| Transgenic Canola is a Survivor |
|
|
|
| Written by Kiki Hubbard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, 11 April 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Transgenic crops are already woven through the North American landscape, this we know. And the persistence of these crops in the environment, even after the harvest is gathered and shipped, is more evident with each passing season. Let's take the case of canola (known as rapeseed outside North America), a crop with a long seed dormancy that makes "volunteer" plants a well-known reality. (Volunteer plants are those that sprout from seeds not intentionally sown, such as seeds that fall from previous crops only to germinate years later.) A new study out of Sweden confirms this reality, proof that transgenic canola can volunteer in fields many years after it's sown – at least 10 years, in fact. Researchers took samples from a field where transgenic canola was planted in test plots 10 years prior and discovered that about 40 percent of their samples tested positive for a transgenic trait that confers herbicide tolerance. Because the test plots where this canola was grown 10 years ago had controls in place for preventing this sort of thing, researchers note that volunteer canola is probably more prevalent in commercial fields where no restrictions on planting, including managing for volunteers, applies. Canola is the fourth most commonly grown transgenic crop in the world, behind soy, corn, and cotton. Too bad the same precaution wasn't taken for transgenic canola back in 1996. Since then, numerous environmental and economic problems have surfaced, especially in Canada, where most canola is produced. The rampant spread of transgenic canola has made controlling volunteers extremely difficult. Not only do volunteers spread transgenic material for years to come, but these plants can't easily be eradicated through chemical controls. Canadian growers now find canola plants volunteering in subsequent seasons that are resistant to three herbicides owned by different companies. And to complicate things further, resistant traits are moving into weeds themselves through cross-pollination. What we see is the opposition to GE crops growing and the supply of non-GE canola shrinking. When it comes to a true alternative to transgenic and contaminated conventional canola, however, organic canola growers say forget about it. They contend that transgenic canola has made it impossible to grow organic canola and even went so far as to file a lawsuit against Monsanto and Aventis Cropscience on behalf of all organic canola growers in Saskatchewan. It's clear that Canada's experience with transgenic canola has been instructive. But will the U.S. and other countries pay heed?
Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.12 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
It's true what our moms said...we are what we eat. In fact, it's truer than they thought. What I eat doesn't just affect me anymore, it affects all of us.
Unfortunately, the story of food can sometimes be complicated. But envirovores help each other out...which is why this blog will be bringing you news, tips, and information about food and the environment every step of the way.
