GE - Sinking Fast
Posted 30th April 2001

Food importers in Sri Lanka have said that they will not be able to comply with a government ban on all types of genetically-modified food, which comes into effect in May. The ban was announced earlier this month, despite concerns by importers that they would not be able to meet the requirements for scientific testing. They say that there is no definitive proof that GM food is harmful. The head of Sri Lankan health services said that the ban would remain in place until worldwide concerns about GM foods were settled. Local consumer and environmental groups have welcomed the restrictions.

Yet More Problems With GE Food

In yet another example of the problems that can be created by genetically engineered crops, Monsanto is recalling their Quest canola in Canada after discovering it contains another form of canola not approved for export. While this development is not as significant as the contamination of StarLink corn into the human corn supply, it does provide more evidence of the potential chaos that can arise from the wide scale planting of genetically engineered crops. Quest canola is also known as GT-73. Monsanto announced that another variety of canola known as GT-200 has been found to have contaminated the Quest GT-73. While both the GT-73 and the GT-200 are approved for human consumption, the GT-200 has not been approved for export to other countries. Nearly 100 farmers have already planted about 4,000 hectares of the contaminated genetically engineered canola. Many others had purchased the canola, but had not yet planted it. Since canola is a major export crop for Canada, farmers are fortunate that this discovery was made sooner rather than later. So far Monsanto has apparently not stated why this contamination occurred. Was is human error? Was is cross-pollination?

Does Monsanto even know how and why it happened? Research since 1996 has shown that the pollen from genetically engineered canola has the ability to cross-pollinate with weeds to create "superweeds." A couple years ago, Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser discovered his non-genetically engineered canola was contaminated by the cross-pollination from nearby fields of genetically engineered canola. In what many feel was a travesty of justice, the court recently ruled that Mr. Schmeiser has to pay Monsanto royalties and fines for growing their genetically engineered canola, even though he did not want it on his farm in the first place: www.percyschmeiser.com In spite of the growing evidence of problems that are being created by genetically engineered crops, both the Canadian and American agricultural leaders still remain fully supportive of this experimental technology. It is unfortunate that it is apparently going to take a major environmental or health catastrophe before the uncontrolled pollen drift from these crops is stopped..