singular_me
9th November 2015, 08:12 AM
pests become superbugs addicted to GMOs? That would be ironic.
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Monsanto Crops Decimated By Pests – Meanwhile, Nearby Non-GMO Crops Thriving
9th November 2015
................ Monsanto has also secured a foothold in India, where its patented Bt cotton has come to dominate agricultural fields. This GM crop, which releases a bacterial toxin meant to control pests such as bollworm, was sold as a way to reduce pesticide use. However, as with so many other GM crops, the reality turns out to be opposite.
But over the years, whiteflies have regularly attacked cotton plants only to be controlled by intensive spraying of chemical pesticides. But this year, despite a new pesticide being introduced and subsidized by the state government, the whitefly attack spun out of control.
As a result of the whiteflies’ decimating Punjab’s GM cotton crops this year, at least 15 farmers committed suicide. And yes, it was Monsanto crops that were decimated.
Curiously, the crop in the adjoining field, and another in the vicinity, showed far less whitefly infestation. In fact, in the adjoining field, farmer Yadvender Singh had sprayed no chemical pesticides at all. Instead, he had used biofertilisers and other non-chemical formulations. Yadvender’s field is expected to yield 800 kg of cotton per acre compared to 300 kg that Manjeet would hope to harvest. In the other plot, a non-Bt variety of cotton too was far less affected by whitefly.............
Some in the agricultural field recognize the downward spiral of the GMO-chemical approach to agriculture and are seeking a different course.
“It is possible that whitefly has developed resistance to the commonly used pesticides,” says Uday B Philar, who heads a Pune-based biofertiliser company, Sequoia Biosciences. Philar spent over three decades in the pesticide industry before deciding to set out on his own, formulating non-chemical, eco-friendly products.
This is similar to the story of herbicide-resistant GM crops which are responsible for the emergence of “superweeds” that are no longer affected by herbicides. The biotech industry’s only response is to develop other GM crops resistant to more toxic herbicides and pesticides, which will only lead to weeds becoming resistant to these as well. But this cycle of more patented GM crops and more pesticide use is what provides biotech corporations so much wealth and power......
http://www.naturalblaze.com/2015/11/monsanto-crops-decimated-by-pests-meanwhile-nearby-non-gmo-crops-thriving.html
-----------------------
Monsanto Crops Decimated By Pests – Meanwhile, Nearby Non-GMO Crops Thriving
9th November 2015
................ Monsanto has also secured a foothold in India, where its patented Bt cotton has come to dominate agricultural fields. This GM crop, which releases a bacterial toxin meant to control pests such as bollworm, was sold as a way to reduce pesticide use. However, as with so many other GM crops, the reality turns out to be opposite.
But over the years, whiteflies have regularly attacked cotton plants only to be controlled by intensive spraying of chemical pesticides. But this year, despite a new pesticide being introduced and subsidized by the state government, the whitefly attack spun out of control.
As a result of the whiteflies’ decimating Punjab’s GM cotton crops this year, at least 15 farmers committed suicide. And yes, it was Monsanto crops that were decimated.
Curiously, the crop in the adjoining field, and another in the vicinity, showed far less whitefly infestation. In fact, in the adjoining field, farmer Yadvender Singh had sprayed no chemical pesticides at all. Instead, he had used biofertilisers and other non-chemical formulations. Yadvender’s field is expected to yield 800 kg of cotton per acre compared to 300 kg that Manjeet would hope to harvest. In the other plot, a non-Bt variety of cotton too was far less affected by whitefly.............
Some in the agricultural field recognize the downward spiral of the GMO-chemical approach to agriculture and are seeking a different course.
“It is possible that whitefly has developed resistance to the commonly used pesticides,” says Uday B Philar, who heads a Pune-based biofertiliser company, Sequoia Biosciences. Philar spent over three decades in the pesticide industry before deciding to set out on his own, formulating non-chemical, eco-friendly products.
This is similar to the story of herbicide-resistant GM crops which are responsible for the emergence of “superweeds” that are no longer affected by herbicides. The biotech industry’s only response is to develop other GM crops resistant to more toxic herbicides and pesticides, which will only lead to weeds becoming resistant to these as well. But this cycle of more patented GM crops and more pesticide use is what provides biotech corporations so much wealth and power......
http://www.naturalblaze.com/2015/11/monsanto-crops-decimated-by-pests-meanwhile-nearby-non-gmo-crops-thriving.html