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Tue 26 Jun 2007
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GM crops:  'Point of no return in ten years'
SYBILLE DE LA HAMAIDE


EUROPE will increase its genetically modified (GMO) crop area by
50,000-100,000 hectares a year over the next decade, US biotech giant
Monsanto has said.

"It will be slow but within ten years GMOs will have reached the point of
no return," said Jean-Michel Duhamel, Monsanto's director for southern
Europe.

"The technology will not impose itself on consumers but consumers will
better understand the usefulness of GMO technology as farmers increasingly
adopt it," he added.

In France, the world's largest seed maker, GMO maize - the only biotech
crop allowed in the country - was expected to be grown on 600,000 hectares
in ten years, against 25,000 in 2007, despite fierce opposition to GMOs in
the country.

"It is more complicated in France than elsewhere but if we reach a 50 per
cent rise (in area) per year it wouldn't be bad, as at world level we
expect it to rise 20 per cent," Duhamel said.

French consumers are well known for their scepticism, if not hostility, to
GMO crops. "Within the next few years there will likely be some
turbulence," Duhamel said. "Consumers receive false information on what GMO
crops are so they are afraid. But I'm sure that within ten years they will
have accepted them."

This year, French farmers have sown 25,000 hectares of special maize, which
has been modified to resist insect pests.

Related topic

GM food
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=9
This article: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=994862007



Comments

1. Ian Forrester, Calgary, Alberta / 2:52am 26 Jun 2007 "Consumers receive
false information on what GMO crops are." So very true, unfortunately, most
of this false information is put out by the very companies selling the GM
seeds. One need only refer to the report by Monsanto on their MON 863 maize
to see how they distort information. The report, finally released after a
legal battle showed up the same types of abnormalities originally reported
by Dr. Arpad Pusztai. The GMO zealots vilified Pusztai when his report was
published almost 10 years ago.

The spin doctors at Monsanto claimed that the effects caused by their MON
863 maize were due to "normal biological variation."

The moral of this is "DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT MONSANTO SAYS."

Anyone who is seriously interested in obtaining factual information should
visit the GMWatch.org website.

2. Michael Leonard, Edinburgh / 3:00am 26 Jun 2007 Burn it all.

3. FreedomFighter, USA / 4:39am 26 Jun 2007 another way the man is keeping
us down. we should burn it all yea, that is an answer to it all.you cant
respond with ideas just words. why dont you start your own farms? the fact
is you people have no real ideas about farming, pool your moneys together
and dooooo something. buy some land and grow your own food but that would
not happen.

4. Guthrie / 8:27am 26 Jun 2007 Oh no, we have no idea about farming,
despite doing it for around 3,000 years or more in Western Europe.
:rolleyes:

5. 57Nomad, california / 9:54am 26 Jun 2007 #4 Guthrie

I think #3 was using the personal 'you' rather than the general 'you.'
There are few commercialized agricultural products that have never been
purposefully modified. That includes animals as well. Animal breeding is
just a slow form of genetic modification. Plant hybridizing is the same.

The type of genetic modification being done in the laboratory will produce
crops that will feed hungry people. Opposition to it seems emotionally
rather than rationally driven. I'm not clear what the primary objection is.
Could you tell me?

6. Cauchy Riemann, Wales / 10:07am 26 Jun 2007 I agree that we will reach
the point of no return - but for entirely different reasons. Cross
contamination from GM crops occurs and will essentially contaminate most
non GM crops in time.

Despite the usual initial government and pro GM 'scientist' denials that
cross contamination would occur, it clearly has.

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GMCANCEP.php

Plans for full commercial go ahead in the UK are in the pipeline. It would
allow farmers to plant GM oilseed rape just 35 metres from non-GM crops.
The minimum distances for GM maize would be longer, 80 metres for forage
maize, and 110 metres for grain maize.

You only have to look at motorway verges to see that such distances will
not stop cross contamination.
In Canada, the introduction of GM oilseed rape has all but wiped out the
organic oilseed rape industry.

This pathetic Labour government have repeatedly forced the GM agenda when
there is widespread public opposition to it, and clear evidence that
organic farming wouldn't be sustainable. Lets face it there is one area
where Labour excels. Ignoring democracy and pushing forward insane ideas.

Soil Association Policy Director, Peter Melchett said:

"The Government's proposals to deny organic and other farmers the choice of
staying free of GM contamination break their repeated promises to keep
organic food uncontaminated by GMOs. It is now clear that on top of banning
choice and breaking their word, they will also be breaking the law."

and even Michael Meacher, former Environment Minister was critical:

"This consultation is the Government's latest attempt to back the GM
industry over the wishes of the British public. Instead of paving the way
for GM crops to be grown in England, David Miliband must take on board the
thousands of responses rejecting the Government's GM contamination plans
and put in place policies that protect GM free food and truly promote his
vision of sustainable farming."

Labour are just filth.

7. Dragomir / 11:43am 26 Jun 2007 #5, actually they produce crops which are
more expensive and posiblity toxic, so not only will it feed less people,
less poor people, but it could also hurt some of them too.


I want to make a clear observation here for readers:


NOTICE WHO IS SAYING THAT EUROPE WILL INCREASE ITS GM CROPS:
--- M o n s a n t o --- a (the) chemical industry giant.


KEEP FOOD CLEAN and NATURAL.

8. AD in sunny Livingston / 12:11pm 26 Jun 2007 Want to stop this
happening?? Read the labels on your food and don't buy anything with
modified ingredients in it.

It's scary how many manufacturers use modified ingredients - even in a lot
of the yogurts/fromage frais aimed at giving the impression of healthy
lifestyles and also children's stuff.

It's not right and it's not healthy. We don't yet know all the long-term
consequences of a diet filled with modified food but do you want yourself
and your family to be the guinea pigs?

9. AD in sunny Livingston / 12:12pm 26 Jun 2007 Oh yes, and write to the
manufacturers of the products you're NOT buying - it's so easy to email in
this techno age.

Hopefully they'll get the message!

:o)

10. Macbeth / 1:14pm 26 Jun 2007 So if what Monsanto says isn't true, and
if what NGOs say is true, why do more farmers plant more GM crops in more
countries every year?
Are people really saying that us farmers are stupid - season after season?
No, of course not.
Roll on the next generation with stress resistant crops so that they can
withstand floods and drought. They're in field trials in the U.S. my
friends tell me - at least other governments let their farmers choose which
crops to sow.

11. Em / 1:44pm 26 Jun 2007 Most people don't realise what is involved in
the genetic modification of crops. Genetic engineering is really a cell
invasion technology.

Monsanto have created genetically modified seeds where the plant itself
acts as an insecticide and it is also immune to roundup herbicides, in
order for them to do this they must invade the plants cells with a
combination of DNA from soil bacteria which is immune to the herbicide as
well as e-coli viruses.

Cells will naturally reject foreign DNA so they developed a method using
soil bacteria that causes tumours in plants, they use this bacteria to
ferry the engineered DNA into the plants nucleus. One other thing they add
to this cocktail of DNA is an anti-biotic marker gene, a gene which is
resistant to a specific anti-biotics.

The most cataclysmic force in the food system right now is the fact that
the medical community is terrified about the loss of anti-biotics, nobody
really understands how using anti-biotic marker genes in genetic
engineering techniques might contribute to the problem.

12. Em / 2:05pm 26 Jun 2007 Another issue regarding GM crops is that of
patent law. The U.S patent office for around 200 years did not allow
patents on living organisms. The right to patent is guarenteed in article 1
of the conststution, food crops were excluded from patenting on moral
grounds. Now with the reforms in patent law companies such as monsanto are
allowed to patent genes and the law says that whatever plant that gene goes
into the company holding the patent for that gene also holds ownership of
the plant containing it. This has resulted in many farmers loosing
ownership of there crops due to cross pollenation even though the farmers
did not want these GM crops in there fields.
Monsanto has spent billions of dollars buying up seed companies and by the
1990's corporations began patenting not only GMO seeds but seeds that
heven't been genetically engineered, the only requirement is that they have
not been patented before. this has opened the floodgates for the patenting
of any kind of genetic material including human DNA.

There are two very specific patent claims in this field that are quite
threatening. One of them is one that Monsanto has where it's claimed the
species of soybeans. Any biotech work on the crop of soybeans anywhere in
the world is a violation of Monsanto's patent. The idea that you can
actually own an entire species of a major crop is simply outrageous.

One of the other big company's based in Switzerland, Syngenta has actually
got a claim on how a plant flowers. So it's actually the strip of DNA that
allows a plant to flower. And it's said that this claim applies to 40
different species in the food system including rice and wheat, bananas and
so on. So if Syngenta's patent claim is ever accepted, Syngenta would own
the world's food supply basically all by itself.

A good documentary which includes many of these issues is posted below.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=431045082641394...

13. aljok.23, the world / 2:37pm 26 Jun 2007 The last freedom outpost on
the planet. The freedom to grow food. Stolen from our mouths by
'frankenstein' crops and their 'owners??' . I agree with 1 . Burn them
where you find them as they are an offence to Man and Nature. And for all
the bleating bairns who will reply to support GM food . Please allow me the
legal right to cut off your fundamental right to procreate and breath and
we'll just be getting to the Orwellian dream.

14. AngusMor, God's Own Island / 3:29pm 26 Jun 2007 KEEP FOOD CLEAN and
NATURAL.

How exactly? Everything we eat is totaly unrecognisable as NATURAL. There
are 9000 species of potato, of which 5000 are in Europe. 3000 years ago,
there were 2 species of potato.

Look, GM is coming, no way round it, better get used to it. Personally, if
they can produce drought resistant crops, crops that require less inputs
and produce larger yields in a smaller area faster than nature, then it's
all good.

15. Ian Forrester, Calgary, Alberta / 5:10pm 26 Jun 2007 Re 10: The reason
that US farmers are growing so many GM crops is "SUBSIDIES". Using GM they
can plant more acres and get more dollars from their government.

GM crops are increasing in developing countries because of corrupt
governments being bought by Monsanto dollars (check out the Phillipines and
India).

Re 11: There is one other constituent in the witches' brew, the cauliflower
mosaic virus promoter. This gene is inserted to encourage high expression
of the other inserted genes. However, there is no knowing what it may do to
other previously "silent" genes such as genes coding for plant toxins which
have been bred out (or at least their expression has been bred out, the
genes may still be present).

16. Eve, Scotland / 8:36pm 26 Jun 2007 Technology advance not because
people want or have a need for it BUT because technology can advance.

We've created a monster people it's called "Technology" There's just no
stopping it, run for your life the Killer tomatoes are about to attach.

OK I'm exsadurating, May be GM food is Safe and then again they said the
beef from cows who were feed cattle would be safe to eat & look what
happened BSE spread and gave us v.CJD. Something we still no little
about!!!

17. Macbeth / 8:39pm 26 Jun 2007 Re 15. Only 10% of the 10 million farmers
who planted GM crops last year were NOT from developing countries. The 9
million from China, India, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Phillipines etc
are poor with just a few acres.
Re 12, patents last for a set number of years (about 15 - 20). then it's a
free for all in every indstry when a new invention comes along.
Re 11. ARMs fears may have been understandable in the early days (GM
technology was invented in the '70s) but now even the British Medical
Association agrees with the Royal Society and says GM crops and food are ok
once regulaters say so.
I just want farmers to have the same choice my mainland conpetitors have in
the EU and elsewhere..

18. cjammenheuser, New York State, USA / 8:53pm 26 Jun 2007 There is
growing proof that bees who have been exposed to these engineered crops are
dying- whole hives of bees are dead/ disappeared-
why would these crops not also over a period of time have a similar effect
of humans?

19. Em / 9:58pm 26 Jun 2007 17 Macbeth
What makes you think the regulators can be trusted?
If climate change and the CJD fiasco can teach us anything, it is that
science is too important to be left to the politicians or to a scientific
establishment in bed with big business. Our academic institutions have
given up all pretence of being citadels of higher learning and
disinterested enquiry into the nature of things; least of all, of being
guardians of the public good. The corporate take-over of science is the
greatest threat to our survival and the survival of our planet. It must be
resisted and fought at every level.

"Biotechnology and GM crops are taking us down a dangerous road, creating
the classic conditions for hunger, poverty and even famine. Ownership and
control concentrated in too few hands and a food supply based on too few
varieties of crops planted widely are the worst option for food security."
Christian Aid report - Biotechnology and GMOs

History has many records of crimes against humanity, which were also
justified by dominant commercial interests and governments of the day...
Today, patenting of life forms and the genetic engineering which it
stimulates, is being justified on the grounds that it will benefit
society... But in fact, by monopolising the 'raw' biological materials, the
development of other options is deliberately blocked. Farmers therefore,
become totally dependent on the corporations for seeds.

Dr Mae Wan-Ho, geneticist in the UK Open University Department of Biology
says: "Genetic engineering bypasses conventional breeding by using
artificially constructed parasitic genetic elements, including viruses, as
vectors to carry and smuggle genes into cells. Once inside cells, these
vectors slot themselves into the host genome. The insertion of foreign
genes into the host genome has long been known to have many harmful and
fatal effects including cancer of the organism."

#18 I think you may be correct as I have also thought that GM crops have
been the most probable cause for the disappearing bees, the main stream
media however refuses to put the two together because GM crops must be seen
as safe.

A former agronomist has commented that the one trial of GM crops in the
Netherlands quickly led to colony collapse within 100 kilometers of the
fields, and it's reasonable to hypothesize nature's pollinators would bear
an averse reaction to plants with poison coursing through every stem.
"The amount of Bt in these plants is enough to trigger allergies in some
people, and irritate the skin and eyes of farmers who handle the crops,"
writes Patrick Wiebe. "In India, when sheep were used to clear a field of
leftover Bt cotton, several sheep died after eating it." If it can kill a
sheep it can certainly kill a bee.

http://www.gmwatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=1&pa

20. Paula / 10:36pm 26 Jun 2007 Why is Europe allowing an American company
to do this?

21. Dragomir / 12:26am 27 Jun 2007 #14, you're confusing agriCULTURE
(that's what that words mean, CULTIVATING a species) with genetic
manipulation. Humans have "helped" certain plants e-v-o-l-v-e to suit their
needs, that takes many years of trial and error and very slow progress -
that's how we know they're good to eat. GM crops are nothing like the old
ways of eugenics and cross-breeding, GM crops are completly NEW species
which may or MAY NOT react as their "parents" have. The safety of these
crops has never been decently tested!

I'm not even going to delve into the topic of patents on this, I see some
have already pointed out the problems above.

I'm not even sure burning the GM crops would be a good idea. First they
would have to be removed from the soil, so they don't leave a permanent
toxicity in it.

22. Another US Foible, USA / 3:48pm 27 Jun 2007 Look at what America has
done in the middle-east. Do you honestly think they know what they are
doing. Multinationals such as Monsanto had a blueprint for Iraqs
agriculture before the war. The Americans posted here are either extremely
ignorant or work for companies to debunk critiscism. It has been thirty
years now since we first heard GMO's will feed the world. There is more
starvation than ever! One post mentions that it is important not to buy
products containing modified ingredients. We in the US of A have never had
that choice, it is a secret to most consumers. One post asks if US farmers
are that stupid, farmers are not, but most of our agriculture is produced
through government agribusiness, massive energy intense systems subsidized
to contaminate at will. Democracy, the corporations joke on the people,
everytime we vote to resist them, they take away more local and state
rights. We always looked to Europe as those who could save us from this
control through their resistance. It looks like we're going to have to
learn the hard way.

23. Another US Foible, America / 5:21pm 27 Jun 2007 To freedom fighter, The
genocide (I mean war) was a good idea too? We do grow our own food. So we
don't have to clean up the messes your type produces.