permaculture

["John Abdon" <jabdon@hotmail.com>]

http://www.holisticmed.com/ge/roundup.html "According to a 1993 report 
published by the School of Public Health at the University of California, 
Berkeley, glyphosate was the third most commonly-reported cause of pesticide 
illness among agricultural workers. Another study from the School of Public 
Health found that glyphosate was the most commonly reported cause of 
pesticide illness among landscape maintenance workers. (Both studies were 
based on data collected between 1984 and 1990.)" Plus other indicators that 
it is far more toxic than generally believed...

http://www.panna.org/panna/ Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) 
for current information.

> From: Greg E <gje@metaphasetech.com>
> Reply-To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
> To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
> Subject: Re: GMO stuff for Guy
> Date: Wed, 04 Aug 1999 17:17:50 -0400
>
> Toby Hemenway wrote:
>
> > Guy: Here are a few bits on GMO's, though I haven't the time to find
> > references for you-this is just off the top of my head.
> >
> > GE plants require more fertilizer and other inputs to grow; this has 
> been
> > established and the reason is simple physics. They are producing extra
> > proteins (Bt protein, or an anti-glyphosate enzyme for Roundup-Ready) 
> and
> > it takes more energy to do this, hence more fertilizer. This is why 
> yields
> > of GE plants are lower. And obviously a Roundup-ready plant will not 
> lower,
> > but raise, the use of pesticides: that's the whole point of Monsanto's
> > marketing it. Glyphosate (Roundup) does not break down in the soil as
> > quickly as Monsanto says (3 weeks in ideal lab conditions); field tests
> > show that it remains in soil for at least a year, in river sediments for 
> up
> > to 4 years. One study showed that when a field was sprayed with Roundup 
> in
>
> Allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment...
>
> How does this glyphosphate compare to other toxic pesticides? I mean in 
> terms of
> residue in the soil, and detrimental effects to "helpful" insects. Though 
> certainly not
> perfect, does not glyphosphate have some less toxic qualities than other 
> pesticides?
>
> Is it a lesser of two evils, perhaps.
>
> Sure I'd love to have a magic answer and banish all pest problems from 
> crops with a
> wave of the wand, and not use Roundup Ready soybeans, or any other 
> pesticides, or
> further aid extending Monsanto's monopoly on the food supply.
>
> But in comparison to other pesticide uses necessary without RR plants, is 
> the end
> result better or worse? I don't know the answer, but I think it needs 
> asking.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Greg
>
>
>
> ---
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