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Sorry, that was pretty flippant -- forgot I was posting to a list and
not to an individual. I don't mean I think genetically modifying
organisms is somehow intrinsically evil. I mean a couple of things by
that: one, that BT corn and Roundup-Ready corn encourage heavy use of
pesticides and herbicides, respectively (and obviously I mixed them up
in my previous response). Two, that their maker the Monsanto Corp has
"evil" business practices: first they require farmers who buy their
product to agree not to save seed to replant the next year, and then
they sue to prevent any neighboring farmer whose crop was
unintentionally contaminated with the pollen from their product, who
never signed any agreements with Monsanto, from saving seed.
Unbelievably, they have been successful in those suits in more than one
country including the US and Canada. On the other hand, the organic
farmer whose organic certification is jeopardized because his crops are
polluted by neighboring GMO corn has no legal recourse. Corn is
wind-pollinated and extremely easy to cross-contaminate, i.e., if you
ever live anywhere near a field where feed corn is being grown don't
bother trying to grow sweet corn in your own garden, it won't taste
very good (unlike other crops, cross-pollination messes up the current
generation).<br>
<br>
Regina M. Kreger wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid46598963.30403@kreger.net" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">BT corn is one of the possibilities, but the evidence isn't very strong
yet. Personally I kinda hope it is proved, because I think Roundup-Ready
corn is EVIL anyway.
Sarah Wayland wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">The Diane Rehm show had a segment on Colony Collapse Disorder - one
panelist said that there was evidence that the pesticide bacillus
thuringiensis was responsible for the destruction.
I was surprised to hear that, as BT has long been touted as
environmentally friendly, with little or no effect on humans,
wildlife, pollinators, and most other beneficial insects.
Apparently that was wrong.
On a more positive note, the cranberry bushes in my back yard have
been swarming with furry bees! So at least the habitat in our back
yard is preserved.
Thanks Regina, for posting the action alert.
-Sarah
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