, of course, and when I met Jerry Abel and his wife in person, they looked 100 percent like authentic Texas ranchers to me. No evidence of any cover-up, no conspiracy, no foul play whatsoever. Just an open field, some grass, a couple of ranchers, and a whole lot of grasshoppers.
• One of his fields tested negative for cyanide gas. Another field tested positive. Exact same grass, different results.
• Jerry Abel says he did not add any seeds to the field at any time.
• The only thing Mr. Abel added to the field -- and I believe this may be a possible answer to all this -- is chemical fertilizer. It is traditional in central Texas to spray chemical fertilizers on your hay fields once or twice a year.
Cyanide products were widely promoted either as high-quality nitrogen fertilizers or as deadly pesticides. Cyano-gas has been used as a soil and grain-warehouse fumigant. Early advertisements lauded the effectiveness of this gas without defining the dangers. Other suppliers, such as the California Cyanide Company, also sold both ammonium cyanide fertilizer and cyanide gas. (http://www.naturalpedia.com/nitrogen_fertilizers.html)
This company, Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers, produces sodium cyanide in Australia: http://www.csbp.com.au/
In China, the Daesing Chemicals Co., Ltd. produces all the following:
- Potassium Cyanide
- Sodium Cyanide
- Sulfuric Acid / Sulphuric Acid
- Hyaluronic Acid
- Potassium Chloride fertilizer
(http://chemcn.en.ec21.com/company_info.jsp)
Similarly, the XiAn YaXin Chemical Co., Ltd. produces sodium cyanide with the following description:
Sodium cyanide
Molecular Formula: NaCN
Molecular weight: 49.01
Melting point: 563.7
Item Standard
NaCN - 98.0% min
NaOH - 0.5% max
(http://www.ttnet.net/show_html.jsp/garden-hose-nozzles/SS/listprd/Y/c...)
He told them that cyanide gas production from forage grasses is "nothing unusual," and he's heard many reports of other grasses over the years. However, he said that he had never heard of Tifton Bermuda grass producing cyanide gas, so that's a new one to him.
InfoWars (www.InfoWars.com) is also working on a report on this subject and may have that posted shortly.
The fertilizer that rancher Jerry Abel sprayed on his fields may have been contaminated with unusually high levels of cyanide, labeled as "nitrogen."
The plants simply metabolized and then off-gassed the cyanide. When consumed by the cows, it killed them.
Another possible theory is that last year's drought turned into this year's cyanide poisoning. The University of Wyoming writes: (http://www.uwyo.edu/ces/psas/smrr/prussic.html)
Prussic acid or hydrogen cyanide poisoning arises from the release of emulsin, which is found primarily in plant tissue of the sorghum family, and interaction with dhurrin, also found in these same crops. Damage to plants, such as freezing, trampling, chewing results in the interaction of these two plant compounds and the creation of hydrogen cyanide (HCN).
Probably the most common cause of prussic acid poisoning in sorghums is drought. Drought-stricken plants consist mainly of leaves. Animal poisoning can result from grazing or green chop feeding. Regrowth following drought can have deadly concentrations.
I know that some of the more imaginative readers on the 'net may have hoped that I would uncover some grand conspiracy behind the cyanide Tifton grass in Elgin, but as always, I can only report what I believe to be true and factual, and in this case there appears to be no GMO, no conspiracy, no secret experiments, and really nothing that amazing at all.
Thank goodness, because for a while, I was concerned that this might spread and we would be dealing with a runaway epidemic of cyanide-producing grass... "The Happening," where nature fights back against humanity. Because imagine: What would we do if the grass and the trees really did start producing poison gas that killed humans? We'd all be gone within days.
Along with Darrin McBreen from InfoWars.com, who was also present at the farm today, we spoke with Jerry and his wife about the bizarre events that have unfolded there.
There are some mysterious facts surrounding this incident, including the sudden disappearance of a document by Dr. Larry Redmon, entitled, "Potential Toxicity Issues with Tifton 85 Bermuda grass." Earlier this morning, that document was suddenly pulled from the Hays County Agriculture & Natural Resources web page. It originally appeared here: http://haysagriculture.blogspot.com/2012/06/potential-toxicity-issues...
As of this writing, that page now reads, "Sorry, the page you were looking for in this blog does not exist."
InfoWars researchers, however, were able to acquire this report from another source, and they provided it to NaturalNews. It states:
Recently, 15 head of Corriente roping calves died as a result of prussic acid poisoning in Bastrop cattle in a clean field of Tifton 85 bermudagrass. While this has never been reported before, results of analyses of rumen contents and the fresh forage confirmed death was due to prussic acid poisoning. Forage specialists and researchers here and the vet diagnostic lab at first denied the possibility of this. Even the researchers and breeders at USDA-ARS -- Tifton, GA, doubted the findings, but after multiple site visits, multiple forage analyses, and DNA analysis of plants from several fields from several environments across Texas, we can come to only one conclusion -- the death of the cattle was indeed due to prussic acid [cyanide gas] poisoning.
Three things are important to note in this statement:
1) This outbreak of cyanide gas producing grass has never been reported before. This is a first, at least in this report.
2) The cyanide gas produced by the grass did, indeed, kill the cattle.
3) This is happening on more than one farm. This report quotes a farm in Bastrop, Texas. The ranch I visited where other cattle perished is in Elgin, Texas. In Elgin, the rancher there told me that many other fields across the county tested positive for cyanide gas production.
Tifton-85 grass is not genetically engineered
There is all sorts of misinformation on this point all across the internet, and I will no doubt be accused of being an alien lizard Illuminati priest for daring to say something is not GMO, but from all the experts I read on this issue, Tifton-85 grass is not GMO.It is a hybridized grass, not genetically engineered. There's a huge difference in this. Hybridization means the grass was cross-bred with another grass to produce a sterile new strain with desired traits. Genetic engineering, on the other hand, means inserting genetic material into the DNA of the plant, often from an insect or animal, in order to generate a completely artificial phenotype expression, such as generating pesticides in a corn crop.
I also posed this question to Jeffrey Smith: Is there any evidence that Tifton-85 grass is genetically engineered?
He responded, "I have not heard of any commercialized GM grass. So I doubt it's a GMO."
Other evidence pointing to the non-GMO status of this grass is that the owner of the ranch in question, Jerry Abel, told me he planted the Tifton grass somewhere between 15 and 18 years ago, and it's been baled every year since then, growing back on its own and basically just acting like a very boring field of forage for cattle.
If this is true, 15 years ago there was no GMO forage grass, so that would exclude GMOs from the original grasses put into the field. This doesn't exclude possible GMO contamination from outside the field, but it is at least evidence that GMOs were not originally put into the field.
Unless, of course, you believe Jerry Able is a secret government agent plotting to destroy the world with an experimental deadly gas crop. This idea is absurd, of course, and when I met Jerry Abel and his wife in person, they looked 100 percent like authentic Texas ranchers to me. No evidence of any cover-up, no conspiracy, no foul play whatsoever. Just an open field, some grass, a couple of ranchers, and a whole lot of grasshoppers.
Here's a summary of what I learned at the cyanide grass ranch in Elgin
• The Tifton-85 grass was planted in those fields 15 - 18 years ago, long before the experimental phase of GMO grasses.• One of his fields tested negative for cyanide gas. Another field tested positive. Exact same grass, different results.
• Jerry Abel says he did not add any seeds to the field at any time.
• The only thing Mr. Abel added to the field -- and I believe this may be a possible answer to all this -- is chemical fertilizer. It is traditional in central Texas to spray chemical fertilizers on your hay fields once or twice a year.
Cyanide has been used in chemical fertilizers
According to Will Allen, author of The War on Bugs:Cyanide products were widely promoted either as high-quality nitrogen fertilizers or as deadly pesticides. Cyano-gas has been used as a soil and grain-warehouse fumigant. Early advertisements lauded the effectiveness of this gas without defining the dangers. Other suppliers, such as the California Cyanide Company, also sold both ammonium cyanide fertilizer and cyanide gas. (http://www.naturalpedia.com/nitrogen_fertilizers.html)
This company, Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers, produces sodium cyanide in Australia: http://www.csbp.com.au/
In China, the Daesing Chemicals Co., Ltd. produces all the following:
- Potassium Cyanide
- Sodium Cyanide
- Sulfuric Acid / Sulphuric Acid
- Hyaluronic Acid
- Potassium Chloride fertilizer
(http://chemcn.en.ec21.com/company_info.jsp)
Similarly, the XiAn YaXin Chemical Co., Ltd. produces sodium cyanide with the following description:
Sodium cyanide
Molecular Formula: NaCN
Molecular weight: 49.01
Melting point: 563.7
Item Standard
NaCN - 98.0% min
NaOH - 0.5% max
(http://www.ttnet.net/show_html.jsp/garden-hose-nozzles/SS/listprd/Y/c...)
Veterinarian says cyanide gas production from forage grass isn't uncommon
InfoWars.com investigators Darrin McBreen and Rob Jacobson met with Elgin veterinarian Gary Warner at the Elgin Veterinarian Hospital on Hwy 290 East. (http://www.elginveterinaryhospital.com/bov_staff.htm)He told them that cyanide gas production from forage grasses is "nothing unusual," and he's heard many reports of other grasses over the years. However, he said that he had never heard of Tifton Bermuda grass producing cyanide gas, so that's a new one to him.
InfoWars (www.InfoWars.com) is also working on a report on this subject and may have that posted shortly.
Possible theories on what's happening here
After assessing the situation on site, talking to the rancher, reading up on these grasses and conducting additional research, I believe one possible explanation for these events is as follows:The fertilizer that rancher Jerry Abel sprayed on his fields may have been contaminated with unusually high levels of cyanide, labeled as "nitrogen."
The plants simply metabolized and then off-gassed the cyanide. When consumed by the cows, it killed them.
Another possible theory is that last year's drought turned into this year's cyanide poisoning. The University of Wyoming writes: (http://www.uwyo.edu/ces/psas/smrr/prussic.html)
Prussic acid or hydrogen cyanide poisoning arises from the release of emulsin, which is found primarily in plant tissue of the sorghum family, and interaction with dhurrin, also found in these same crops. Damage to plants, such as freezing, trampling, chewing results in the interaction of these two plant compounds and the creation of hydrogen cyanide (HCN).
Probably the most common cause of prussic acid poisoning in sorghums is drought. Drought-stricken plants consist mainly of leaves. Animal poisoning can result from grazing or green chop feeding. Regrowth following drought can have deadly concentrations.
Conclusion
I don't claim to have all the answers here, but what I saw with my own two eyes at this ranch in Elgin, Texas was nothing out of the ordinary, and the most likely explanation for all this seems that the fertilizer contained extra cyanide, or that this was the result of last year's extreme drought in the region.I know that some of the more imaginative readers on the 'net may have hoped that I would uncover some grand conspiracy behind the cyanide Tifton grass in Elgin, but as always, I can only report what I believe to be true and factual, and in this case there appears to be no GMO, no conspiracy, no secret experiments, and really nothing that amazing at all.
Thank goodness, because for a while, I was concerned that this might spread and we would be dealing with a runaway epidemic of cyanide-producing grass... "The Happening," where nature fights back against humanity. Because imagine: What would we do if the grass and the trees really did start producing poison gas that killed humans? We'd all be gone within days.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Cattle Death Mystery
A cattle ranch in Elgin, Texas., where 15 head died after grazing in a field. Tests showed the grass they ingested was producing cyanide gas. (KEYE)
(CBS News) ELGIN, Texas - A mysterious mass death of a herd of cattle has prompted a federal investigation in Central Texas.
Preliminary test results are blaming the deaths on the grass the cows were eating when they got sick, reports CBS Station KEYE.
The cows dropped dead several weeks ago on an 80-acre ranch owned by Jerry Abel in Elgin, just east of Austin.
Abel says he's been using the fields for cattle grazing and hay for 15 years. "A lot of leaf, it's good grass, tested high for protein - it should have been perfect," he told KEYE correspondent Lisa Leigh Kelly.
The grass is a hybrid form of Bermuda known as Tifton 85 which has been growing here for 15 years, feeding Abel's 18 head of Corriente cattle. Corriente are used for team roping because of their small size and horns.
"When we opened that gate to that fresh grass, they were all very anxious to get to that," said Abel.
Three weeks ago, the cattle had just been turned out to enjoy the fresh grass, when something went terribly wrong.
"When our trainer first heard the bellowing, he thought our pregnant heifer may be having a calf or something," said Abel. "But when he got down here, virtually all of the steers and heifers were on the ground. Some were already dead, and the others were already in convulsions."
Within hours, 15 of the 18 cattle were dead.
"That was very traumatic to see, because there was nothing you could do, obviously, they were dying," said Abel.
Preliminary tests revealed the Tifton 85 grass, which has been here for years, had suddenly started producing cyanide gas, poisoning the cattle.
"Coming off the drought that we had the last two years ... we're concerned it was a combination of events that led us to this," Dr. Gary Warner, an Elgin veterinarian and cattle specialist who conducted the 15 necropsies, told Kelly.
What is more worrisome: Other farmers have tested their Tifton 85 grass, and several in Bastrop County have found their fields are also toxic with cyanide. However, no other cattle have died.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are dissecting the grass to determine if there might have been some strange, unexpected mutation.
Until it can be determined why this grass suddenly began producing cyanide, Abel is keep his livestock far away.
"The grasshoppers are enjoying it now," he said.
CORRECTION: As originally published, this story referred to Tifton 85 grass as a genetically-modified product, which is incorrect; it is actually a hybrid of Bermuda grass.
Grass tied to Texas cattle deaths hybrid, not GM
© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.
(CBS News) ELGIN, Texas - A mysterious mass death of a herd of cattle has prompted a federal investigation in Central Texas.
Preliminary test results are blaming the deaths on the grass the cows were eating when they got sick, reports CBS Station KEYE.
The cows dropped dead several weeks ago on an 80-acre ranch owned by Jerry Abel in Elgin, just east of Austin.
Abel says he's been using the fields for cattle grazing and hay for 15 years. "A lot of leaf, it's good grass, tested high for protein - it should have been perfect," he told KEYE correspondent Lisa Leigh Kelly.
The grass is a hybrid form of Bermuda known as Tifton 85 which has been growing here for 15 years, feeding Abel's 18 head of Corriente cattle. Corriente are used for team roping because of their small size and horns.
"When we opened that gate to that fresh grass, they were all very anxious to get to that," said Abel.
Three weeks ago, the cattle had just been turned out to enjoy the fresh grass, when something went terribly wrong.
"When our trainer first heard the bellowing, he thought our pregnant heifer may be having a calf or something," said Abel. "But when he got down here, virtually all of the steers and heifers were on the ground. Some were already dead, and the others were already in convulsions."
Within hours, 15 of the 18 cattle were dead.
"That was very traumatic to see, because there was nothing you could do, obviously, they were dying," said Abel.
Preliminary tests revealed the Tifton 85 grass, which has been here for years, had suddenly started producing cyanide gas, poisoning the cattle.
"Coming off the drought that we had the last two years ... we're concerned it was a combination of events that led us to this," Dr. Gary Warner, an Elgin veterinarian and cattle specialist who conducted the 15 necropsies, told Kelly.
What is more worrisome: Other farmers have tested their Tifton 85 grass, and several in Bastrop County have found their fields are also toxic with cyanide. However, no other cattle have died.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are dissecting the grass to determine if there might have been some strange, unexpected mutation.
Until it can be determined why this grass suddenly began producing cyanide, Abel is keep his livestock far away.
"The grasshoppers are enjoying it now," he said.
CORRECTION: As originally published, this story referred to Tifton 85 grass as a genetically-modified product, which is incorrect; it is actually a hybrid of Bermuda grass.
Grass tied to Texas cattle deaths hybrid, not GM
Monday, February 20, 2012
The weeds eating US ag
US corn, cotton and soybean farmers are facing an epidemic of glyphosate resistant weeds, resulting from “massive over-reliance” on the broadacre herbicide glyphosate since 1996, according to one of the world’s leading weed resistance experts.
Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative director, Professor Stephen Powles, based at the University of Western Australia in Perth, is just back from a three-week tour of the US where he witnessed the growing “epidemic” of glyphosate-resistant weeds attacking the nation’s cotton, soybean and corn belts.
Prof Powles had observed emerging issues with the nation’s over-reliance on glyphosate on annual visits to the US for the past seven years – and has been sounding warnings to its agricultural industry for almost a decade about the inherent dangers of resistance, with farmers excessively reliant on Roundup Ready (RR) crops.
http://sl.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/agribusiness-and-general/general/the-weeds-eating-us-ag/2457637.aspx?storypage=1
Unfortunately, he said the forecast epidemic is now underway.
Prof Powles wanted Australian farmers to be aware of the potential dangers and warned them to respect glyphosate and ensure this “one-in-100-year chemical” remained effective on Australian farms.
“Over-use glyphosate and lose it – that’s the message coming to us here in Australia from the US,” he said.
Prof Powles said the introduction of RR genetically modified (GM) crops in the US in 1996 by Monsanto had been “spectacularly successful”, exceeding industry expectations and sweeping the market to the point where the US’s huge corn, cotton and soybean areas planted them almost exclusively.
In the southern cotton growing regions, for example, he said farmers’ rotations include cotton, corn and soybean – which often meant RR cotton, followed by RR corn and RR soybeans.
Nearly all of the US’s massive soybean crop – 35 million hectares – all of its massive 40m ha of corn and 95 per cent of its 2.5m ha of cotton were RR varieties, he said.
“I don’t call it the corn, soybean and cotton belt – I call it the glyphosate belt,” Prof Powles said.
Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative director, Professor Stephen Powles, based at the University of Western Australia in Perth, is just back from a three-week tour of the US where he witnessed the growing “epidemic” of glyphosate-resistant weeds attacking the nation’s cotton, soybean and corn belts.
Prof Powles had observed emerging issues with the nation’s over-reliance on glyphosate on annual visits to the US for the past seven years – and has been sounding warnings to its agricultural industry for almost a decade about the inherent dangers of resistance, with farmers excessively reliant on Roundup Ready (RR) crops.
http://sl.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/agribusiness-and-general/general/the-weeds-eating-us-ag/2457637.aspx?storypage=1
Unfortunately, he said the forecast epidemic is now underway.
Prof Powles wanted Australian farmers to be aware of the potential dangers and warned them to respect glyphosate and ensure this “one-in-100-year chemical” remained effective on Australian farms.
“Over-use glyphosate and lose it – that’s the message coming to us here in Australia from the US,” he said.
Prof Powles said the introduction of RR genetically modified (GM) crops in the US in 1996 by Monsanto had been “spectacularly successful”, exceeding industry expectations and sweeping the market to the point where the US’s huge corn, cotton and soybean areas planted them almost exclusively.
In the southern cotton growing regions, for example, he said farmers’ rotations include cotton, corn and soybean – which often meant RR cotton, followed by RR corn and RR soybeans.
Nearly all of the US’s massive soybean crop – 35 million hectares – all of its massive 40m ha of corn and 95 per cent of its 2.5m ha of cotton were RR varieties, he said.
“I don’t call it the corn, soybean and cotton belt – I call it the glyphosate belt,” Prof Powles said.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Glyphosate ALERT - Impacting Global Health
A formula seems to have been made to not only ruin the agricultural system, but also compromise the health of millions of people worldwide. With the invent of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crops, resistant superweeds are taking over farmland and public health is being attacked. As it turns out, glyphosate is also leaving behind its residue on Roundup Ready crops, causing further potential concern for public health. Glyphosate is even contributing to escalating rates of mental illness and obesity through the depletion of beneficial gut flora that directly regulates these functions. But it certainly doesn’t stop there.
A recent study conducted by a German university found very high concentrations of Glyphosate, a carcinogenic chemical found in herbicides like Monsanto’s Roundup, in all urine samples tested. The amount of glyphosate found in the urine was staggering, with each sample containing concentrations at 5 to 20-fold the limit established for drinking water. This is just one more piece of evidence that herbicides are, at the very least, being sprayed out of control.
A recent study conducted by a German university found very high concentrations of Glyphosate, a carcinogenic chemical found in herbicides like Monsanto’s Roundup, in all urine samples tested. The amount of glyphosate found in the urine was staggering, with each sample containing concentrations at 5 to 20-fold the limit established for drinking water. This is just one more piece of evidence that herbicides are, at the very least, being sprayed out of control.
Monsonto Corporation
The Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is the world's leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed in the Roundup brand of herbicides, and in other brands. Monsanto is also the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed; it provides the technology in 90% of the genetically engineered seeds used in the US market.[2] It is headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri.
Agracetus, owned by Monsanto, exclusively produces Roundup Ready soybean seed for the commercial market. In 2005, it finalized the purchase of Seminis Inc, making it the world's largest conventional seed company.
Monsanto's development and marketing of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormone, as well as its aggressive litigation, political lobbying practices, seed commercialization practices and "strong-arming" of the seed industry[4] have made the company controversial around the world and a primary target of the alter-globalization movement and environmental activists. As a result of its business strategies and licensing agreements, Monsanto came under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department in 2009.[4][5]
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