toxicity - pesticides, herbicides and insecticides - Blackherbals.com

African Traditional Herbal Research ClinicVolume 8, Issue 6 NEWSLETTER July 2013FEATURED ARTICLESGenetic Engineering: The Global Food andAgricultural CrisisBy Colin TodhunterJuly 16, 2013In 2012, Professor Seralini of the University of Caenin France led a team that carried out research into thehealth impacts on rats fed GMOs (geneticallymodified organisms) (1). The two-year long studyconcluded that rats fed GMOs experienced serioushealth problems compared to those fed non GM food.Now comes a new major peer-reviewed study that hasappeared in another respected journal. This studythrows into question the claim often forwarded by thebiotech sector that GMO technology increasesproduction and is beneficial to agriculture.Researchers at the University of Canterbury inthe UK have found that the GM strategy used inNorth American staple crop production is limitingyields and increasing pesticide use compared to non-GM farming in Western Europe. Led by ProfessorJack Heinemann, the study’s findings have beenpublished in the June edition of the InternationalJournal of Agricultural Sustainability (2). Theresearch analysed data on agricultural productivityin North America and Western Europe over the last50 years.Heinemann states his team found that the com-bination of non-GM seed and management practicesused by Western Europe is increasing corn yieldsfaster than the use of the GM-led package chosen bythe US. The research showed rapeseed (canola)yields increasing faster in Europe without GM thanin the GM-led package chosen by Canada. What ismore, the study finds that it is decreasing chemicalherbicide and achieving even larger declines ininsecticide use without sacrificing yield gains, whilechemical herbicide use in the US has increased withGM seed.According to Heinemann, Europe has learned togrow more food per hectare and use fewer chemicalsin the process. On the other hand, the US choices inbiotechnology are causing it to fall behind Europe inproductivity and sustainability.The Heinemann team’s report notes that incentivesin North America are leading to a reliance on GMseeds and management practices that are inferior tothose being adopted under the incentive systems inEurope. This is also affecting non GM crops.US yield in non-GM wheat is falling furtherbehind Europe, “demonstrating that Americanchoices in biotechnology penalise both GM andnon-GM crop types relative to Europe,” according toProfessor Heinemann.He goes on to state that the decrease in annualvariation in yield suggests that Europe has a superiorcombination of seed and crop managementtechnology and is better suited to withstand weathervariations. This is important because annualvariations cause price speculations that can drivehundreds of millions of people into food poverty.The report also highlights some grave concernsabout the impact of modern agriculture per se interms of the general move towards depleted geneticContinued on page 5655-- Traditional African Clinic July 2013