Another BT Cotton Controversy
Photo by Charles Mason/Getty Images
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. According to the University of Tennessee, these genes “encode for the production of insecticidal proteins, and thus, genetically transformed plants produce one or more toxins as they grow.” (Read more about conventionally grown and genetically modified cotton in this previous post and about our pal and leading purveyor of Bt cotton, Monsanto, here.)
From NDTV.com: “Unusual livestock deaths blamed on Bt Cotton.”
There is yet another controversy linked to the genetically modified Bt cotton plant and this time it is the alarming reports of sheep and goats taking ill, even dying after grazing on leftover Bt cotton fields.
This is what farmers and shepherds in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh are saying.
The central government has reportedly ordered independent toxicology tests on Bt cotton leaves to ascertain the facts.
“They just became very dull and lifeless and died,” said Pendala Venkatamma, describing what happened to her sheep.
Earlier this year in February-March several villages in Warangal reported that sheep and goats were dying in unusually high numbers from a disease they did not recognise.
The only clue they had was that the animals grazed continuously on fields where Bt cotton had been grown.
“They were grazing on Bollguard cotton. In four-five days, they became dull, their stomachs swelled up and they died,” said Gantaiah, a shepherd.
Learn more about “India’s Bt Cotton Fraud” and Monsanto’s charges of bribery and data falsification here and here.
The Worsted Witch » Monsanto Man said,
August 19, 2006 at 4:54 am
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