Friday, November 16, 2012

It is a failure on a microbiological level

Well, it has happened, and the top scientists at Monsanto are stumped.  The wonders of Genetically Modified plant technology has in fact FAILED.  Miserably.  The hope and HYPE was that when gene tech guys started to inject BT insecticide genes that through trial and error were extracted from bacteria, and then put into corn plants.  These plants were to be the solution to the world's problems.  Able to grow and produce larger yields with virtually no applications of pesticides, the huge increases in those yields was to be the answer to the burgeoning population. 

That was the hope.  That is the failure.  Genetically Modified corn, soy, cotton, potatoes, squash, broccoli, and others that are on the market, or part of the over 700 plants waiting to be put into production; are obsolete.  As well as harboring potentially deadly side effects for we humans that ultimately consume them all.  The problems stem from the fact that insects have eaten the BT crops, a lot died, but some survived.  And those bred with each other, and now their offspring are able to consume BT crops with impunity.  Gene tech scientists are scrambling to figure out why.  I guess that getting a degree in gene technology never included classes in basic biology that described the process of evolution.

The latest research, a lot going on right here at the University of Arizona, is directed at changing the action of the BT toxin itself.  Researchers are attempting to change the amino acid that attacks the intestines of the insects.  What they found however, was the opposite. Modified Bt toxin provided ‘little or no advantage’ against pests with mutations, while increasing Bt potency in pests where resistance was independent of (desired) mutations. in their report, these modified toxins despite the authors conclusions that ‘insects can probably adapt to modified Bt toxins used alone, or in combinations with other toxins’. This study exposes the lack of scientific understanding of Bt resistance as well as our inability to control it. As researchers search for ways of delaying resistance, resistance is evolving in the fields.     source 

This post so far is just expressing one aspect of the Genetic Modification failure.  It is a pretty important one.  In the past, this has been the MAIN selling point for GM technology.  It still is.  And it doesn't work.  What does seem to work though is that new research shows that BT toxin is not broken down by the human digestive system.  In fact, it is absorbed into the human blood stream, and passed into unborn babies as well.  So far, there hasn't been any research done to find out what BT toxin does to humans.  The only thing that is certain is that the promises made by Monsanto in 1996 that BT toxin would never be absorbed by humans was incorrect.  

 Insects are a part of the natural order of life on this planet.  There are farming methods that don't rely on GM plants, or on the use of heavy applications of pesticides, herbicides or artificial chemical fertilizers.  Modern farming methods, also referred to as "monoculture" is incredibly destructive to the environment.  It is a magnet to insect pests, provides no protection for diminishing weed growth and destroys soil fertility.  Sustainable farming techniques are the basis of organic farming.  They rely on planting a variety of crops interspersed in sections within plots to discourage insects, crop rotation to rejuvenate the soil, and numerous other techniques to increase yields and minimize detrimental and poisonous modern methods.  And all can be planted, cultivated and harvested using modern equipment even though detractors state that organic farming MUST all be done by hand.  But then again there are a lot of lies spouted by modern techno companies.  Kind of like my ex-wife.

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