Perhaps the pressure to get with the program became too great, and rather than give in to the GMO seed biotech companies, Parliament passed the responsibility onto individual nations in a landslide vote on Tuesday. It is now up to local governments whether to ban or allow growing GMO crops. Not all genetically modified crops are set to take up residence on European soil come spring planting though, there are only 8 GE seed varieties that have been approved as safe to eat by the EFSA. Still, this is not acceptable in the eyes of many organic farmers or environmental groups, and both have well-grounded reasons for great concern.
It’s a rare soul that hasn’t heard that pollen from GM crops are known to contaminate traditional seed crops in nearby fields. It travels just as easily as any pollen does on the breeze and via insects at work. A stiff wind can carry the contamination a great deal farther than the adjacent hectare planted with the same kind of crop. This has happened just about everywhere genetically engineered seeds occupy farmland – in the US, in Canada, in Mexico, and other South American countries. The EU has no fund setup to reimburse any traditional or organic farmer for their losses in the event of cross-pollination… because they are also aware that this can, and does happen.
Worse still, the herbicide tolerant genes are affecting wild plants more commonly known as weeds, creating super weeds and ushering in the need to use far more toxic weed killers than glyphosate to retain expected harvest yields. There is also the dramatic increase of the amount of Roundup that will be applied to countless hectares of cropland scattered across the UK and the continent. This will end up in the waterways, lakes, and wells as has been found in the USA – not just as run-off damage, for it filters through the soil and into underground water veins. A deteriorated form of the chemicals in Roundup do not disappear from the soil or water in a matter of weeks either. If you fell for that song and dance, then you’ll be horrified to know that a single application has been found still present up to 6 years later. Top that off with the deteriorated forms are many times more toxic than the product itself.
Why is it that disease and illness is so prevalent in the United States again? It may not be their disgusting junk food made of nothing but chemicals after all. Not much testing has been done on the product ‘Roundup’ in any stage of deterioration, and those that do exist only tested the active ingredient, glyphosate. Truth be known, the sticker agent chemical is way more toxic than glyphosate, and testing of it mixed with glyphosate turns the duo into a extremely toxic presence for humans, animals, birds, insects, and fish.
Ah, but they are ahead of the backlash that will follow from consumer organizations in the EU. The BBC published a well-timed piece yesterday that proclaims safer GMOs are on the way. Right. The safest GMO is one that does not exist. We do not need them. We have plenty of plants without them that have been giving us food for decades – even centuries. This isn’t the solution to feeding the world. Third-world countries are still lacking the means to buy food – GM seed produce or traditional. The cost to bring GE food crops to harvest is greater than traditional crops. The true answer to feeding the hungry is recreation of balance in spreading out wealth, instead of 1% having 90% of the money in the world.
So, if you’re wondering why we NEED these GMO seed crops – we don’t, but Monsanto, Dow, Bayer and the rest of the Big Ag 6 do. Without them they would have money problems too. They need them to remain hugely profitable businesses with continually growing sales and new product releases. A patent is only good for 20 years, and GMO seed varieties are the only way to continue selling big volumes of a product that anyone can now duplicate… which is why any glyphosate herbicide except Roundup will instantly kill a Monsanto seed crop. It’s viable future insurance for their business interests, not for the good of humanity.
More Info:
- Safer GMOs (more fake stuff to keep old fake stuff in check)
- Just the Beginning of Europe’s Biotech Battles
- EU Passes Controversial Food Law
- Seedy Business