Green Options » genetically modified crops

Genetically Modified Crops Back In The UK

Kay Sexton — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:54:56 +0000

Leeds University has resumed field trials of genetically modified potatoes just a year after protesters tore up the previous crop.

400 potato plants are being grown to test their modified resistance to a microscopic parasitic worm called a nematode. The failure to inform the public has led to environmental groups claiming the project is ‘underhand’. However, the original three-year permission, granted by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is valid, so the crops can be replanted without having to provide further notice. The land has been protected by fencing and CCTV cameras surrounding the crop and by not telling the public the exact location of the potatoes. DEFRA also says that an independent advisory committee on releases to the environment has said that the experiment will not compromise human health or the environment. Plants on land alongside the research crop will be destroyed when the experiment has finished and the actual field will be left fallow to stop cross-pollination into subsequent crops.

Environmentalists fear contamination and cross-pollination

However, Friends of the Earth (FOE) has said that the potatoes could contaminate other plants near the research site and that farmers, gardeners and people living nearby should know about it the trials.

Food security drives experimentation

This is part of a much wider issue in which the British Government is being heavily lobbied by biotechnology companies who say that warnings of food shortages caused by population increase and climate change mean that biotechnology offers the best chance of food security for the future.

Potatoes courtesy of ColinD40 at Flickr under a creative commons licence

The Mysterious, Disappearing Honey Bee

Lisa Wojnovich — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:51:53 +0000

Honey bees are disappearing. The story has been in the news on and off since 2006, but for one reason or another, most people have paid little attention. And the situation is significantly dire.

“I Am No Lab Rat”, Campaign Against Genetically Modified Foods Spreads Across India

Govind Singh — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:46:49 +0000

Launched by the Coalition for a GM-Free India and Hamara Beej Abhiyaan (’Our Seeds’ Movement), “I am no Lab Rat” is a unique consumer awareness campaign aiming to sensitize the citizens on the impacts of producing and consuming GM foods.

The campaign came as a response to claims by those in the GM industry that Bt Brinjal, a GM brinjal variety containing the toxin producing gene from the toxic bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis, is ready to be introduced into the markets. Bt Brinjal (egg plant) is only one such crop in the pipeline— others like Bt Rice, Bt Tomato, Bt Cauliflower, Bt Cabbage, GM Potato, GM Mustard etc. are all in the process of being commercially released.

Monsanto 1, Common Sense 0 … For Now

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:43:07 +0000

Hats off to Derry Brownfield, a Missouri radio broadcaster who spoke truth to Monsanto’s power and, as a result, lost his access to the broadcast studio in a company he co-founded.

The Corporate Crime Reporter tells the story in great detail, but here’s the tale in a nutshell:

Thirty-five years ago, Brownfield and Clyde Lear established Learfield Communications, now one of the top college sports radio broadcasters in the U.S. Lear bought out Brownfield in 1985, but Brownfield continued to broadcast for the company from its studios, eventually hosting a daily show called The Common Sense Coalition. On that show, he recently started assailing Monsanto, the multinational king of genetically modified crops and a company known for going after farmers who knowingly or unknowingly grow Monsanto-patented crops.