permaculture

[<fdnokes@hotmail.com>]

From: Comox Valley Friends of Farming 
Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 5:04 PM
Subject: GE ravaged crops


GE  ravaged crops

Major crops genetically modified for just two traits - herbicide tolerance 
and insect resistance - are ravaged by super weeds and secondary pests in the 
heartland of GMOs as farmers fight a losing battle with more of the same; a 
fundamental shift to organic farming practices may be the only salvation.

Two traits account for practically all the genetically modified (GM) crops 
grown in the world today: herbicide-tolerance (HT) due to 
glyphosate-insensitive form of the gene coding for the enzyme targeted by the 
herbicide, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), derived from 
soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and insect-resistance due to one or 
more toxin genes derived from the soil bacterium Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). 
Commercial planting began around 1997 in the United States, the heartland of 
GM crops, and increased rapidly over the years. By now, GM crops have taken 
over 85-91 percent of the area planted with the three major crops, soybean, 
corn and cotton in the US [1]] (see Table 1), which occupy nearly 171 million 
acres.

Please circulate widely, keeping all links unchanged, and submit to your 
government representatives demanding an end to GM crops and support for 
non-GM organic agriculture

Excellent ISIS article:  

With directions to circulate widely,

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GMCropsFacingMeltdown.php 

Institute of Science in Society



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