Friends of Earth International released a report this month on GM crops called “Who Benefits from GM Crops.” GM Crops are purported to mitigate climate change and to be a solution to feeding the world’s hungry. However, the studies show that, among other things, GM crops are: - Responsible for huge increases in the use of pesticides in the US and South America
- Contributing to widespread deforestation in South America
- Causing massive climate emissions
- Poisoning communities and contaminating the environment (through pesticides)
- Not increasing yields
- Hindering the development of real solutions by starving [farmers] of funding and restricting farmers’ access to seeds and knowledge
Friends of the Earth’s press release states that "The reality is that GM farming is not a success story. Small farmers across the world are already using planet-friendly methods to feed themselves and cool the planet. These methods must be supported rather than environmentally and socially destructive GM farming."
I have not read the report yet (it is 44 pages long), but if and when I do, I will give an update.
I have kept up a little bit on the issue of food insecurity in India, one of the countries in which the corporatocracy is attempting to push their GM corporate-controlled seeds. India has recently rejected a GM eggplant created and introduced by the Indian company Mayco in partnership with Monsanto, who is licensing the genetic strain. The broad public resistance against the GM eggplant indicates that the people of India are clearly not interested in corrupt outside forces imposing their dubious “solutions” on them. The eggplant would have been their first genetically modified vegetable crop, and India is concerned that the plant has not been tested to the extent that it should be. They are also wary of the very real possibility of genetic contamination of the existing types of eggplant already grown in India (of which there are 2,000 or more). With the rising temperatures in India due to climate change and the skyrocketing population growth, crop failures have become a dire problem. Farmers in India have been tragically committing suicide in record numbers in the past ten years, and 70% of those farmers grew the GM cotton that has been touted by industry as evidence that GM crops are the solution to India’s problem.
Some visionaries, such as Devinder Sharma, believe that the real solution is combination of “scientific proven technologies, indigenous knowledge, and traditional wisdom.” To prove his point, Sharma speaks of the success of Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture (CMSA), an initiative to cultivate sustainable crops that began six years ago in small village in India and that has since expanded to 2 million acres in 21 districts. He claims that “more than 318,000 farmers in 21 out of the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh have discarded the intensive chemical farming systems, and shifted to a more sustainable, economically viable and ecologically friendly agriculture.” The results? It “brought in a complete shift from conventional agriculture and offered secure and stable livelihoods. The crop yields have remained the same, the pest attack has drastically reduced, and the soil is returning back to its natural fertility levels. As soil fertility improves over the years, crop yields have started going up still further. More importantly, farmer's expenditure on health problems emanating from pesticides application has also gone down by 40 per cent on an average. There is more money now in the hands of the farmers. The cost of cultivation per acre has also come down by 33 per cent. Take the case of cotton, a CMSA farmer saves more than Rs 12,500 per hectare in a year on account of no application of pesticides alone. With his crop productivity remaining stable, cotton farmers have got a new lease of life. The environment too has become healthier and safe.” Want more good news? “No farmer has committed suicide in the areas where non-pesticides management system of farming is being followed.”
CMSA is currently phasing out chemical fertilizers. I wonder what the results would be if they took it one step further and phased out animal products as well. I guess at this point, one can only dream…
