Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumBrazil Farmers Say GMO Corn No Longer Resistant to Bugs
Published on Tuesday, July 29, 2014
by Common Dreams
Brazil Farmers Say GMO Corn No Longer Resistant to Bugs
Farm lobby group calls on Monsanto and other biotech companies to reimburse for additional pesticide treatments
by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer
Brazilian farmers say their GMO corn is no longer resistant to pests, Reuters reported Monday.
The Association of Soybean and Corn Producers of the Mato Grosso region said farmers first noticed in March that their genetically modified corn crops were less resistant to the destructive caterpillars that "Bt corn" which has been genetically modified to produce a toxin that repels certain pests is supposed to protect against. In turn, farmers have been forced to apply extra coats of insecticides, racking up additional environmental and financial costs.
The association, which goes by the name Aprosoja-MT, is calling on Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, and Dow companies to offer solutions as well as compensate the farmers for their losses. In a release posted to the Aprosoja-MT website, spokesman Ricardo Tomcyzk said farmers spent the equivalent of $54 per hectare to spray extra pesticides, and that the biotech companies promised something they didn't deliver, "i.e. deceptive advertising." (via Google Translate)
But Monsanto, et al are unlikely to accommodate the farmers. According to Reuters, "seed companies say they warned Brazilian farmers to plant part of their corn fields with conventional seeds to prevent bugs from mutating and developing resistance to GMO seeds."
More:
http://commondreams.org/news/2014/07/29/brazil-farmers-say-gmo-corn-no-longer-resistant-bugs
Demeter
(85,373 posts)the bugs have evolved to eat this poisoned corn. Darwin rules!
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Ghost Dog
(16,881 posts)and/or anthropomorphic mutation.
As all, including, apparently, those who made/are making much money via these companies, and especially 'mad' environmentalists, predicted would happen.
Take them to court in the Hague.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Now the Corp can blame 'global wide' mutated bugs 'forever more' on farmers who didn't read the fine print.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)But there is absolutely NO reason to oppose GMOs!!!! Because Science!
So let's not develop correct farming techniques such as an effective way to not plant acres and acres of a single crop. No, let's just spray the shit out of it and cross our fingers than the bugs won't adapt. Can you say P R O F I T?
Nihil
(13,508 posts)... in the same way that they had no answer to this one either http://www.democraticunderground.com/112772996