Greenwashing Genetically

Engineered Crops
Monsanto adverti ses that bi otech crops can feed the worl d
from a rai ndrop, suggesti ng that GE crops are especi al l y
cl i mate change resi stant.
1
In 2011, Roger Beachy, then-
di rector of the U.S. Department of Agri cul tures pri mary
research agency, the Nati onal Insti tute of Food and Agri -
cul ture, suggested to Sc|en|||c met|can magazi ne that GE
crops protect tradi ti onal smal l farmers by reduci ng the need
for agrochemi cal s.
2
But thi s greenwashi ng doesnt change
what i s j ust agri busi ness as usual : more agrochemi cal s,
more fossi l fuel s and more i ntensi ve agri cul tural producti on.
1. Biotech crops do not reduce
agrochemical use
Most GE crops are desi gned to be tol erant of speci al l y tai -
l ored herbi ci des (mostl y gl yphosate, known as Roundup).
3

lurmers cun spruv the herbcde on ther eds, kng the
weeds wi thout harmi ng thei r crops. Monsantos herbi ci de-
tol erant ( Roundup Ready ) corn, soybeans and cotton
were pl anted on 150 mi l l i on U.S. acres i n 2009.
4
Gl ypho-
sate use on these Roundup Ready crops has grown steadi l y.
Between 2001 and 2007, annual gl yphosate use doubl ed to
185 mi l l i on pounds.
5
Gl yphosate can pose ri sks to ani mal s
and the envi ronment. A 2010 Chem|ca| Reseatch |n 1ox|co|-
ogv study found that gl yphosate-based herbi ci des caused
hi ghl y abnormal deformi ti es and neurol ogi cal probl ems i n
vertebrates.
6
Another study found that gl yphosate caused
DNA damage to human cel l s even at l ower exposure l evel s
than recommended by the herbi ci des manufacturer.
7

2. Resistant weeds increase
herbicide use
Ubi qui tous Roundup appl i cati on has spawned gl yphosate-
resi stant weeds, whi ch dri ves farmers to appl y more toxi c
herbi ci des and reduce conservati on ti l l i ng, accordi ng to
a 2(1( !a||ona| Reseatch Counc|| tepot|.
8
At l east 15
weed speci es worl dwi de are resi stant to gl yphosate, i ncl ud-
i ng aggressi ve weeds l i ke ragweed, mares tai l and water-
hemp.
9
Even the bi otech company Syngenta predi cts that
gl yphosate-resi stant weeds wi l l i nfest one-fourth of U.S.
cropl and by 2013.
10

Agri cul tural experts warn that these superweeds can
l ower farm yi el ds, i ncrease pol l uti on and rai se costs for
farmers.
11
Farmers may resort to other herbi ci des to combat
superweeds, i ncl udi ng 2,4-D (an Agent Orange compo-
nent) and atrazi ne, whi ch have associ ated heal th ri sks,
i ncl udi ng endocri ne di srupti on and devel opmental abnor-
mal i ti es.
12
Moreover, as gl yphosate-resi stant weeds strangl e
cropl and, farmers have returned to deep ti l l i ng for weed
management, abandoni ng ti l l age practi ces desi gned to
sl ow soi l erosi on.
3. No yield advantage
Bi otech compani es have focused on devel opi ng crops that
are desi gned to work wi th the herbi ci des they sel l , not on
devel opi ng hi gh-yi el d seeds. A 2009 Uni on of Concerned
Sci enti sts survey found that herbi ci de-tol erant corn and
soybeans had no yi el d i ncrease over non-GE crops, and
i nsect-resi stant corn had onl y a sl i ght advantage over
conventi onal corn.
13
A 2001 Uni versi ty of Nebraska study
found that conventi onal soybeans had 5 to 10 percent
hi gher yi el ds than herbi ci de-tol erant soybeans.
14

A 2006 Inv|tonmen|a| Sc|ence and 1echno|ogv study found
thut ov-nput urms n deveopng countres hud sgncunt
yi el d gai ns.
15
A 2007 Uni versi ty of Mi chi gan study found
that organi c farmi ng i n the devel opi ng worl d had hi gher
yi el d gai ns than conventi onal producti on and coul d feed
the gl obal popul ati on wi thout i ncreasi ng the amount of
cul ti vated l and.
16

4. No drought protection
otech rms huve promsed hgh-ved und drought-
resi stant GE seeds, but these trai ts are not presentl y com-
merci al l y avai l abl e.
17
The research has yet to achi eve the
T
he bi otechnol ogy i ndustry often touts the envi ronmental sustai nabi l i ty of
geneti cal l y engi neered (GE) crops. The i ndustry cl ai ms that GE crops can reduce
herbi ci de use, i ncrease yi el ds to feed a hungry pl anet, and devel op new crops
adapted to cl i mate change.
Fact Sheet + April 2011
FOOD
c o m p l ex i n t erac t i o n s b et w een gen es n ec essar y t o en d u r e
env i r o n m en t al st r esso r s su ch as d r o u gh t .
1 8

Trad i t i o n al b r eed i n g m et h o d s f o r st r ess t o l eran c e ar e m o r e
r esi l i en t t o d i sr u p t i o n an d c l i m at e ch an ge t h an G E c r o p s
b ec au se t h ey c o m p l em en t an d t h r i ve i n n u t r i en t - r i ch an d
b i o d i ver se so i l .
1 9
Even i f r esearch su c c eed ed i n d evel o p i n g
d r o u gh t - t o l eran t c r o p s, b i o t ech n o l o gy c o m p an i es w o u l d
c o n t r o l any v i ab l e seed s, p o t en t i al l y p u t t i n g n ew seed s o u t
o f r each f o r p o o r c o u n t r i es.
5. GE crops benet biotech
companies, not farmers
O n l y a f ew ch em i c al an d p h ar m ac eu t i c al gi an t s d o m i n -
at e t h e seed i n d u st r y, w h i ch o n c e r el i ed o n u n i ver si t i es f o r
m o st r esearch .
2 0
By 2 0 0 9 , n ear l y al l (9 3 p erc en t ) U . S. soy -
beuns und our-ths (80 percent) o corn cutvuted vere
gr ow n f r o m seed s c over ed by M o n san t o p at en t s.
2 1

Bi o t ech c o r n seed p r i c es i n c r eased 9 p erc en t an n u al l y
b et w een 2 0 0 2 an d 2 0 0 8 ; soy b ean seed p r i c es r o se 7 p er-
c en t an n u al l y.
2 2
By 2 0 0 9 , Ro u n d u p Ready soy b ean seed s
c o st t w i c e as m u ch as c o nven t i o n al seed s.
2 3

Bi o t ech c o m p an i es al so z eal o u sl y p u r su e f ar m er s t h at al -
l eged l y v i o l at e t h ei r p at en t s.
2 4
v 2007, Monsunto hud ed
1 1 2 l aw su i t s agai n st U . S. f ar m er s f o r p at en t i n f r i n gem en t ,
r ec over i n g b et w een $ 8 5 . 7 an d $ 1 6 0 . 6 m i l l i o n .
2 5
I n t h e d e-
vel o p i n g w o r l d , p at en t ed G E seed s t h r eat en t h e t rad i t i o n al
p rac t i c e o f sav i n g an d sh ar i n g seed s f r o m h ar vest ed c r o p s
t o p l an t t h e n ex t seaso n .
2 6

6. GE crops will not feed a hungry
planet
H i gh - p r i c ed seed s an d h er b i c i d es ar e i l l - su i t ed t o f ar m er s
i n t h e d evel o p i n g w o r l d . Th e p r est i gi o u s 2 0 0 9 I n t er n at i o n al
A ssessm en t o f A gr i c u l t u r e Kn ow l ed ge, Sc i en c e an d Tech -
n o l o gy f o r D evel o p m en t c o n c l u d ed t h at t h e h i gh c o st s f o r
seed s an d ch em i c al s, u n c er t ai n y i el d s, an d p o t en t i al t o
u n d er m i n e l o c al f o o d sec u r i t y m ak es b i o t ech n o l o gy a p o o r
ch o i c e f o r t h e d evel o p i n g w o r l d .
2 7

Fo r ex am p l e, I n d i an f ar m er s, w o o ed by M o n san t o s m ar-
k et i n g h ave w i d el y ad o p t ed G E c o t t o n .
2 8
Far m er s t ak e
o u t h i gh - i n t er est l o an s t o af f o r d t h e G E seed s, w h i ch c an
b e t w i c e as ex p en si ve as c o nven t i o n al seed s.
2 9
H al f t h e
p est i c i d es i n I n d i a ar e ap p l i ed t o c o t t o n . So m e f ar m er s si g-
ncuntv over-uppv these chemcus, mukng ugrcuturu
w o r k er s h i gh l y v u l n erab l e t o h eal t h p r o b l em s.
3 0
M o r e t h an
h al f o f f ar m er s l ack ac c ess t o i r r i gat i o n an d ar e d ep en d en t
o n a p u n c t u al rai ny seaso n f o r a go o d c r o p .
3 1
A n d w h en G E
c o t t o n c r o p s f ai l , f ar m er s ar e o f t en u n ab l e t o r ep ay t h e su b -
st an t i al d eb t . Th e st eep er t r ead m i l l o f d eb t w i t h G E c r o p s
c o n t r i b u t es t o a r i si n g n u m b er o f f ar m er su i c i d es i n I n d i a
ex c eed i n g 1 7 , 0 0 0 i n 2 0 0 9 .
3 2

D esp i t e t h ei r h u ge p u b l i c r el at i o n s c am p ai gn s, b i o t ech n o l -
o gy i s n o t so l v i n g o u r su st ai n ab i l i t y p r o b l em s i t s m ak i n g
t h em w o r se an d c r eat i n g m o r e.
En d n o t es
l Monsunto. Hov cun ve squeeze more ood rom u rundrop: 2008. Cn e.
2 orre, rendun. lood lght: 1he Cuse or Cenetcuv Moded lood. Sc|en|||c met|-
can. A p r i l 2 0 1 1 .
3 Monsunto. Monsunto otechnoogv 1rut Acreuge: lscu Yeurs l996-2009. 2009.Cn e
an d avai l ab l e at h t t p : / / w w w. m o n san t o . c o m / i nvest o r s/ d o c u m en t s/ 2 0 0 9 / q 4 _b i o t ech _ac r es.
p d f ; U SD A - N A SS Q u i ck St at s, A c r es Pl an t ed , Co r n an d Soy b ean s. D at a avai l ab l e at h t t p : / /
w w w. n ass. u sd a. gov ; M o n san t o . Ro u n d u p Pow er M ax H er b i c i d e. Br o ch u r e. 2 0 0 8 at 4 .
4 Monsunto. Monsunto otechnoogv 1rut Acreuge: lscu Yeurs l996-2009. 2009.Cn e
an d avai l ab l e at h t t p : / / w w w. m o n san t o . c o m / i nvest o r s/ d o c u m en t s/ 2 0 0 9 / q 4 _b i o t ech _ac r es.
p d f
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