UGANDANS ''saying no to GMOs'' is GOOD for their small farms and the ENVIRONMENT.
Current industrial agriculture aims to increase crop yields while reducing production costs but the impacts of those goals can be detrimental to the environment, biodiversity, health and sustainability.
Genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) are a product of industrial agriculture.
Genetic modification is a gene-altering technology used to introduce new
characteristics to a plant, which may improve its resilience to harsh
environments, pests and pathogens.
Genetic
modification sounds like a promising option on the surface but it
raises ethical, political, economic, environmental and social concerns
that steer many people away from growing GM crops.
GM
seeds are most often designed to be resistant to Roundup, the brand
name of a chemical herbicide produced by Monsanto. ‘Roundup Ready’ crops
like soybean, maize, beans and potatoes have been altered genetically so they do not
die after being sprayed with Roundup. This allows farmers to spray
Roundup on fields to kill weeds but not the cash crop.
MONSANTO CORPORATE SEED CONTROL.
Monsanto
was the world’s largest seed company, owning more than 80 percent of
all GM seeds planted globally, until the company was bought by Bayer in
2018. Bayer is now the world’s largest seed and agricultural
biotechnology company, and second largest agrochemical company, owning
33 percent of the global seed market and 23 percent of the agrochemical
market.
Corporate control
in the global seed market poses serious problems for small farmers.
Today, just four companies control 67 percent of the global seed market,
and more than 65 percent of the global pesticide market.
Monsanto’s
Roundup and Roundup-resistant seeds initially offered farmers an easy
yet effective solution to addressing crop threats. But Monsanto patented
their seeds, claiming full ownership and control over them, which
forced farmers using the Roundup system of crop production to
re-purchase seeds every season rather than harvesting and saving them.
Monsanto’s
seed patents led to an increase in their seed sales. Higher demand for
Roundup-resistant seeds also meant higher demand for Roundup. And as the corporation made huge profits, many farmers began to suffer. If
Monsanto’s seeds were saved and used again, or if fields became
contaminated with a Monsanto patented seed, farmers and landowners began
getting visits and threats from Monsanto representatives or
investigators.
A report
in 2013 found that Monsanto had 142 patent infringement suits against
410 farmers and 56 small businesses. But farmers were fighting back,
arguing that corporations like Monsanto did not create seeds, and that
there should not be strongly controlled ownership over such vital
resources that are essential for survival.
Farmers,
researchers and concerned citizens also began raising concerns about
the health impacts of Glyphosate which is the main ingredient in Roundup. As
of 2019, Bayer (previously Monsanto) was facing more than 9,000
lawsuits across the US, mostly from former gardeners and agricultural
workers who believe that exposure to Roundup caused their cancer.
Monsanto Environmental concerns
Glyphosate, a harsh
chemical is sprayed on clear-cuts, researchers argue that the use of glyphosate is continually diminishing natural
plant diversity, which has negative impacts on biodiversity and
wildlife populations.
The same can be said about the use of glyphosate (Roundup) on GM crops.
Use
of GM seeds and Roundup has shown negative effects on soil, water and
wildlife ecosystems. The expansion of GM herbicide-tolerant corn and
soy, crops managed with the application of herbicides, has destroyed
much of the monarch butterfly habitat in North America.
On
top of biodiversity loss, the use of herbicides and herbicide-tolerant
crops has influenced evolution. Over the past 20 years, 37 weed species
have developed resistance to glyphosate, and some insects are beginning
to develop resistance to the toxins in GM crops.
Even when GM seeds are used without Roundup or other harsh chemical herbicides, the implications can be harmful.
Remember that the soil contains bacteria,
which lacks a ‘nuclear envelope’ meaning the DNA of the bacteria loosely
floats inside the cell. Bacteria can freely exchange cellular content
including DNA, even if the genes are mutated.
Bacteria
reproduce asexually – some doubling their population every minute – and
can quickly build up populations resistant to every type of chemical
control, which can have serious implications on the growing
of genetically modified plants.
the Government of Australia, which found
cotton plants that had been genetically modified with Bt (Bacillus
thuringiensis) had leached Bt into the soil, causing an altered soil
microbiology. There is a case where a German researcher found that
genes from the pollen of GM rapeseed had transferred into the guts of
honeybees.
Monsanto Economic barriers
GM
crops also pose a threat to wild, non-GMO and organic crops through the
risk of contamination. Contamination from GM crops can occur through
pollination or seed escape, and can bear a great burden on farmers.
Many
Ugandan farmers spend considerable time and money maintaining their
‘organic’ title. When a GM crop contaminates an organic farm, it can put
major financial burdens on farmers who are then unable to sell their
organic crops.
There are
many negative impacts of the unjust control and monopolization of seeds.
Many companies now label themselves as non-GMO to show that they are
not involved with the harmful implications of genetic modification.
Growing
with organic, heirloom and indigenous seeds is an effective way to
support plant, soil and human health, as well as social justice for
farmers who have suffered under the power of giant corporations.
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