GMO Myths and Truths

GMO Myths and Truths 

- An evidence-based examination of the claims made for the safety and efficacy of genetically modified crops.

by Michael Antoniou, Claire Robinson and John Fagan

Executive Summary:

Genetically modified (GM) crops are promoted on the basis of a range of far-reaching claims from the GM crop industry and its supporters. They say that GM crops:

• Are an extension of natural breeding and do not pose different risks from naturally bred crops
• Are safe to eat and can be more nutritious than naturally bred crops
• Are strictly regulated for safety
• Increase crop yields
• Reduce pesticide use
• Benefit farmers and make their lives easier
• Bring economic benefits
• Benefit the environment
• Can help solve problems caused by climate change
• Reduce energy use
• Will help feed the world.

However, a large and growing body of scientific and other authoritative evidence shows that these claims are not true. On the contrary, evidence presented in this report indicates that GM crops:

• Are laboratory-made, using technology that is totally different from natural breeding methods, and pose different risks from non-GM crops
• Can be toxic, allergenic or less nutritious than their natural counterparts
• Are not adequately regulated to ensure safety
• Do not increase yield potential
• Do not reduce pesticide use but increase it
• Create serious problems for farmers, including herbicide-tolerant “superweeds”, compromised soil quality, and increased disease susceptibility in crops
• Have mixed economic effects
• Harm soil quality, disrupt ecosystems, and reduce biodiversity
• Do not offer effective solutions to climate change
• Are as energy-hungry as any other chemically-farmed crops
• Cannot solve the problem of world hunger but distract from its real causes – poverty, lack of access to food and, increasingly, lack of access to land to grow it on.

Based on the evidence presented in this report, there is no need to take risks with GM crops when effective, readily available, and sustainable solutions to the problems that GM technology is claimed to address already exist. Conventional plant breeding, in some cases helped by safe modern technologies like gene mapping and marker assisted selection, continues to outperform GM in producing high-yield, drought-tolerant, and pest- and disease-resistant crops that can meet our present and future food needs.

Source: http://www.permaculturenews.org/files/GMO_Myths_and_Truths.pdf. Click Here to Download

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230 million hectares of tree cover lost from 2000 to 2012

It is estimated that the world lost 2.3 million square kilometers (230 million hectares) of tree cover from 2000 to 2012—equivalent to 50 soccer fields of forest lost every minute of every day for 12 years 

The World Resources Institute (WRI), Google, UNEP and a group of more than 40 partners on 20 February 2014 launched Global Forest Watch (GFW), a dynamic online forest monitoring and alert system that empowers people everywhere to better manage forests. For the first time, Global Forest Watch unites the latest satellite technology, open data, and crowdsourcing to guarantee access to timely and reliable information about forests.

"Global Forest Watch is a near-real time monitoring platform that will fundamentally change the way people and businesses manage forests. According to data from the University of Maryland and Google, the world lost 2.3 million square kilometers (230 million hectares) of tree cover from 2000 to 2012 equivalent to 50 soccer fields of forest lost every minute of every day for 12 years. The countries with the highest tree cover loss are: Russia, Brazil, Canada, United States, and Indonesia.

"Managing the world's forest resources is today both a local and global undertaking, and technology has provided Global Forest Watch with an unprecedented opportunity to connect not only information and data but people, whether they be forest managers, businesses and private sector, or consumers across the globe. This is a great example of a community coming together and providing the world with a truly groundbreaking and pioneering product. Hopefully in a few years' time we will be able to monitor the impact and the results in terms of what actually happens on the ground that will be both a litmus test and I think the greatest affirmation that the time for this idea had come," said Achim Steiner, UN Under Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director.

Global Forest Watch has the following features:

• High-resolution: Annual tree cover loss and gain data for the entire globe at a resolution of 30 meters, available for analysis and download.
• Near-real time: Monthly tree cover loss data for the humid tropics at a resolution of 500 meters.
• Speed: Cloud computing, provided by Google, multiplying the speed at which data can be analyzed.
• The crowd: GFW unites high resolution information from satellites with the power of crowdsourcing.
• Free and easy to use: GFW is free to all and no technical expertise is needed.
• Alerts: When forest loss alerts are detected, a network of partners and citizens around the world can mobilize to take action.
• Analytical Tools: Layers showing boundaries of protected areas worldwide; logging, mining, palm oil and other concessions; daily forest fire alerts from NASA; agricultural commodities; and intact forest landscapes and biodiversity hotspots.

Global Forest Watch will have far-reaching implications across industries. Financial institutions can better evaluate if the companies they invest in adequately assess forest-related risks. Buyers of major commodities such as palm oil, soy, timber, and beef can better monitor compliance with laws, sustainability commitments, and standards. And suppliers can credibly demonstrate that their products are "deforestation free" and legally produced.

Global Forest Watch can support other users like indigenous communities, who can upload alerts and photos when encroachment occurs on their lands; and NGOs that can identify deforestation hotspots, mobilize action, and collect evidence to hold governments and companies accountable. Global Forest Watch can also help in designing smarter policies, enforce forest laws, detect illegal forest clearing, manage forests more sustainably, and achieve conservation and climate goals.

Global Forest Watch was created by the World Resources Institute with over 40 partners, including Google, Esri, University of Maryland, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Imazon, Center for Global Development, Observatoire Satellital des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale (OSFAC), Global Forest Watch Canada, ScanEx, Transparent World, the Jane Goodall Institute, and Vizzuality. Major companies have also provided early input, including Unilever and Nestle, and the wider Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 Partnership. Core funders include the Norwegian Climate and Forests Initiative, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Environment Facility (GEF), U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), and the Tilia Fund.

Visit GFW at http://www.globalforestwatch.org/ 

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Opposition to Genetically Modfied (GM) Foods in Ghana Intensifies

The fight against the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was taken to another level yesterday as Rastafarians and members of some civil society groups hit the streets of Accra to demonstrate against GMOs and the Plant Breeders’ Bill which is before Parliament.


Groups

The groups that took part in the demonstration were the Rastafarian Council, Food Sovereignty Ghana, the Vegetarian Association of Ghana, the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD), the All African People’s Revolutionary Party and the Earth Replenishers Foundation.

Route

Chanting “No GMO”, “Away with GMO” and “Chooboei” and intermittently singing the national anthem, with emphasis on the words: “…and help us to resist oppressors’ rule”, the demonstrators started from the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, branched through Adabraka and the TUC, passed in front of the National Theatre before converging on the National Arts Centre to address the press.

Under heavy police guard, the demonstrators stopped from time to time to explain to passers-by the implications of the Plant Breeders’ Bill and GMOs.

Placards

They carried placards with weird photos of GMOs, some of which read: “Say no to Man Satan (Monsanto)”, “Monsanto out of Ghana”, “Farmers’ right come first”, “No to the Plant Breeders’ Bill”, “Ban GMOs”, “GMOs will make Ghanaian farmers poor” and “GMO is poison, beware”.

Implications of the Plant Breeders’ Bill

Addressing the participants at the Arts Centre in Accra, the Chairperson of the Coalition for Farmers’ Rights and Advocacy against GMOs, Ms Samia Yaaba Christine Nkrumah, said there was the need for Ghanaians to rise against the imposition of the Plant Breeders’ Bill, which was currently in Parliament.

The passage of the bill will allow the introduction of the GM foods into the country.

Ms Nkrumah stated that the imposition of the bill had far-reaching social, economic and political consequences on Ghanaians and the entire African continent.

She explained that the passage of the bill would disable Ghanaians from having total control over their agricultural and food commodities.

“So can’t we even control our own foods? Is this what our forefathers left for us? Do we want a day to come when someone will control what we eat as Africans?” she asked.

Ms Nkrumah said there was the need for all Ghanaians to come on board to help kick against the bill, since it was not in the interest of the Ghanaian farmer, adding that the call on the ban on GMOs went beyond partisan politics.

Official launch

She also used the platform to officially launch the coalition and called on bodies such as the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, traditional rulers, women’s advocacy groups, youth groups, the National Chief Imam, among others, to join hands and help defend the interest of the Ghanaian.

Ms Nkrumah further called on parliamentarians to help educate Ghanaians on the bill before attempting to pass it into law, adding, “It is full of legal jargon that cannot be understood by the ordinary Ghanaian.”

SOURCE: Daily Graphic, Ghana

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