- In contrast genetic modification in the laboratory is crude, imprecise and invasive. The rogue genes inserted into a genome to make a GE plant or animal could land anywhere; typically in a rearranged or defective form, scrambling the host genome at the site of insertion. They also have the tendency to move or rearrange further, once inserted, making GM varieties overwhelmingly unstable.
- Last year French government scientists checked five GM varieties already commercialised, and found all the GM inserts had rearranged themselves. Belgian scientists confirmed those results, and found some GM varieties not only unstable but also non-uniform.
From The Weekly Times October 20, 2004
" Have GM crops come a cropper?"
Genetically modified crops are a dead end, argues Mae-Wan Ho.
Genetic engineering of plants and animals began in the mid 1970's under the illusion that the genome - the totality of all the genetic material of a species - is constant and static, and the characteristics of an organism hard-wired in its genes.
But geneticists soon discovered, to their surprise, that the genome is dynamic and "fluid", in that the expression and structure of the genes are constantly changing under the influence of the environment.
The processes responsible for the "fluid genome" are precisely orchestrated by the organism as a whole, in a highly co-ordinated "dance of life" that's necessary for survival.
In contrast genetic modification in the laboratory is crude, imprecise and invasive.
The rogue genes inserted into a genome to make a GE plant or animal could land anywhere; typically in a rearranged or defective form, scrambling the host genome at the site of insertion.
They also have the tendency to move or rearrange further, once inserted, making GM varieties overwhelmingly unstable.
Regulators everywhere turned a blind eye to these inherent problems until the European Union passed a new law in 2001, which requires companies to submit data documenting the genetic stability of each approved GM variety.
Last year French government scientists checked five GM varieties already commercialised, and found all the GM inserts had rearranged themselves.
Belgian scientists confirmed those results, and found some GM varieties not only unstable but also non-uniform.
The GM varieties would all be illegal under the new law.
Genetic instability is a serious safety issue, as the GM varieties are now different from earlier generations that were assessed and licensed as safe for cropping or for food and feed.
This is a major reason the industry is collapsing.
At the end of June 2004, the last biotech giant Syngenta left the UK, following Monsanto, Du Pont and Bayer Cropscience.
The Wall Street Journal, on May 20, wrote: "Biotech's dismal bottom line: More than $40 billion in losses".
"Not only has the biotech industry yielded negative financial returns for decades, it generally digs its hole deeper every year."
Today the Independent Science Panel will present its report, The Case for a GM-Free Sustainable World", to the European Parliament, supported by the confederation of European farmers, organic producers and policy makers.
The report calls on Europe to ban all GM crop releases and to urgently support sustainable agriculture, especially as abrupt climate change is happening.
Industrial agriculture depends heavily on oil and water, both rapidly running out, and GM crops will intensify that dependence. It is getting very energy intensive, and is getting increasingly unproductive as the soil is depleted, causing erosion and flash floods.
There will be no other way to feed the world other than sustainable agriculture, which will also serve to soften the worst excesses of climate change.
A recent example of successful sustainable farm practices is in Ethiopia.
In 1995, Ethiopia's Environment Protection Agency and the Institute of Sustainable Development introduced traditional Indian pit composting together with simple water and soil conservation techniques into the northern state of Tigray.
Crop yields have more than doubled; outperforming chemical fertilisers in most cases and transforming degraded land into productive greenery.
The Ethiopian government has now adopted organic agriculture as a major strategy for food security, delivering good quality, nutritious food, free from agrochemicals and a clean environment.
This is what every country in the world should be doing, rich or poor.
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