Down on the Farm

China’s rejection of shipments of US corn containing traces of unapproved genetically modified maize has caused a significant drop in exports. According to a new report, US traders have lost $427 million in sales.

Overall, China has barred nearly 1.45 million tons of corn shipments since last year.

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US corn exports to China since January are down 85 percent from the same period last year, the report says.

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China has so far approved 15 genetically modified corn strains for import.

  RT

Genetically modified corn, which produces anti-pest toxin, is no longer as efficient at killing the bugs. The resistance arose quickly [...] in Iowa, it showed up after an average of 3.6 years [...] , due to some extent, to farmers avoiding the simple, but profit-cutting precaution of crop rotation.

  RT

However, crop rotation would have meant the resistance developed a little less quickly.

[Western corn rootworm] has developed resistance to two of three types of Bt toxins currently available on the market.

Not to worry, Monsanto has more, I’m sure.

The lab tests performed by Gassmann and his team have revealed that a case of cross-resistance is in place as the pests that had become resistant to Cry3Bb1 were also resistant to mCry3A.

Ooops. Cross-resistance.

And what about the battle against weeds? Of course you know that Monsanto – manufacturer of Roundup (glyphosate) herbicide also genetically modified crops to be glyphosate-tolerant, permitting them to sell lots and lots of Roundup.

Around 93 percent of all soybean crops planted in the US last year involved GMO, herbicide-tolerant (HT) variants, the USDA acknowledged, and HT corn and HT cotton constituted about 85 and 82 percent of total acreage, respectively.

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“Because glyphosate is significantly less toxic and less persistent than traditional herbicides,” a portion of the [USDA] report reads, “…the net impact of HT crop adoption is an improvement in environmental quality and a reduction in the health risks associated with herbicide use (even if there are slight increases in the total pounds of herbicide applied). However, glyphosate resistance among weed populations in recent years may have induced farmers to raise application rates .Thus, weed resistance may be offsetting some of the economic and environmental advantages of HT crop adoption regarding herbicide use. Moreover, herbicide toxicity may soon be negatively affected (compared to glyphosate) by the introduction (estimated for 2014) of crops tolerant to the herbicides dicamba and 2,4-D.”

  RT

Mmmmmm….agent orange.

  ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.