Living with GMOs

A Letter from America

An open letter to the citizens, politicians, and regulators of the UK and the rest of the EU about the hazards of genetically modified crops

We are writing as concerned American citizens to share with you our experience of genetically modified (GM) crops and the resulting damage to our agricultural system and adulteration of our food supply.

In our country, GM crops account for about half of harvested cropland. Around 94% of the soy, 93% of corn (maize) and 96% of cotton grown is GM.¹

The UK and the rest of the EU have yet to adopt GM crops in the way that we have, but you are currently under tremendous pressure from governments, biotech lobbyists, and large corporations to adopt what we now regard as a failing agricultural technology.

Polls consistently show that 72% of Americans do not want to eat GM foods and over 90% of Americans believe GM foods should be labeled.² In spite of this massive public mandate, efforts to get our federal³ and state⁴ governments to better regulate, or simply label, GMOs are being undermined by large biotech and food corporations with unlimited budgets⁵ and undue influence.

As you consider your options, we’d like to share with you what nearly two decades of GM crops in the United States has brought us. We believe our experience serves as a warning for what will happen in your countries should you follow us down this road.

Broken promises

GM crops were released onto the market with a promise that they would consistently increase yields and decrease pesticide use. They have done neither.⁶ In fact, according to a recent US government report yields from GM crops can be lower than their non-GM equivalents.⁷

Farmers were told that GM crops would yield bigger profits too. The reality, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, is different.⁸ Profitability is highly variable, while the cost of growing these crops has spiraled.⁹ GM seeds cannot legally be saved for replanting, which means farmers must buy new seeds each year. Biotech companies control the price of seeds, which cost farmers 3-6 times more than conventional seeds.¹⁰ This, combined with the huge chemical inputs they require, means GM crops have proved more costly to grow than conventional crops. Because of the disproportionate emphasis on GM crops, conventional seed varieties are no longer widely available leaving farmers with less choice and control over what they plant.¹¹

Farmers who have chosen not to grow GM crops can find their fields contaminated with GM crops as a result of cross pollination between related species of plants¹² and GM and non-GM seeds being mixed together during storage.

Because of this our farmers are losing export markets. Many countries have restrictions or outright bans on growing or importing GM crops¹³ and as a result, these crops have become responsible for a rise in trade disputes when shipments of grain are found to be contaminated with GM organisms (GMOs). ¹⁴

The burgeoning organic market here in the US is also being affected. Many organic farmers have lost contracts for organic seed due to high levels of contamination. This problem is increasing and is expected to get much bigger in the coming years.

Pesticides and superweeds

The most widely grown types of GM crops are known as “Roundup Ready” crops. These crops, mostly corn and soy, have been genetically engineered so that when they are sprayed with the herbicide Roundup® – the active ingredient of which is glyphosate – the weeds die but the crop continues to grow.

This has created a vicious circle. Weeds have become resistant to the herbicide, causing farmers to spray even more. Heavier use of herbicides creates ever more “superweeds” and even higher herbicide use. A recent review found that between 1996 and 2011, farmers who planted Roundup Ready crops used 24% more herbicide than non-GMO farmers planting the same crops.¹⁵

If we remain on this trajectory with Roundup Ready crops we can expect to see herbicide rates increase by 25% each year for the foreseeable future.

This pesticide treadmill means that in the last decade in the US at least 14 new glyphosate-resistant weed species have emerged,¹⁶ and over half of US farms are plagued with herbicide-resistant weeds.¹⁷

Biotech companies, which sell both the GM seeds and the herbicides,¹⁸have proposed to address this problem with the creation of new crop varieties that will be able to withstand even stronger and more toxic herbicides such as 2,4-D and dicamba. However it is estimated that if these new varieties are approved, this could drive herbicide use up by as much as 50%.¹⁹

Environmental harm

Studies have shown that the increased herbicide use on Roundup Ready crops is highly destructive to the natural environment. For example, Roundup kills milkweeds, which are the key food source for the iconic Monarch butterfly²⁰ and poses a threat to other important insects such as bees.²¹It is also damaging to soil, killing beneficial organisms that keep it healthy and productive²² and making essential micronutrients unavailable to the plant.²³

Without healthy soil, we cannot grow healthy plants.

Other types of GM plants, which have been engineered to produce their own insecticide (e.g. “Bt” cotton plants), have also been shown to harm beneficial insects including green lacewings²⁴, the Daphnia magna waterflea²⁵ and other aquatic insects,²⁶ and ladybugs (ladybirds).²⁷

Resistance to the insecticides in these plants is also growing,²⁸ creating new varieties of resistant “superbugs” and requiring more applications of insecticides at different points in the growth cycle, for instance on the seed before it is planted.²⁹ In spite of this, new Bt varieties of corn and soy have been approved here and will soon be planted.

A threat to human health

GM ingredients are everywhere in our food chain. It is estimated that 70% of processed foods consumed in the US have been produced using GM ingredients. If products from animals fed GM feed are included, the percentage is significantly higher.

Research shows that Roundup Ready crops contain many times more glyphosate, and its toxic breakdown product AMPA, than normal crops.³⁰

Traces of glyphosate have been found in the breastmilk and urine of American mothers, as well as in their drinking water.³¹ The levels in breastmilk were worryingly high – around 1,600 times higher than what is allowable in European drinking water. Passed on to babies through breastmilk, or the water used to make formula, this could represent an unacceptable risk to infant health since glyphosate is a suspected hormone disrupter.³² Recent studies suggest that this herbicide is also toxic to sperm.³³

Likewise, traces of the Bt toxin have been found in the blood of mothers and their babies.³⁴

GM foods were not subjected to human trials before being released into the food chain and the health impacts of having these substances circulating and accumulating in our bodies are not being studied by any government agency, nor by the companies that produce them.

Studies of animals fed GM foods and/or glyphosate, however, show worrying trends including damage to vital organs like the liver and kidneys, damage to gut tissues and gut flora, immune system disruption, reproductive abnormalities, and even tumors.³⁵

These scientific studies point to potentially serious human health problems that could not have been anticipated when our country first embraced GMOs, and yet they continue to be ignored by those who should be protecting us. Instead our regulators rely on outdated studies and other information funded and supplied by biotech companies that, not surprisingly, dismiss all health concerns.

A denial of science

This spin of corporate science stands in stark contrast to the findings of independent scientists. In fact, in 2013, nearly 300 independent scientists from around the world issued a public warning that there was no scientific consensus about the safety of eating genetically modified food, and that the risks, as demonstrated in independent research, gave “serious cause for concern.”³⁶

It’s not easy for independent scientists like these to speak out. Those who do have faced obstacles in publishing their results, been systematically vilified by pro-GMO scientists, been denied research funding, and in some cases have had their jobs and careers threatened.³⁷

Control of the food supply

Through our experience we have come to understand that the genetic engineering of food has never really been about public good, or feeding the hungry, or supporting our farmers. Nor is it about consumer choice. Instead it is about private, corporate control of the food system.

This control extends into areas of life that deeply affect our day-to-day well-being, including food security, science, and democracy. It undermines the development of genuinely sustainable, environmentally friendly agriculture and prevents the creation of a transparent, healthy food supply for all.

Today in the US, from seed to plate, the production, distribution, marketing, safety testing, and consumption of food is controlled by a handful of companies, many of which have commercial interests in genetic engineering technology. They create the problems, and then sell us the so-called solutions. This is a closed cycle of profit generation that is unequalled in any other type of commerce.

We all need to eat, which is why every citizen should strive to understand these issues.

Time to speak out

Americans are reaping the detrimental impacts of this risky and unproven agricultural technology. EU countries should take note: there are no benefits from GM crops great enough to offset these impacts. Officials who continue to ignore this fact are guilty of a gross dereliction of duty.

We, the undersigned, are sharing our experience and what we have learned with you so that you don’t make our mistakes.

We strongly urge you to resist the approval of genetically modified crops, to refuse to plant those crops that have been approved, to reject the import and/or sale of GM-containing animal feeds and foods intended for human consumption, and to speak out against the corporate influence over politics, regulation and science.

If the UK and the rest of Europe becomes the new market for genetically modified crops and food our own efforts to label and regulate GMOs will be all the more difficult, if not impossible. If our efforts fail, your attempts to keep GMOs out of Europe will also fail.

If we work together, however, we can revitalize our global food system, ensuring healthy soil, healthy fields, healthy food and healthy people.

References

1 Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the US 1996-2014 – Recent Trends in GE Adoption, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), July 2014, http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx#.U9aA4fldUz0

2Consumer Support for Standardization and Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food 2014 Nationally‐Representative Phone Survey, Consumer Reports® National Research Center Survey Research Report, https://consumersunion.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014_GMO_survey_report.pdf ; see also Brinkerhoff N, Americans overwhelmingly want GMO labelling...until big companies pour money into election campaigns, AllGov News, January 7, 2014 http://www.allgov.com/news/where-is-the-money-going/americans-overwhelmingly-want-gmo-labelinguntil-big-companies-pour-money-in-election-campaigns-140107?news=852102

3 GE Food Labelling: States Take Action, Fact Sheet, Center for Food Safety, June 2014, http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/ge-state-labeling-fact-sheet-620141_28179.pdf

4 ibid

5 Jargon J and Berry I, Dough Rolls Out to Fight 'Engineered' Label on Food, Wall Street journal, October 25, 2012, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203400604578073182907123760

6 Benbrook C, Evidence of the magnitude and consequences of the Roundup Ready soybean yield drag from university-based varietal trials in 1998: Ag BioTech InfoNet Technical Paper Number 1, Sandpoint, Idaho, 1999, http://www.mindfully.org/GE/RRS-Yield-Drag.htm; see also Elmore RW, et al. Glyphosate-resistant soyabean cultivar yields compared with sister lines, Agron J, 2001;93:408-12; see also Ma BL and Subedi KD, Development, yield, grain moisture and nitrogen uptake of Bt corn hybrids and their conventional near-isolines. Field Crops Res. 2005; 93: 199-211; see also Bennett H. GM canola trials come a cropper, WA Business News. http://www.wabusinessnews.com.au/en-story/1/69680/GM-canola-trials-come-a-cropper January 16, 2009; see also Gurian-Sherman D, Failure to yield: Evaluating the performance of genetically engineered crops. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists; 2009. Available at: http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/failure-to-yield.pdf

7 Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States, USDA, Economic Research Services, February 2014 http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err162.aspx#.U7vzi7Hrzbx

8 Fernandez-Cornejo J, Wechsler S, Livingston M, Mitchell L. Genetically engineered crops in the United States. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture; 2014. Available at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err162.aspx#.U0P_qMfc26x

9 Fernandez-Cornejo J, McBride WD. The adoption of bioengineered crops. Agricultural Economic Report No. 810. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture; 2002, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer810/aer810.pdf; see also Gómez-Barbero M and Rodríguez-Cerezo E. Economic impact of dominant GM crops worldwide: A review. European Commission Joint Research Centre: Institute for Prospective Technological Studies; 2006, http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/eur22547en.pdf; see also Benbrook CM. Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the United States: The first thirteen years. Washington, DC: The Organic Center; 2009. Available at: http://www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/13Years20091126_FullReport.pdf; see also Howard P, Visualizing consolidation in the global seed industry: 1996–2008. Sustainability. 2009; 1: 1266-87; see also Neuman W. Rapid rise in seed prices draws US scrutiny, New York Times, March 11, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/business/12seed.html?_r=1.

10 Benbrook CM. The magnitude and impacts of the biotech and organic seed price premium. Washington, DC: The Organic Center; 2009. Available at: http://www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/Seeds_Final_11-30-09.pdf.

11 Roseboro K, The GMO Seed Monopoly: Reducing Farmer's Seed Options, Organic Connections, 16 April 2013 http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/the-gmo-seed-monopoly-reducing-farmers-seed-options/#.UW6i4LVllfY

12 D’Hertefeldt T, et al. Long-term persistence of GM oilseed rape in the seedbank. Biol Lett. 2008;4:314–17; see also Gilbert N. GM crop escapes into the American wild. Nature. 2010. Available at: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100806/full/news.2010.393.html; see also Black R. GM plants “established in the wild”, BBC News, August 6, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10859264.

13 The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity. http://bch.cbd.int/protocol/default.shtml; see also GMO-Free Europe, http://www.gmo-free-regions.org.

14 Technical consultation on low levels of genetically modified (GM) crops in international food and feed trade, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy March 21-22, 2014, http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/agns/topics/LLP/AGD803_4_Final_En.pdf.

15 Benbrook CM, Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the US - the first sixteen years, Environmental Sciences Europe, 2012; 24: 24 doi:10.1186/2190-4715-24-24.

16 USDA 2014, op cit.

17 The Rise of Superweeds – and What to Do About It, Union of Concerned Scientists, Policy Brief, December 2013, http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/rise-of-superweeds.pdf.

18 Superweeds – How biotech crops bolster the pesticide industry, Food & Water Watch, July 2013 http://documents.foodandwaterwatch.org/doc/Superweeds.pdf#_ga=1.262673807.2090293938.1404747885 .

19 Benbrook CM, 2012, ibid.

20 Brower LP, Decline of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico: is the migratory phenomenon at risk?, Insect Conservation and Diversity, Volume 5, Issue 2, pages 95–100, March 2012, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1752-4598.2011.00142.x/full.

21 Garcia, MA and Altieri M, Transgenic Crops: Implications for Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 2005; 25(4) 335-53, DOI: 10.1177/0270467605277293; see also Haughton, A J et al Invertebrate responses to the management of genetically modified herbicidetolerant and conventional spring crops. II.Within-field epigeal and aerial arthropods. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 2003; 358: 1863-77; see also Roy, DB et al Invertebrates and vegetation of field margins adjacent to crops subject to contrasting herbicide regimes in the Farm Scale Evaluations of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 2003; 358: 1879-98.

22 Glyphosate herbicide affects belowground interactions between earthworms and symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi in a model ecosystem. Nature Scientific Reports, July 9, 2014, 4: 5634, DOI: doi:10.1038/srep05634; Citizens Concerned About GM, Suffocating the soil: An “unanticipated effect” of GM crops, 15 March 2013, http://www.gmeducation.org/environment/p207351-suffocating-the-soil:-anunanticipated-effectof-gm-crops.html.

23 Tapesser B et al, Agronomic and environmental aspects of the cultivation of genetically modified herbicide-resistant plants A joint paper of BfN (Germany), FOEN (Switzerland) and EAA (Austria), Bonn, Germany 2014, http://www.bfn.de/fileadmin/MDB/documents/service/skript362.pdf.

24 Tapesser B et al, 2014, op cit.

25 Tapesser B et al, 2014, op cit.

26 Rossi-Marshall EJ et al, Toxins in transgenic crop byproducts may affect headwater stream ecosystems, PNAS, 2007, 104(41): 16204–08, http://www.pnas.org/content/104/41/16204.abstract.

27 Tapesser B et al, 2014 op cit; see also Schmidt JEU, Braun CU, Whitehouse LP, Hilbeck A: Effects of activated Bt transgene products (Cry1Ab, Cry3Bb) on immature stages of the ladybird Adalia bipunctata in laboratory ecotoxicity testing, Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 2009, 56: 221-28, http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00244-008-9191-9.

28 Gassmann AJ et al, Field-evolved resistance by western corn rootworm to multiple Bacillus thuringiensis toxins in transgenic maize, Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2014 ; 111(14): 5141-46, http://www.pnas.org/content/111/14/5141; see also Letter from 22 Members and Participants of North Central Coordinating Committee NCCC46 and Other Corn Entomologists to US EPA, March 5, 2012, http://www.biosicherheit.de/pdf/aktuell/12-03_comment_porter_epa.pdf ; see also Huang F et al, Resistance of sugarcane borer to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab toxin, Entomol Exp Appl, 2007; 124: 117-23, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1570-7458.2007.00560.x/abstract;jsessionid=77E6295826AFA053813D7CFD5A1C15DB.f01t01?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false ; see also Tabashnik BE, et al, Insect resistance to Bt crops: Evidence versus theory, Nat Biotechnol, 2008; 26: 199–202, http://www.cof.orst.edu/cof/teach/agbiotox/Readings%202008/TabashnikBtResistInsects-NatBiotech-2008.pdf.

29 Leslie TW, Biddinger DJ, Mullin CA, Fleischer SJ. Carabidae population dynamics and temporal partitioning: Response to coupled neonicotinoid-transgenic technologies in maize, Env Entomol, 2009; 38: 935-43; see also Gurian-Sherman D. Genetically engineered crops in the real world – Bt corn, insecticide use, and honey bees. The Cornucopia Institute, January 13, 2012. http://www.cornucopia.org/2012/01/genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-real-world-bt-corn-insecticide-use-and-honey-bees.

30 Bohn T et al, Compositional differences in soybeans on the market: Glyphosate accumulates in Roundup Ready GM soybeans, Food Chemistry, 2014 ; 153: 207-15.

31 Glyphosate testing report: Findings in American mothers’ breast milk, urine and water. Mom’s Across America, April 7, 2014, http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/yesmaam/pages/774/attachments/original/1396803706/Glyphosate__Final__in_the_breast_milk_of_American_women_Draft6_.pdf?1396803706.

32 Gasnier C, et al, Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines, Toxicology, 2009; 262: 184-91. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2009.06.006; see also Hokanson R, et al, Alteration of estrogen-regulated gene expression in human cells induced by the agricultural and horticultural herbicide glyphosate, Hum Exp Toxicol, 2007; 26: 747-52. doi:10.1177/0960327107083453; see also Thongprakaisang S, et al, Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors, Food Chem Toxicol, 2013; 59: 129–36. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2013.05.057.

33 Cassault-Meyer E et al, An acute exposure to glyphosate-based herbicide alters aromatase levels in testis and sperm nuclear quality, Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2014; 38(1): 131-40.

34 Aris A and Leblanc S, Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada, Reproductive Toxicology, 2011; 31(4): 528–33.

35 Fagan F et al, Chapter 3 - Health Hazards of GM Foods and Chapter 4 - Health Hazards of Roundup and glyphosate, in GMO Myths & Truths: An evidence-based examination of the claims made for the safety and efficacy of genetically modified crops and foods, Earth Open Source, 2^nd Ed, 2014. (See also Séralini, GE et al Republished study: Long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize, Environ Sci Eur 2014; 26: 14)

36 Statement: No scientific consensus on GMO safety, European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility, October 21, 2013, http://www.ensser.org/increasing-public-information/no-scientific-consensus-on-gmo-safety.

37 Smith, J, GMO Researchers Attacked, Evidence Denied, and a Population at Risk, Global Research, September 19, 2012 http://www.globalresearch.ca/gmo-researchers-attacked-evidence-denied-and-a-population-at-risk/5305324; see also Waltz E, GM crops: Battlefield, Nature, 2009; 461, 27-32 doi:10.1038/461027a; see also Woodward L, Muzzled by Monsanto, Citizens Concerned About GM, May 4, 2014, http://www.gmeducation.org/blog/p217611-muzzled-by-monsanto.html.

Elämä GMO:n kanssa – Kirje Amerikasta

Avoin kirje geneettisesti muunneltujen kasvien vaaroista kansalaisille, poliitikoille ja lainsäätäjille Britanniassa ja EU:ssa

Me huolestuneet Amerikan kansalaiset kirjoitamme jakaaksemme kanssanne kokemuksemme geneettisesti muunnelluista (GM) kasveista, niiden tuottamista vahingoista maataloudellemme ja ruokavarojemme saastumisesta.

Maassamme gm-kasveja viljellään noin puolella pelloista. Noin 94 % soijasta, 93 % maissista ja 96 % puuvillasta on geenimuunneltua (GM).¹

Britannia ja muu EU ei ole vielä hyväksynyt gm-kasveja kuten me, mutta te olette juuri nyt hallitusten, bioteknologian lobbaajien ja suurten jättiyritysten valtavan paineen alla. Teitä painostetaan hyväksymään se, mitä me nyt pidämme maatalousteknologian epäonnistumisena.

Kyselyt osoittavat jatkuvasti, että 72 % amerikkalaisista ei halua syödä gm-ruokaa ja yli 90 % amerikkalaisista uskoo että gm-ruoka tulisi merkitä tuoteselosteisiin.² Huolimatta voimakkaista julkisista³ vaatimuksista, että paikallisten tai valtiollisten viranomaisten⁴ tulisi valvoa paremmin tai edes merkitä gm-ruoka, ovat suuret, hyvin rahoitetut⁵ ja vaikutusvaltaiset biotekniikkayritykset ja ruokafirmat saaneet vaatimukset vesitettyä.

Kun harkitsette vaihtoehtojanne, haluamme kertoa teille, miten lähes kaksi vuosikymmentä gm-kasvien kanssa on vaikuttanut meihin USA:ssa. Uskomme, että esimerkkimme toimii varoituksena siitä, mitä tulee tapahtumaan maassanne, jos seuraatte tätä tietä.

Rikotut lupaukset

Gm-kasvit tuotiin markkinoille luvaten, että ne tulevat jatkuvasti lisäämään satoja ja vähentävät hyönteismyrkkyjen käyttöä. Ne eivät ole tehneet kumpaakaan.⁶ Itse asiassa tuoreet USA:n hallituksen raportit kertovat, että GM-sadot ovat alhaisemmat kuin tavalliset.⁷

Viljelijöille kerrottiin, että GM-kasvit ovat tuottoisampia. Todellisuus on toinen, kertoo USA:n maatalousministeriö.⁸ Tuottavuus vaihtelee paljon, sillä samaan aikaan GM-viljelyn kustannukset ovat nousseet huimasti.⁹ GM-siemeniä ei saa laillisesti säästää seuraavan vuoden kylvöihin, joten viljelijöiden on ostettava uudet siemenet joka vuosi. Biotekniikkayritykset määräävät siementen hinnat, jotka ovat 3-6 kertaa enemmän verrattuna tavallisiin siemeniin.¹⁰ Tämän lisäksi kasvatus vaatii paljon maatalouskemikaaleja, joten GM-kasvien kasvatus tulee kalliimmaksi kuin tavallisten. Koska innostus GM-kasveihin on ollut suhteeton, ei tavallisia siemenlajikkeita ole enää laajalti saatavilla, joten viljelijöille jää vähemmän vaihtoehtoja ja päätäntävaltaa siihen, mitä he viljelevät.¹¹

Viljelijät, jotka ovat päättäneet olla viljelemättä GM-kasveja, voivat huomata peltojensa saastuneen GM-kasveilla, lähisukuisten lajien risteytymien tuloksena¹², tai koska tavalliset ja GM-siemenet sekoittuvat viljavarastoissa.

Näiden seikkojen vuoksi viljelijämme menettävät vientimarkkinoita. Monissa maissa on rajoituksia tai suoria kieltoja GM-kasvien tuonnille tai viljelylle¹³, joten näiden kasvien syytä ovat lisääntyneet kiistat viljakaupoissa, kun viedyistä siemenistä on löytynyt GM-kontaminaatiota (GMO).¹⁴

Nopeasti kehittyvät USA:n luomumarkkinat ovat myös kärsineet. Monet luomuviljelijät ovat menettäneet siemenkauppoja suurten GM-kontaminaatioiden vuoksi. Tämä ongelma kasvaa ja tulee luultavasti paljon suuremmaksi tulevina vuosina.

Torjunta-aineet ja superrikkaruohot

Suurinta GM-viljelyskasvien ryhmää kutsutaan ”Roundup Ready®” viljelyskasveiksi. Nämä kasvit, joista pääosa on maissia ja soijaa, ovat geneettisesti muunneltuja niin, että kun niihin ruiskutetaan RoundUp®-rikkaruohomyrkkyä, jonka tehoaine on glyfosaatti, rikkaruohot kuolevat, mutta viljelyskasvi jatkaa kasvuaan.

Tämä on luonut noidankehän: rikkaruohoista on tullut vastustuskykyisiä rikkaruohomyrkylle sillä seurauksella, että viljelijät ruiskuttavat myrkkyjä yhä enemmän. Kasvava myrkkyjen käytön lisääntyminen aikaansaa entistä vastustuskykyisempiä ’superrikkaruohoja’, joita taas myrkytetään entistä järeämmin. Selvityksen mukaan, vuodesta 1996 vuoteen 2011, GMO-viljelykasvien viljelijät käyttivät 24% enemmän rikkaruohomyrkkyjä kuin mitä vastaavien GMO-vapaiden lajikkeiden viljelyssä käytettiin.¹⁵ Jos tämä sama kehitys jatkuu Roundup Ready® satokasvien suhteen, tulemme näkemään rikkaruohomyrkkyjen käytön lisääntyvän 25% vuosittain tästä eteenpäin.

Torjunta-aine-oravanpyörän seurauksena on viimeisen vuosikymmenen aikana Yhdysvalloissa kehittynyt ainakin 14 uutta glyfosaatille vastustuskykyistä rikkaruoholajia¹⁶ ja yli puolet tiloista kamppailee myrkyille vastustuskykyisiä rikkaruohoja vastaan.¹⁷

Biotekniikkayritykset, jotka kauppaavat sekä GM-siemeniä että rikkaruohomyrkkyjä,¹⁸ ovat ehdottaneet ongelman ratkaisuksi uusien lajikkeiden kehittämistä, jotka kestäisivät entistä voimakkaampia ja vaarallisempia rikkaruohomyrkkyjä, kuten 2,4-D ja Dicambaa. On arvioitu, että jos nämä uudet lajikkeet hyväksytään, lisäisi se rikkaruohomyrkkyjen käyttöä entisestään 50%.¹⁹

Ympäristöhaitta

Tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että rikkaruohomyrkkyjen lisääntynyt käyttö Roundup Ready -satokasvien viljelyssä on erittäin tuhoisaa luonnolle. Esimerkiksi Roundup tappaa silkkiyrtit, jotka ovat monarkkiperhosten²⁰ pääasiallista ravintoa ja on vaaraksi monille tärkeille hyönteisille kuten mehiläisille.²¹ Se on myös hyvin vahingollista maaperälle, tappaessaan sen hyödyllisiä organismeja jotka pitävät viljelymaan hyväkuntoisena ja tuottavana²² sekä estää kasveja hyödyntämästä elintärkeitä ravinteita.²³

Ilman elinvoimaista maaperää me emme pysty kasvattamaan terveitä kasveja.

Toinen merkittävä GM-viljelyskasvien ryhmä, jotka on kehitetty tuottamaan itse hyönteismyrkkyä (esim. Bt-puuvillat), ovat myös osoittautuneet vahingoittavan hyödyllisiä hyönteisiä; harsokorentoja,²⁴ vesikirppuja²⁵ ja muita vesihyönteisiä²⁶ sekä leppäkerttuja.²⁷

Hyönteisten vastustuskyky näitä GM-kasvien kehittämiä hyönteismyrkkyjä vastaan on myös kasvamassa²⁸ ja se saa aikaan vastustuskykyisiä ’supertuholaisia’, joita vastaan käytetään entistä enemmän hyönteismyrkkyjä kasvun eri vaiheissa, siemenestä alkaen.²⁹ Tästä huolimatta, uusia Bt-lajikkeita maissille ja soijalle on täällä hyväksytty ja ne otetaan kohta viljelyyn.

Uhka ihmisten terveydelle

GM-raaka-aineita on joka paikassa ruokaketjussamme. On arvioitu että 70% Yhdysvalloissa kulutetuista eineksistä sisältää GM-raaka-aineita. Jos mukaan lasketaan myös tuotteet eläimistä, jotka on ruokittu GM-rehulla, prosentuaalinen osuus on merkittävästi suurempi.

Tutkimukset osoittavat että Roundup Ready –satokasvit sisältävät moninkertaisen määrän glyfosaattia ja sen hajoamistuotetta AMPA:aa, kuin normaalit satokasvit.³⁰

Glyfosaattijäämiä on löytynyt amerikkalaisten äitien äidinmaidosta ja virtsanäytteistä, sekä heidän juomavedestään.³¹ Pitoisuudet äidinmaidossa olivat huolestuttavan korkeita, noin 1600 kertaa korkeammat, kuin mikä on pitoisuuden ohjearvo Eurooppalaisessa juomavedessä. Kulkeutuessaan lapsiin äidinmaidon tai äidinmaitovastikkeessa käytetyn veden välityksellä, glyfosaatti voi aiheuttaa vauvoille terveysriskin, mikä ei ole hyväksyttävää, koska glyfosaatin epäillään häiritsevän hormoonitoimintaa.³² Uusimmat tutkimukset osoittavan tämän torjunta-aineen olevan myrkyllistä myös spermalle.³³

Niin ikään Bt-myrkkyjen jäämiä on löydetty äitien verestä sekä heidän vauvoistaan.³⁴

GM-ruokia ei ole testattu ihmiskokein ennen niiden päästämistä ruokaketjuumme. Sitä, mitä terveysvaikutuksia aiheutuu siitä, että tämä aines leviää ja kertyy elimistöihimme, ei ole tutkittu minkään valtion viranomaisten eikä niiden yritysten toimesta, jotka niitä tuottavat.

Tutkimukset eläimillä, joita on ruokittu GM-rehuilla ja/tai glyfosaattia sisältävällä rehulla, osoittavat niiden aiheuttavan huolestuttavia vaurioita sisäelimille, kuten maksalle ja munuaisille, vioittavan suolen kudoksia sekä sen ruoansulatusbakteeristoa, aiheuttavan immuunihäiriöitä, lisääntymispoikkeavuuksia ja jopa kasvaimia.³⁵

Nämä tieteelliset tutkimukset osoittavat, että ihmisten terveys voi vaarantua vakavasti tavoilla, joita emme osanneet edes ennakoida siinä vaiheessa, kun maamme otti GMOt avosylin vastaan. Ja edelleen riskejä ylenkatsotaan niiden taholta, joiden pitäisi suojella meitä. Lainsäätäjät luottavat vanhentuneisiin tutkimuksiin sekä sellaiseen informaatioon, joka on biotekniikkayritysten tuottamaa ja rahoittamaa, eikä se yllätä, ettei niissä oteta huomioon huolta terveysvaaroista.

Tieteen kiistäminen

Yhtiöiden kaunisteleva tiede on jyrkässä ristiriidassa riippumattomien tutkijoiden tulosten kanssa. Itse asiassa vuonna 2013 lähes 300 riippumatonta tieteentekijää eri puolilta maailmaa julkaisi julkisen varoituksen siitä, ettei ole olemassa mitään tieteellistä konsensusta geneettisesti muunnellun ruuan syömisen terveellisyydestä ja riskit, joita on havaittu riippumattomissa tutkimuksissa, aiheuttavat vakavaa huolta.³⁶

Riippumattomien tutkijoiden ei ole helppo puhua näin julkisuudessa. Ne, jotka ovat puhuneet, ovat kohdanneet vastustusta tulostensa julkaisemisessa, GMO-myönteiset tutkijat ovat herjanneet heitä, heille ei ole myönnetty tutkimusrahoitusta ja joissakin tapauksissa heidän työnsä ja uransa ovat olleet uhattuina.³⁷

Ruokavarojen kontrollointi

Kokemustemme myötä olemme ymmärtäneet, ettei ruuan geneettisen manipuloinnin tarkoitus ole koskaan ollut yleinen hyvä, nälkäisten ruokkiminen tai viljelijöiden tukeminen. Eikä kyse ole myöskään ollut kuluttajien valinnasta. Sen sijaan tavoitteena on ollut ruokajärjestelmän saaminen yksityiseen, suuryritysten hallintaan.

Tämä hallinta ulottuu niihin elämän alueisiin, jotka syvästi vaikuttavat jokapäiväiseen hyvinvointiimme, mukaan lukien ruokaturva, tiede ja demokratia. Se vahingoittaa vakavasti aidosti uusiutuvan, ympäristöystävällisen maatalouden kehittämistä ja estää rehellisen, terveellisen ruuan lähteen luomisen kaikille.

Tänä päivänä USA:ssa ruuan tuottaminen, jakelu, kauppa, turvallisuustestaus ja kulutus siemenestä lautaselle ovat muutaman suuryrityksen hallinnassa. Monilla näistä on kaupallisia intressejä GM-tekniikassa. Ne luovat ongelmia, ja myyvät meille sitten niin kutsuttuja ratkaisuja. Tämä on voiton luomisen suljettu kehä, jollaista ei ole millään muulla kaupan alalla.

Meidän kaikkien täytyy syödä. Tämän vuoksi jokaisen kansalaisen tulisi yrittää ymmärtää näitä asioita.

On aika ottaa ongelma puheeksi

Amerikkalaiset kärsivät nahoissaan riskialttiin ja testaamattoman maatalousteknologian vahingolliset vaikutukset. EU maiden tulisi panna merkille, ettei GMO-kasveista ole sellaista hyötyä, joka korvaisi haitat. Virkamiehet, jotka sivuuttavat tämän faktan, syyllistyvät vakavaan virkatehtävien laiminlyöntiin.

Me allekirjoittaneet jaamme kanssanne kokemuksemme ja mitä olemme oppineet, jotta te ette toistaisi meidän virheitämme.

Kehotamme voimakkaasti teitä vastustamaan muuntogeenisten kasvien hyväksymistä, kieltäytymään viljelemästä niitä, hylkäämään rehuiksi ja ihmisravinnoksi tarkoitettujen geenimuunneltuja ainesosia sisältävien tuotteiden tuonnin ja myynnin. Nouskaa vastustamaan yritysten vaikutusvaltaa politiikassa, säännösten laatimisessa sekä tieteessä.

Jos Iso-Britanniasta ja Euroopasta tulee muuntogeenisten viljelykasvien ja elintarvikkeiden markkina-alue, meidän ponnistelumme saada GMO-tuotteet merkittyä ja säännösteltyä tulee vaikeammaksi, ellei mahdottomaksi. Jos meidän ponnistelumme epäonnistuvat, teidän yrityksenne pitää Eurooppa GMO-vapaana tulee myös epäonnistumaan.

Jos teemme yhteistyötä, voimme elvyttää globaalin ruokajärjestelmän, pitäen huolta terveestä viljelymaaperästä, terveellisestä ruuasta ja terveistä ihmisistä.

Lähteet

2 Consumer Support for Standardization and Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food 2014 Nationally‐Representative Phone Survey, Consumer Reports® National Research Center Survey Research Report, https://consumersunion.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014_GMO_survey_report.pdf ; see also Brinkerhoff N, Americans overwhelmingly want GMO labelling…until big companies pour money into election campaigns, AllGov News, January 7, 2014 http://www.allgov.com/news/where-is-the-money-going/americans-overwhelmingly-want-gmo-labelinguntil-big-companies-pour-money-in-election-campaigns-140107?news=852102

3 GE Food Labelling: States Take Action, Fact Sheet, Center for Food Safety, June 2014, http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/ge-state-labeling-fact-sheet-620141_28179.pdf

4 ibid

5 Jargon J and Berry I, Dough Rolls Out to Fight ‘Engineered’ Label on Food, Wall Street journal, October 25, 2012, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203400604578073182907123760

6 Benbrook C. Evidence of the magnitude and consequences of the Roundup Ready soybean yield drag from university-based varietal trials in 1998: Ag BioTech InfoNet Technical Paper Number 1. Sandpoint, Idaho; 1999, http://www.mindfully.org/GE/RRS-Yield-Drag.htm; see also Elmore RW, Roeth FW, Nelson LA, et al. Glyphosate-resistant soyabean cultivar yields compared with sister lines. Agron J, 2001;93: 408-412; see also Ma BL, Subedi KD. Development, yield, grain moisture and nitrogen uptake of Bt corn hybrids and their conventional near-isolines. Field Crops Res. 2005; 93: 199-211; see also Bennett H. GM canola trials come a cropper. WA Business News. http://www.wabusinessnews.com.au/en-story/1/69680/GM-canola-trials-come-a-cropper January 16, 2009; see also Gurian-Sherman D. Failure to yield: Evaluating the performance of genetically engineered crops. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists; 2009. Available at: http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/failure-to-yield.pdf

7 Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States, USDA, Economic Research Services, February 2014 http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err162.aspx#.U7vzi7Hrzbx

9 Fernandez-Cornejo J, McBride WD. The adoption of bioengineered crops. Agricultural Economic Report No. 810. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture; 2002, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer810/aer810.pdf; see also Gómez-Barbero M, Rodríguez-Cerezo E. Economic impact of dominant GM crops worldwide: A review. European Commission Joint Research Centre: Institute for Prospective Technological Studies; 2006, http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/eur22547en.pdf; see also Benbrook CM. Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the United States: The first thirteen years. Washington, DC: The Organic Center; 2009. Available at: http://www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/13Years20091126_FullReport.pdf; see also Howard P. Visualizing consolidation in the global seed industry: 1996-2008. Sustainability. 2009; 1: 1266-87; see also Neuman W. Rapid rise in seed prices draws US scrutiny, New York Times, March 11, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/business/12seed.html?_r=1.

11 Roseboro K, The GMO Seed Monopoly: Reducing Farmer’s Seed Options, Organic Connections, 16 April 2013 http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/the-gmo-seed-monopoly-reducing-farmers-seed-options/#.UW6i4LVllfY

12 D’Hertefeldt T, Jørgensen RB, Pettersson LB. Long-term persistence of GM oilseed rape in the seedbank. Biol Lett. 2008; 4: 314-317; see also Gilbert N. GM crop escapes into the American wild. Nature. 2010. Available at: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100806/full/news.2010.393.html; see also Black R. GM plants “established in the wild”, BBC News, August 6, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10859264.

13 The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity. http://bch.cbd.int/protocol/default.shtml; see also GMO-Free Europe, http://www.gmo-free-regions.org.

15 Benbrook CM, Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the US – the first sixteen years, Environmental Sciences Europe, 2012; 24: 24, doi: 10.1186/2190-4715-24-24

16 USDA 2014, op cit

17 The Rise of Superweeds – and What to Do About It, Union of Concerned Scientists, Policy Brief, December 2013, http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/rise-of-superweeds.pdf

18 Superweeds – How biotech crops bolster the pesticide industry, Food & Water Watch, July 2013 http://documents.foodandwaterwatch.org/doc/Superweeds.pdf#_ga=1.262673807.2090293938.1404747885

19 Benbrook CM, 2012, ibid

20 Brower LP, Decline of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico: is the migratory phenomenon at risk?, Insect Conservation and Diversity, Volume 5, Issue 2, pages 95-100, March 2012, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1752-4598.2011.00142.x/full

21 Garcia, MA and Altieri M, Transgenic Crops: Implications for Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 2005; 25(4) 335-53 DOI: 10.1177/0270467605277293; see also Haughton, A J et al Invertebrate responses to the management of genetically modified herbicide tolerant and conventional spring crops. II. Within-field epigeal and aerial arthropods. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 2003; 358: 1863-77; see also Roy, DB et al Invertebrates and vegetation of field margins adjacent to crops subject to contrasting herbicide regimes in the Farm Scale Evaluations of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 2003; 358: 1879-98.

24 Tapesser B et al, 2014, op cit

25 Tapesser B et al, 2014, op cit

26 Rossi-Marshall EJ et al, Toxins in transgenic crop byproducts may affect headwater stream ecosystems, PNAS, 2007, 104(41): 16204-16208, http://www.pnas.org/content/104/41/16204.abstract.

27 Tapesser B et al, 2014 op cit; see also Schmidt JEU, Braun CU, Whitehouse LP, Hilbeck A: Effects of activated Bt transgene products (Cry1Ab, Cry3Bb) on immature stages of the ladybird Adalia bipunctata in laboratory ecotoxicity testing, Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 2009, 56:221-228, http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00244-008-9191-9.

28 Gassmann AJ et al, Field-evolved resistance by western corn rootworm to multiple Bacillus thuringiensis toxins in transgenic maize, Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2014 ; 111(14): 5141-46, http://www.pnas.org/content/111/14/5141; see also Letter from 22 Members and Participants of North Central Coordinating Committee NCCC46 and Other Corn Entomologists to US EPA, March 5, 2012, http://www.biosicherheit.de/pdf/aktuell/12-03_comment_porter_epa.pdf; see also Huang F et al, Resistance of sugarcane borer to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab toxin, Entomol Exp Appl, 2007; 124: 117-23, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1570-7458.2007.00560.x/abstract;jsessionid=77E6295826AFA053813D7CFD5A1C15DB.f01t01?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false; see also Tabashnik BE, et al, Insect resistance to Bt crops: Evidence versus theory, Nat Biotechnol, 2008; 26: 199-202, http://www.cof.orst.edu/cof/teach/agbiotox/Readings%202008/TabashnikBtResistInsects-NatBiotech-2008.pdf.

30 Bohn T et al, Compositional differences in soybeans on the market: Glyphosate accumulates in Roundup Ready GM soybeans, Food Chemistry, 2014; 153: 207-15;

32 Gasnier C, et al, Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines, Toxicology, 2009; 262: 184-91. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2009.06.006; see also Hokanson R, et al, Alteration of estrogen-regulated gene expression in human cells induced by the agricultural and horticultural herbicide glyphosate, Hum Exp Toxicol, 2007; 26: 747-52, doi:10.1177/0960327107083453; see also Thongprakaisang S, et al, Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors, Food Chem Toxicol, 2013; 59: 129-136. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2013.05.057.

33 Cassault-Meyer E et al, An acute exposure to glyphosate-based herbicide alters aromatase levels in testis and sperm nuclear quality, Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2014; 38(1): 131-40.

34 Aris A and Leblanc S, Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada, Reproductive Toxicology, 2011; 31(4): 528-533.

35 Fagan F et al, Chapter 3 – Health Hazards of GM Foods and Chapter 4 – Health Hazards of Roundup and glyphosate, in GMO Myths & Truths: An evidence-based examination of the claims made for the safety and efficacy of genetically modified crops and foods, Earth Open Source, 2^nd Ed, 2014. (See also Séralini, GE et al Republished study: Long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize, Environ Sci Eur 2014; 26: 14)

37 Smith, J, GMO Researchers Attacked, Evidence Denied, and a Population at Risk, Global Research, September 19, 2012, http://www.globalresearch.ca/gmo-researchers-attacked-evidence-denied-and-a-population-at-risk/5305324; see also Waltz E, GM crops: Battlefield, Nature, 2009; 461, 27-32 doi:10.1038/461027a; see also Woodward L, Muzzled by Monsanto, Citizens Concerned About GM, May 4, 2014, http://www.gmeducation.org/blog/p217611-muzzled-by-monsanto.html.

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