Biotech fairy tales debunked

FAIRY TALES

"The longer we deny ourselves this technological way to increase food output and reduce the use of fertiliser, the longer the current imbalance between food supply and demand will last." Author: Bill Emmott, former editor of The Economist Title: GM crops can save us from food shortages
Source: The Telegraph, 17 April 2008 http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opi...

"It is Africa which could benefit most from GM technology, especially from newly-developed strains of drought-resistant crops." Author: Dominic Lawson, former editor of The Telegraph Title: Feed the world? Tear down trade barriers and let GM crops flourish across the globe
Source: The Independent, 18 April 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/dominic...

"Biotechnology and crops developed through biotechnolgy really have done wonderful things in terms of crop yield, drought resistance and insect resistance." Speaker: The Bush Administration's Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economic Affairs, Dan Price Occasion: Press briefing on food aid Source:The White House, 2 May 2008 http://www.monsanto.co.uk/news/ukshowlib.phtml?uid=13084

THE FACTS

FERTILISER REDUCTION?
"...in spite of studies conducted over the past few years, both at the whole plant level and using transgenic plants, understanding the mechanisms involved in nitrogen remobilization during leaf senescence and remobilization is still at a preliminary stage and requires more research."
Author: Ashok K. Shrawat and Allen G. Good Title: Genetic Engineering Approaches to Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency Source: ISB News, May 2008
http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2008/artspdf/may0801.pdf

DROUGHT RESISTANCE?
"Neither Monsanto nor Bayer LifeSciences was willing to provide any documentation to support their claims to drought-resistant crop strains." Author: Rikki Stancich Title: GM crops: Biotech agriculture - Time to take GM seriously
Source: Ethical Corporation, 7 February 2008
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=5684

"Biotechnologists have reasons for exaggerating their abilities to manipulate plants. If 'biotechnology' is to contribute tolerant crops, these crops may still be decades from commercial availability. The generation of drought tolerant crops is likely to have a similar period of development." Contributor: Tim Flowers, Professor of Plant Physiology, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex Conference: Can agricultural biotechnology be pro-poor?Examining the politics of policy in the developing world
Source: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 1-2 October 2003
http://www.field.org.uk/PDF/IDS%20biotech%20conference%20...

US bio-engineers working to develop drought-resistant seeds say Kenyans should not expect to benefit from such "miracle crops" for at least eight to 10 years. Those currently starving in parts of the country and those likely to suffer hunger if drought conditions persist will have to look to emergency food aid rather than to agricultural self-sufficiency, the scientists say. Maize and other biotech crops able to thrive despite scant rainfall will not be planted in the United States until about 2010, says Christopher Horner, a spokesman for Monsanto, one of the world's leading developers of genetically modified seeds. Such crops "will be introduced initially in the United States well before they become available in other countries," Mr. Horner adds.
Author: Kevin J. Kelley Title: Drought-resistant GM seeds won't benefit Kenyans for the next decade Source: The Nation (Kenya), 31 January 2006
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6190

GREATER PRODUCTIVITY?
"currently available GM crops do not increase the yield potential... In fact, yield may even decrease if the varieties used to carry the herbicide tolerant or insect-resistant genes are not the highest yielding cultivars".
Authors: Fernandez-Cornejo, J. & Caswell Title: Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States Source: USDA/ERS Economic Information Bulletin No. 11, April 2006 http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib11/eib11.pdf

An earlier US Department of Agriculture report also noted that GM crops do not increase yield potential and may reduce yields (p21). That report also says, "Perhaps the biggest issue raised by these results is how to explain the rapid adoption of GE crops when farm financial impacts appear to be mixed or even negative." (p24)
Authors: Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo and William D. McBride Title: Adoption of Bioengineered Crops Source: Agricultural Economic Report No. AER810, May 2002
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer810/

TAKEN FROM: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_12468.cfm