Canola gone wild! Uh-oh, transgenic plants are escaping and interbreeding

[marmar]

from Grist:




Canola gone wild! Uh-oh, transgenic plants are escaping and interbreeding
by Tom Laskawy

6 Aug 2010 1:32 PM


One of the primary concerns with transgenic (aka genetically modified) crops is the risk of genetic contamination, i.e. the transfer of engineered genes to wild versions of the same plant. The corporations involved in genetic engineering, such as Monsanto and Bayer CropScience, have time and again assured regulators and the public that this risk is minimal. Still, the government mandates "buffer zones" around such crops' plantings and the corporations who sell the seeds have created their own protocols to ensure this kind of thing never happens.

Well, surprise! It's happened. Big time.

Scientists from the University of Arkansas announced at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting the results of a study that showed genetically engineered pesticide-resistant canola growing like a weed in North Dakota. They found that up to 80 percent of wild canola in their sample from various North Dakota roadsides contained genes that conferred resistance to either glyphosate (the active ingredient in Monsanto's RoundUp Ready pesticide) or gluphosinate (from Bayer's LibertyLink seeds).

But it gets better, er, worse. The scientists also found wild canola with both properties. And as lead scientist Cynthia Sagers observed in an accompanying news report, "these feral populations of canola have been part of the landscape for several generations" -- plant generations, mind you, not human generations. Still, this is not a new phenomenon. It's true that biotech companies do sell seeds with multiple forms of pesticide resistance, so-called "stacked trait" seeds. But these wild canola plants managed this interbreeding feat all by their lonesome.

So, these genetically engineered plants -- which, when out in the wild, are considered weeds -- are cross-pollinating and transferring "alien" genes that confer pesticide resistance. The next step in the chain is for the canola to interbreed with other related weeds. Suddenly, the prospect of our nation's bread basket infested with superweeds becomes very, very real. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.grist.org/article/food-canola-gone-wild-transgenic-plants-escaping-and-interbreeding/

[fasttense]

1. They didn't learn anything from the kudzu that's taking over the South. n/t

[elleng]

3. They didn't want to 'learn,' not in the mood.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. Learnin' are unprofitable,

Is our corporations learnin? You betcha.

[izquierdista]

7. Kudzu is not a problem here in the South

There is no surplus of kudzu; there is a deficiency of goats.

All will balance out in the end, which means that soon these "miracle herbicides" will go into the ashcan of history as all weeds become "Roundup Ready".

[SpiralHawk]

8. Roundup is already losing it's effectiveness - Superweeds Abound

After poisoning the earth and the water -- and causing massive mutation in soil biota -- Monsanto's Roundup is headed for the Epic FAIL (R) hall of fame (after having made billions for the corp., of course).

[elleng]

2. No surprise, right?

Like telling the dog to STAY HOME, when there's a bitch down the street.

[Warpy]

4. Canola oil is nasty stuff for a lot of us

because it contains acids that ruin our digestions. It's cheap oil that's probably better for your health than frying everything in butter, but that's as far as it goes. Olive, peanut and safflower are better oils.

However, much of the "green revolution" happened without the use of herbicides; chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and mechanization accomplishing most of the yield increases and the herbicides just cutting down on man hours spent cultivating the crops to get rid of the weeds.

If the weeds suck up GM pollen from other species and decide to use the Roundup ready bits, it's not the end of the world and we won't starve. Agribusiness is just going to have to hire more people to keep those weeds down.

[Skidmore]

10. I loathe Canola oil. I don't buy it. Refuse to cook with that crap.

Ugh.

[Warpy]

11. Thank you

You may now invite me to dinner and expect me to show up, as well as return the favor.

I'm always amazed by how many products there are in health food stores boasting of being prepared with canola oil. Don't they know? That stuff is truly nasty.

[FreeState]

12. Any peer reviewed studies to back this up?

The only place I find anything against the oil is from one source, John Thomas (the same source claims sexual orientation is naturally heterosexual and gays are products of a poor diet...)

See: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blcanola2.htm

[Warpy]

14. I'm sorry you could only find John Thomas

but at this point the evidence is largely anecdotal because the studies have not been done, mostly because a light, unsaturated, tasteless oil is being pushed as the pinnacle of healthy dining.

I did point out that the trigger foods are different for everyone. I have run into people who can't tolerate a wide range of different foods, but canola oil seems to be a relatively common trigger, even though some older sites recommend it as a way to control the problem.

I would suggest people investigate it as a possible culprit, especially when other foods have been eliminated as trigger foods.

In the meantime, if you cook with that shit, do NOT invite me to dinner.

Thank you.

[davidinalameda]

6. I'm not sure if this is a horrible thing

but I certainly don't buy Monsanto's excuse that these plants grew from the GM seeds

[polly7]

9. Monsanto ............... just nasty.

They've fought enough court cases to know their freak seeds can be spread easier than a cold. We had their canola growing all along our fence-line, the seeds blown over from a neighbouring field across the road. I feel so sorry for Organic farmers trying to keep their crops pure and the rest who want to re-use their own seeds. Chances are, they're already contaminated.

[Wednesdays]

13. Canola is great! Kids play it all the time.

For those of you who are video game freaks... :evilgrin:

[eowyn_of_rohan]

15. Kick