Institute for Responsible Technology

Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide—Featuring the Darth Vader Chemical

admin — Tue, 14 May 2013 02:06:13 +0000

It was “supposed” to be harmless to humans and animals—the perfect weed killer. Now a groundbreaking article just published in the journal Entropy points to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, and more specifically its active ingredient glyphosate, as devastating—possibly “the most important factor in the development of multiple chronic diseases and conditions that have become prevalent in Westernized societies.”

That’s right. The herbicide sprayed on most of the world’s genetically engineered crops—and which gets soaked into the food portion—is now linked to “autism … gastrointestinal issues such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diarrhea, colitis and Crohn’s disease, obesity, cardiovascular disease, depression, cancer, cachexia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and ALS, among others.”

Enjoy this videotaped guided tour of Jeffrey Smith interviewing co-author Stephanie Seneff, PhD, a Senior Research Scientist at MIT.

Genetic Jailbreak: GMO Fungus Escapes in New Zealand

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 23:16:34 +0000

There is now another fungus, among us…this one being an escapee from a genetic engineering laboratory at Lincoln University in New Zealand. The refugee fungus, named Beauveria bassiana, occurs naturally in soils throughout the world and has been employed by mankind as a biological insecticide to control a variety of pests. In a classic case of mistaken identity, scientists confused the GMO fungus with its wild strain already present in the environment. As a result, despite constant reassurances given the public that potentially dangerous organisms are contained securely within research labs, this experiment was not conducted within the required and approved genetic modification containment facilities. The buildings suspected of the leak have been shut down until the severity and extent of the situation are fully understood. Don’t hold your breath, though; almost two weeks after the incident, investigators are still at a loss as to how it occurred. To top that off, both the university and research agency involved had been previously implicated or found responsible for other GE experiment breaches. So much for safeguards and assurances. Tragically, self-propagating genetic pollution is permanent. It cannot be recalled from the environment.

Oops! GMO Cotton Loses Its Natural Defenses Against Pests

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 23:07:42 +0000

The aphid and other crop-eating insect pests are having a “field day” (pun intended) now that their main predators have been removed from the ecological food chain. After being genetically modified with new defense mechanisms, crops such as Bt cotton are showing considerably weaker biological defenses against secondary pests. According to new research just published by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Bt cotton crop—now armed with an internal poison to ward off its number one enemy, the voracious caterpillar—is no longer well-equipped to defend itself against all those things the caterpillars use to munch on. With this primary predator all but eradicated from the cotton-farming ecosystem, new pests such as the aphid have taken their place, causing a new, potentially more dangerous, threat to the success of agriculture. Herein demonstrates the collateral damage of GMO technology: Pull one string in the tapestry of nature and the entire fabric may unravel.

Roundup Shrinks Monarch Butterfly Population

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 23:01:53 +0000

The beautiful, regal North American Monarch butterfly—chosen as an official insect by seven U.S. states—is dwindling in numbers and is currently at the lowest level ever measured: 18 times less than in 1996. One main reason? Genetically engineered crops are destroying its habitat and disrupting its food chain. Starting in 1997, when Midwestern farmers started spraying Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide on GMO soy and corn fields, one of the “weeds” they killed off was the milkweed plant, the primary source of food for Monarch butterfly larvae. Since then, the agricultural use of this dangerous herbicide has tripled, now being sprayed on an additional 25 million acres of Roundup-Ready crops. Other factors contributing to the species’ decline are illegal logging in Mexico where the insect spends its winters, and extreme weather patterns resulting almost certainly from man-made climate change. The beloved Monarch not only plays an integral role in the ecosystem, but has brought economic benefit to Mexico and other regions, where it is a major tourist attraction. Farmers and gardeners are now being encouraged to plant milkweed and other native plants to boost the butterfly’s numbers.