The biotechnology industry secures funding from a vast array of public and private sources promising to combat hunger, poverty, malnutrition and now even climate change. Yet large scale cultivation of GM crops is still limited to six countries, with the vast majority of these crops grown for fibre, industrial agrofuels and animal feed, not feeding people.No new beneficial traits of GM crops have been successfully commercialised by the biotech industry despite persistent assurances about the development of drought resistance2 and nitrogen fixation, through to the availability of enhanced nutrients and a reduced need for fertiliser.3Most ‘new’ GM crops turn out to be existing herbicide tolerant and insect resistant gene traits stacked in a single modified crop.
One of the myths about GM crops is that insect resistant and herbicide tolerant crops reduce pesticide use. In fact, evidence from the US shows a dramatic rise in pesticide usage, driven particularly by the use of Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup, on GM herbicide tolerant crops.
Despite this, farmers and communities across the US are suffering the impacts of ‘superweeds’ that have developed tolerance to herbicides that are supposed to kill weeds without damaging the crop.
In response, corporations have developed yet more GM crops, which can resist other toxic pesticides, which were set to be phased out in the US, such as 2,4-D. These crops are currently awaiting approval. Recent research also links glyphosate herbicides to miscarriages, cancer, and damage to DNA and reproductive organs.
More GM info on FOEI website
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