They Live!
A postscript to my previous post on conventionally grown cotton. From the Organic Consumers Association, quoting The Non-GMO Report:
Superweeds spreading in genetically engineered cotton fields
Pesticide-resistant weeds are introducing a new problem to cotton farmers. Traditionally, herbicide resistance is dealt with by simply changing the herbicide. But according to North Carolina State weed scientist Alan York, farmers are running out of options: there are no more effective pesticides to switch to. The majority of farmers in the Cotton Belt are now growing Monsanto’s genetically engineered Roundup Ready cotton, which is resistant to glyphosate pesticides. As a result of the heavy use of glyphosate in the area, varieties of pigweed have developed an immunity to it. Tests at the University of Georgia showed that the pigweed Palmer Amaranth has developed amazing resistance to glyphosate. Scientists doused the weeds three times with a quadruple concentrated dose of glyphosate, but the pigweed continued to grow and multiply. “If you grow cotton in the Southeast, and you have Palmer amaranth in your fields, looking at side-by-side comparisons of resistant and non-resistant pigweed should scare you to death,” York says.
Remember our friend Monsanto? (And when I say “friend” I mean “AGENTS OF THEIR DARK LORD SATAN.”) It’s the brain trust behind the Terminator technology that renders seeds sterile after harvest so that farmers remain beholden to the company every year. It’s also responsible for the highly controversial, genetically engineered version of Bovine Growth Hormone, known as Posilac, used to increase milk production in cows, which would be just dandy if it didn’t also give the cows mastitis while increasing our risk of colon and breast cancer when we drink their milk. Oh, Monsanto was also the leading producer of a little something known as Agent Orange during the Vietnam War in the ’60s and ’70s.
And if you needed another reason not to knit with petroleum-derived acrylic, most yarn manufacturers use acrylic fibers from a company known as Solutia. The parent company behind Solutia? That’s right, kids: Monsanto.
Adelin said,
April 18, 2006 at 10:18 pm
Don’t forget Monsanto also produces Roundup, a conventional weedkiller advertised for use on sidewalks and home gardens. It’s awful for the environment, and is probably related to Agent Orange.
So Monsanto’s tactic is simple: Sell seeds (through a very restrictive contract that limits farmers and punishes them heavily for any infractions of seed use), and sell related chemical weedkiller that matches the plant’s genetically modified attributes. Voila, double whammy maximized profit. They roll in the dough, farmers get the shaft.
It pisses me off.
brooke said,
April 18, 2006 at 11:07 pm
Wow, everything really is connected. (I’m so impressed each day by your mad research skills.)
Liz said,
April 19, 2006 at 11:47 am
Monsanto is the perfect example of the corporate octopus who has its tentacles reaching into every market sector. The movie “The Future of Food” shows how they are patenting seeds. Of plants that already existed, thanks to Mother Nature. It scares me that the govi-corp lets them get away with so much, but the best thing we can do is be ever vigilant against the beast. Buy local. Buy organic. Ask questions. Agitate. (Lather, rinse, repeat).
Keep up these great posts, Jasmin!
margaux said,
April 19, 2006 at 12:51 pm
dude. you’re freakin’ super smart. i invested in a canvas bag so that I don’t bring home any more of those plastic bags!! baby steps… i can do it.
did you ever ransack that quilt warehouse?? ;-)
Katherine said,
April 19, 2006 at 1:15 pm
If you’d like to join me, I call them “Monsatan”
No me gustan the superweeds. I am more worried about that aspect of the whole GMO thing than anything else.
Katherine said,
April 19, 2006 at 1:16 pm
It’s shorter than Agents of Their Dark Lord Satan, although it may not pack the punch.
Adelin said,
April 19, 2006 at 2:27 pm
I personally don’t see biotech as a bad thing — to me, it appears really more like an amoral cog in the big machinery of things. What *is* bad is the corporatism that goes along with the patenting of GMO food, and the high degree of greed and profit motivation behind the research. People have been genetically modifying food for centuries, be it by intentionally doing it themselves (hybridizing fruit) or by accident. The problem is really when corporations like Monsanto compel and coerce farmers to do their farming a certain way, with a certain seed, that places limits on those farmers while Monsanto can have free reign over the seed market.
That’s wrong.
The Worsted Witch » Another BT Cotton Controversy said,
June 9, 2006 at 11:43 pm
[...] Bt cotton is cotton that has has been genetically modified by the insertion of one or more genes from a common soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis. “These genes encode for the production of insecticidal proteins, and thus, genetically transformed plants produce one or more toxins as they grow,” according to the University of Tennessee. (Read more about conventionally grown and genetically modified cotton in this previous post and about our friend and leading purveyor of Bt cotton, Monsanto, here.) [...]
The Worsted Witch » Monsanto Man said,
August 17, 2006 at 12:12 pm
[...] Related articles: 1. Grass! On! The! Loose! 2. They Live! 3. Another BT Cotton Controversy [...]
Kate said,
August 12, 2008 at 11:34 am
No me gusta que Monsanto has the potential to do in the future. Just don’t even get me started on what Monsatan has done to food! Who knew jellyfish were OK to eat??