As problems of GMO crops mount in U.S., Monsanto, DuPont, Dow look to China and India

[seafan]

China ploughs a new corn furrow

By Peter Lee
October 8, 2011

The world's major seed companies are trying to outrun skepticism and bad economics to dominate the world's seed supply with expensive proprietary products. Billions of dollars and the future of the world's food supply are at stake.

The Chinese government is caught between its desire to radically increase agricultural output and its fear of growing concerns by citizen activists over its lackadaisical enforcement of its food safety responsibilities.

As China struggles to cope with rocketing corn demand and a tightening international market, the spotlight has been turned on the DuPont Corporation and its "Xianyu" aka XY335 corn seed.
In a mere five years, XY335 has emerged as the dominant corn variety in north China. However, its rise has been dogged by suspicions that one of its parent strains is genetically modified.

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Very informative piece.


A few of the important points:


1. The genetic changes in corn, cotton and soybean seeds have not demonstrated an increase in seed yield.

2. Monsanto, DuPont (which purchased Pioneer) and Dow, the world's biggest pushers of genetically modified seed, are also the world's biggest herbicide producers.

3. Weed and pest resistance to the herbicides used on these crops is increasing significantly, especially pigweed and corn rootworms.

4. Xianyu 335, the second most popular hybrid corn seed in China, and developed by Pioneer, is suspected of having a GM parent seed. Xianyu 335 has been fed to animals that have subsequently been found to have birth defects in offspring. Miscarriages in pigs fed this variety of corn were also reported in China.

5. GM corn is currently unapproved for commercial use in China.

6. China imports millions of tons of GM soybeans every year, 80% of it is from the US and Argentina.

7. It is reported that the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has stated that it would not commercialize GM wheat and rice seed over the next 5 to 10 years. Since corn in China is used primarily for animal feed and ethanol production, the Chinese ministry may be moving closer to allowing GM corn, because it would not arouse as much furor among the people as genetically modified wheat and rice would.

8. This has been of great concern to citizen activists who are concerned about the safety of the food supply.



In summary:

As the problems and costs of the genetically modified strategy multiply for United States farmers, the end of a profitable run in North America may be on the horizon - and salvation may come from big nations with enormous grain production issues, places like India and China, where governments crave a yield-increasing silver bullet. China has already floated the idea that its moratorium on commercial use of GM seed will continue - with the exception of corn.

In the US, GMO crops are contaminating conventional crops; GMO yields are not increased; weeds and pests are rapidly becoming resistant to the herbicides used on GMO crops; costs from using these seeds are squeezing farmers. This looks like a hitch in the grand U. S. plan for Monsanto, DuPont and Dow.

Contaminating the rest of the world's food supply against the people's will and forcing conventional farmers in other countries into destitution appear to be the continued strategy; only the locations have changed.


The World According to Monsanto



When will the entire world say no?

[denton11]

1. smiles

thanks

[Me.]

2. Thank God

"This looks like a hitch in the grand U. S. plan for Monsanto, DuPont and Dow."

[KT2000]

3. I do not see how

they are going to improve their outcomes by moving to other countries, but their goal is really just money I guess.
As I understand it, India has already been burned by the GMO crops. Just hope they stand up to Monsanto now.