There are finally some answers on the productivity of GM or "franken foods". We've have been told for years and years by Monsanto and its ilk that with genetically modified foods in our arsenal we can feed the world. The truth, it appears, is not so much. A report just released by the Union of Concerned Scientists, reflects the results of the first long term study of both intrinsic and operational yields for GM crops versus crops from traditional breeding and selection processes. Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops concludes that traditional genetic crosses outperform genetically modified crops by a wide margin.
So what has been done is to release into the biosphere genetically modified plants with an unknown long term impact, produced herbicide resistant weeds and who knows what other disasters and all for naught. Monsanto has made buckets of money and put thousands of farmers out of business and all for naught. Act 5, scene 5 from Macbeth seems all to appropriate.
"Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."
If you want to read the report you can read it at the link above and there is a concise FAQ as well. It ought to be very interesting to see how Monsanto deals with this.
h/t Marion
No comments:
Post a Comment