Yeah great victory for the environment there
Posted on 06/04/2004 7:25:59 PM PDT by Coleus
Environmentalists Rejoice at Monsanto GM Decision
London -- Environmentalists claimed a victory and the death knell for genetically modified crops on Tuesday as U.S. chemical giant Monsanto declared it was giving up on the GM wheat it had hoped would smash consumer resistance. "This is the end of GM. It is the final nail in the coffin. I am sure the companies will come back with more proposals in the future but basically the damage is done," Tony Juniper, director of green lobby group Friends of the Earth said.
"I am sure a combination of exporters, farmers and consumers has finally got the message back to Monsanto that they can't spin this past the people who can see the truth of what is behind these products," he told Reuters.
Monsanto said on Monday it had suspended plans to introduce the world's first biotech wheat, bowing to a storm of protest. Other genetically modified crops were mainly fed to livestock, while Monsanto's wheat was aimed directly at the consumer.
Environmentalists and consumer groups across the world have campaigned against the introduction of so-called Frankenstein crops, saying they spelled death to the countryside and were unproven on human health. Farmers groups, realizing the rising resistance, have tended to sit on the fence, exporters have campaigned quietly in favor and the chemical industry has championed the technology it has trumpeted as the shape of the future.
"This is great news for the environment, for farmers and consumers," Greenpeace GM expert Ben Ayliffe told Reuters. "Monsanto spent a great deal of time and money trying to push this stuff on farmers and consumers, but despite their best efforts -- even in countries that have historically been very pro-GM -- they have managed to fail.
"This is certainly a significant setback for GM. It is fantastic news because this was Monsanto's big flagship product. It was the product that they thought was going to finally break the consumer rejection of GM," he added.
A spokeswoman for the British Consumers' Association declined to comment on the specific decision but said consumers felt more testing was needed before GM crops became the norm. "We feel that more work needs to be done before GM is introduced. We believe that consumers are the least likely to benefit from GM, while those with the technology will gain most," she told Reuters.
Juniper and Ayliffe both said there was rising resistance to GM crops around the world -- from consumers who didn't want to eat them, to farmers who therefore couldn't see a market. "Monsanto has said it is going to push on with its staple crops of soybeans, cotton, oilseed rape and maize. But if you look at these, 99 percent of them are grown in four countries -- Argentina, Canada, China and the USA," Ayliffe said.
"The markets are not expanding for GM crops. The consumer rejection is there... and I don't think it is going to go away fast," he added.
Ned Ludd lives.
The real losers are going to be millions of people in the Third World who can't grow cheaper, more nutritious drought and pest-resistant crops. To the environmental Luddities better no improvement in agricultural technology. Those whose bellies are empty for want of food can simply starve to death.
Not quite. Those people WILL grow more food, because they will adopt 50's style herbicide and insecticide use. Exactly what occurred in India and Pakistan in the 60's.
Most of the big chemicals are cheap, and really raise yields. Not too too healthy (debatable)especially as they are used in the 3rd world, but what the heck? As long as we don't have to eat perfectly healthy GM foods, that's ok with the Luddites. Probably not so ok for the local wildlife and so on.
I'm pretty sure the idiots in question didn't think this competely through.
Yeah great victory for the environment there
Actually chemicals and sophisticated farming equipment are expensive for farmers. Especially when you need to apply that stuff every season on the field. And what if pests dont get your crops, what if drought does? The bottom line is the environmental Luddites don't care if food can be made cheaper and better tasting. They want us all off the planet.
Eight killed at Russian market.
Too late, enviroweenies. Food has been genetically modified since the first graftings and cross-breedings of crops. Technically, food has been genetically modified for centuries.
I noticed in all their spin Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth-Humans are Expendable didn't mention how a couple of years ago they couldn't have cared less if Africans died because of their lobbying with the UN and dictatorships.
YAY! Starvation makes Africa fun!
"...Greenpeace GM expert Ben Ayliffe..."
He can't be much of an "expert" if he's ranting against GM crops.
related:
Global Warmers Adopt New Tactic
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,121712,00.html
Monsanto is still arrogant as hell.
amazing....how the hell do these people get the money to fund all this crap?
Does Monsanto still sell mutant corn?
They are all nuzzling the public udder!
If anyone from Monsanto is reading this, please design an herbicide that specifically targets chinese elm. Money to be made on that one.
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