Genetically Modified Report 2008 finds pesticide use increasing - Natural Choices

Genetically Modified Report 2008 finds pesticide use increasing - Natural Choices
On of the arguements used by the GM lobby is that GM crops are crucial for dealing with hunger and poverty in developing countries. The latest report from Friend's of the Earth blows this arguement away by showing that no GM crops have been actually developed to deal with drought conditions. In reality GM crops are based on herbicide tolerant strains, what this means is that the crops can deal with heavier use of pesticides than normal crops allowing large, agribusiness, industrial farming to produce cheaper grain- mainly soy and maize, to feed to cattle- which should be eating grass- to make cheap meat, and of course to produce ethanol to feed the craze for bio-fuels. The third main GM crop is of course cotton, where the US has 50% of the world trade, protected by high subsidies and trade barriers. GM is just another development of the industrial food chain that has produced a situation where in the West- US/Europe- overnutition is now more of a threat to piblic health than undernutrition.