Is Big Agriculture Really Feeding the World with GM Crops?
Rebekah Garvin Boise State University June 29, 2014 IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 2 Is Big Ag Really Feeding the World with GM Crops? With world nutrition as Group Eretzs focus, my critical question to research is regarding the relationship between Big Ag and their GM crops and the concept of feeding the world. There has been a huge push to feed the world. Bittman writes, since President John F. Kennedy spoke of ending world hunger on June 4, 1963 and yet there are still nearly a billion people world-wide who are hungry. It has generally stayed the same for the past 50 years despite the introduction of Big Ags feed the world agenda. (Bittman, 2013). After President Kennedys call to action in 1963 the UN discovered Norman Borlaug and took him and his disease resistant wheat seeds to South Asia and were able to grow crops that fed thousands of people. Former Ambassador and President of World Food Prize Foundation Quinn says, he was heralded as the man who saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived. (Quinn, 2013). The Presidents plea in 1963 and Borlaugs experimentation with gentically engineered seeds was the beginning of commercial agriculture (nick-named Big Ag) and their proftable race to feed the world. Big Ag claims that they care about feeding the growing billions of people on the planet. And people believe them even despite the wealth of evidence that Big Ag is destroying the worlds envoirnment, resources, food and life as weve known it for thousands of years. Bittman goes on to say, Feeding the world might as well be a marketing slogan for Big Ag, a euphemism for Lets ramp up sales, as if producing more cars would guarantee that everyone had one. (Bittman, 2013). It has also been proven that small farming practices that have been around for thousands of years would be enough to feed the globe, but Big Ag argues that to end world hunger regular peasant humans can not produce enough, deal with weather nor feed themselves, but instead must surrender to the will of Big Ag and its GM seeds, which according to them is the solution to world hunger. No matter how I or my readers feel about the goals, IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 3 business methods and accountability practices of Big Ag, the focus of this reseach is to determine if Big Ag is actually feeding the world with their GM crops. What is Big Ag? There are many defnitions surrounding the concept of Big Ag. For starters one of the accepted defnitions of Big Ag according to Wikipedia is an intense farming method that was developed to increase production by producing disease resistant crops through planting GM (genetically modifed) seeds. But it comes at the expense of health, envoirnment, sustainabiliy and nutrition. Big Ag uses chemical fertilizers, plant growth regulators or pesticides and plastic mulches. (Wikipedia). According to the Journal of Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University Big Agriculture has 9 characteristics: ... big scale, big machine, big investment, big industry, big science and technology, big market, big beneft, big service and big mechanism. (Shufeng, 2011). Hence, Big Ag has become the bi-product of President Kennedys call to action and the poster child of Big Ag and seated at at the helm of this world-wide movement or disaster is Monsanto. (see Exhibit A). Acccording to Monsantos history, in 1945 they established itself as a chemical company. In the 1980s this chemical company turned food company began specializing in agricultural biotechnology and has now grown exponentcially to be the largest Big Ag business in the world specializing in herbicide chemicals and GE (genetically engineered) seeds. The Food and Water Watch (FWW) reports that Monsanto made $11.8 billion in 2011 in product sales. (FWW, 2013) In 2013 the Organic Comsumers Associations (OCA) statistics indicate that this one company controls over 80 percent of the GM corn market, and 93 percent of the GM soy market in the US which exports nearly 40% of the worlds consumption of GM crops. (OCA, 2013). And its growing. (see Exhibit B). According to a comprehensive 2005 study by the Center For Food Safety (CFS), Monsanto has an annual budget of $10 million and a staff of 75 devoted solely to investigating and prosecuting IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 4 farmers. By the time of the study, the company had launched 90 lawsuits involving 147 farmers and 39 small businesses, CFS reports. (CFS, 2003-2005) (see Exhibit T) What is a GM? Or a GMO? GM refers to genetic modifcation and GMO refers to a genetically modifed organism. (see Exhibit C). Dr. Jeff Hazim, from Biblical Health TV says that this is the practice of splicing of two species together as in cross-breeding. (Hazim, 2010- 2011). Gene splicing is adding DNA from species that would not breed in nature. (see Exhibit U). Taking DNA from the fsh salmon and injecting it into the DNA of a plant to get a preferred outcome. Food and Water Water says that GMO seeds that have been altered with inserted genetic material to exhibit traits that repel pests or withstand the application of [Big Ags] herbicides. (FWW, 2013). It is important to note that GMOs do not produce fertile seeds. Thus, patents can be made on GMOs. The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications says that farmers have been genetically modifying plants via conventional breeding for thousands of years to get higher yields and tastier produce. But conventional breeding is done through selecting the best plants with desireable genes and exluding those with undesireable genes to get better crops and has nothing to do with crossing species lines. But it is only used on species within species to get a stronger variety of that plant. (ISAAA, 2004) Monsanto claims to be the frst to genetically modify a plant cell in 1982. They believe that the only way to have enough disease resistant, high yield crops that will feed the worlds growing population is through patentable, modern biotechnology creating an infertile seed through gene splicing which then needs to have their chemicals (herbicides and pesticides) applied to the growing plants and their fruit. Bittman says that there are ... two food systems, one industrial and one of small landholders, or peasants if you prefer. The peasant system is not only here for good, its arguably IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 5 more effcient than the industrial model ... Many argue that traditional methods of farming would be enough to feed the world and that if we were to grant that peasants have the right to farm their traditional landholdings, we could not only ensure that people could feed themselves but also reduce agricultures contribution to greenhouse gases, chronic disease and energy depletion. (Bittman, 2013). A 30-year study, called The Farming Systems Trial (FST) carried out by the Rodale Institute, Pennsylvania is the longest-running side-by-side comparison of organic versus conventional farming and it has proven that organic farming practices are more proftable and produces higher yields even in drought. (Middleton, Smith, 2013). (see Exhibit D). Johnathan Benson says, Despite all the claims made by industry-funded hacks that genetically- modifed organisms (GMOs) and other industrial agricultural methods are necessary for the future of humanity, it is the traditional growing methods that continue to shine through as the real sustainers of life. As reported by Gaia Health, Indian rice farmers using traditional, organic growing methods are achieving yields far higher than farmers using more modern methods .... In the case of Sumant Kumar, rice yields have surpassed the national average per hectare (about 2.5 acres) nearly ten-fold. (Benson, 2013). Again, Bittman points out that, There are hungry people not because food is lacking, but because not all of those calories go to feed humans (a third go to feed animals, nearly 5 percent are used to produce biofuels, and as much as a third is wasted, all along the food chain. (Bittman, 2013) Are Big Ags GMO food? Many researchers have tried to determine the safety of injesting GMOs. There is so much out there in studies proving they are dangerous, but Severine Kirchner, Ph.D. says, because GMOs produce no immediate side-effects, most people consider them safe. But if an immediate side-effect were the only pre-requisite, mercury, asbestos and lead would also be safe. (Kirchner, 2012). In 2001 The European Directive offcially asked the IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 6 question does a genetically modifed organism (GMO) ... in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by inserting DNA fragments from one organisms gene into the chromosomes of another change its genetic expression? (Article 2 of the European Directive 2001/18/EC). Many claim that the effects of eating GMO foods hasnt been verifed, but Kirchner relates that in September of 2012 a team of French scientists conducted a study using Monsantos harmless new corn seed, NK603. They discovered that there were huge risks of cancer and then they published some horrifc photos of their claim. (Exhibit D) (Kirchner, 2012). Paul Fassa reports in Natural News that Monsanto tried to debunk the French scientists research and did a 90 day trial themselves and it was suffcient for EU approval. Fassa says that unfortunatley, Seralinis two year study was rejected as unscientifc .... even though Seralini used the same elements and animals Monsanto used. But mainstream media outlets accept corporate research over independent research ...Within days of publishing the teams fndings, he was dismissed from the position he had held for decades. There are several other scientists on the list of slandered and publicly disgraced... (Fassa, 2013) The world is concluding that Monsantos GMO seed does not produce food, but poison and is dangerous for anyone who injests it. Again quoting Kirchner he says, ... it is entirely possible that Monsantos harmless new corn seed, NK603, could be quite harmful indeed. Monsanto engineered this corn seed to be resistant to its top brand of herbicide, Roundup. According to Monsanto, NK603 is safe and healthy. Lab rats have a different story to tell. (Kirchner, 2012) Now DNA and RNA are being modifed. Jack Heinemann et al, says that, Most genetically modifed (GM) crops are based on moving DNA from one organism to another to introduce a new protein. Now a growing number of genetically modifed crops are based on intentionally changing RNA ... the neglected stepsister of DNA ...RNA is the new DNA of IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 7 genetic modifcation ... double-stranded RNAs are already being grown for the human food supply. (Heinemann, May 2013). ....dsRNA-mediated silencing is becoming the basis of novel traits in GM plants, such as biopesticides and altered nutritional characteristics. This study goes on to say that Changing the nature, kind and quantity of particular regulatory-RNA molecules through genetic engineering can create biosafety risks. (Heinemann, April 2013). Heinemann who is a Professor at University of Canterbury did genetic research of the wheat developed by Australias Commonwealth Scientifc and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). At a press conference in October 2012 he announced that the new GMO wheat may silence vital human genes, What we found is that the molecules created in this wheat, intended to silence wheat genes, can match human genes, and through ingestion, these molecules can enter human beings and potentially silence our genes .... the fndings are absolutely assured. There is no doubt that these matches exist. (Freeman, 2012) The Press Conference YouTube video on this says we need action now before this new wheat is put into our food supply. (Safe Food Foundation, 2012) Not only do bad things happen when GMOs are injested but research has discovered that they can be passed down to the next generation. A peer-reviewed study stated that Moreover, DNA of the same sequences, orally administered to pregnant mice, passed through the placenta, reached the mouse fetus, and was found in different organs of the fetus or newborn animals (Schubbert et al., 1998). (Rizzi, 2012). Jefferey Smith says that Monsantos Bt corn has a gene from soil bacteria called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). This produces a pesticide called Bt- toxin, which breaks open the stomach of certain insects and kills them .... But Monsanto and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) swore up and down that it was only insects that would be hurt. The Bt-toxin, they claimed, would be completely destroyed in the human digestive system and not have any impact on all of us trusting corn-eating consumers. But they have IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 8 been proven wrong. Doctors at Sherbrooke University Hospital in Quebec found the corns Bt-toxin in the blood of pregnant women and their babies, as well as in non-pregnant women. (Specifcally, the toxin was identifed in 93% of 30 pregnant women, 80% of umbilical blood in their babies, and 67% of 39 non-pregnant women.) The study has been accepted for publication in the peer reviewed journal Reproductive Toxicology. (Smith, 2011) Reichhardt Butler says, Even among ardent supporters of GM foods, however, calls are being increasingly heard for more research on health risks, and for the introduction of monitoring systems that would allow the early detection of any long-term problems... The need for careful monitoring is urgent, given that the introduction of thousands of GM foods on a global scale appears imminent, says Suzanne Wuerthele, a risk assessor at the US Environmental Protection Agency. (Butler,1999). Dr. Suzanne Wuerthele says, This [bio]technology is being promoted, in the face of concerns by respectable scientists and in the face of data to the contrary, by the very agencies which are supposed to be protecting human health and the environment. The bottom line in my view is that we are confronted with the most powerful technology the world has ever known, and it is being rapidly deployed with almost no thought whatsoever to its consequences. (Wuerthele, no date avail). Foreign proteins that have never been in the human food chain will soon be consumed in large amounts, Wuerthele points out. It took us 60 years to realize that DDT might have oestrogenic activities and affect humans, but we are now being asked to believe that everything is OK with GM foods because we havent seen any dead bodies yet. Suzanne Wuerthele, a risk assessor at the US Environmental Protection Agency. ...The likelihood and impact of such unexpected occurrences seem to be the major area of uncertainty among scientists working on the potential health impacts of GM foods. (Butler, 1999). AJ Adkins says that IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 9 GMO foods and their herbicides have been shown to ... reduce biodiversity, pollute water, and are unsustainable. They lead to more allergies, birth defects, sterility, cancer, and death. Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, the FDA does not require human clinical trials of GMOs. In spite of many studies showing the dangers of genetically modifed foods, the FDA only requires companies to say that they believe they are safe. Anyone can create a new genetically modifed food in their basement and put it on the market tomorrow with no oversight. (Adkins, 2012). With a horrifc photo (Exibit E) on top of her article, Dr. Swanson says that Prevalence and incidence data show correlations between diseases of the organs and the increase in Genetically Modifed Organisms (GMOs) in the food supply, along with the increase in glyphosate-based herbicide applications. More and more studies have revealed carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting effects of Roundup at lower doses than those authorized for residues found in Genetically Modifed Organisms... The endocrine disrupting properties of glyphosate can lead to reproductive problems: infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, and sexual development (see notes). Fetuses, infants and children are especially susceptible. (Swanson, April 27, 2013). I think Dr. Swansons story is worth looking at. Dr. Swanson has a Ph.D. in physics. A s a scientist for the United States Navy she holds fve U.S. patents and has authored 30 scientifc publications and two books. She, herself became very sick many years ago and decided to stop eating GMOs. When she stopped eating them her symptoms went away. She writes, About every other week the Seattle Times published something about how this or that is skyrocketing (Parkinsons, dementia, Alzheimers, ADHD, suicide). I was pondering this and I had an inspiration to look at the data and compare it to the amount of GMOs on the market. The more I found the scarier it got. (Swanson, April 24, 2013). From her research I have attached several peer-reviewed graphs released in April of 2013 with her paper to show that disease and GMO IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 10 injestion is intimately linked and on the rise at the same rate! The graphs Im including in Exhibit G-S prove there is a connection. Big Ag is a business. The bottom line is that they are concerned with proft even at the expense of human life and the enviornment. Adkins reports that There are tens of thousands of farmer suicides each year in India because the farmers are duped into buying genetically modifed seeds on the promise of increased yields and becoming wealthy. Not only do the yields not increase, but the farmers have to buy pesticides they never needed, and expensive seeds each year instead of the ones from their crops. This has led to massive debt and despair. (Adkins, 2012). Reputable scientists have done the research and are pubishing works arguing with facts and pictures that GM foods are not food, but are poison. The conclusion is that Big Ag is not feeding the world but instead are feeding their pockets by tweeking plant DNA and RNA and then patenting that part of nature as their own. You are gambling with your life if you injest their poison. Its just a matter of time before our globally screwed up food supply will fnally be blamed for the increase of disease and death that is simultaneously on the rise around the globe with the production of GM seeds produced by Big Ag. IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 11 References Adkins, AJ (June 16, 2012). Organic Consumers Association. Bar Mitzvah Speech given at the West End Synagogue, New York, NY. Retrieved from http://www.organicconsumers.org/ articles/article_25822.cfm Benson, Jonathan (April 03, 2013) Natural News. Organic rice farmer in India yields over 22 tons of crop on only two acres, proving the fraud of GMOs and Big Ag. Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/039766_rice_farming_organic_agriculture_yields.html Bittman, Mark (October 14, 2013). New York Times. How to Feed the World. Retrived from http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/opinion/how-to-feed-the-world.html?from=dining. global Butler, D., Reichhardt, T., Abbott, A., Dickson, D., & Saegusa, A. (April 22, 1999). Long-term effect of GM crops serves up food for thought. Nature, 398, 6729. CFS, (2003-2005) Center for Food Safety. A Report by the Center for Food Safety. Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers 2005. Executive Summery. Retrieved http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/ fles/monsantoexsum1142005.pdf FWW (April 8, 2013) Food and Water Watch. Monsanto: A Corporate Profle Fact Sheet Retrived from http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/factsheet/monsanto-a-corporate- profle/ Fassa, Paul (February 20, 2013). Natural News. Debunking the French GMO Tumor Study is a Tsunami of Lies. Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/039170_GMOs_rat_tu- mors_Seralini_study.html Freeman, Elliott (October 9, 2012) Digital Journal. Scientists: New GMO wheat may silence vital human genes. Retrieved from http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/332822 IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 12 FST, The Farming Systems Trial (1981-2011) Rodale Institute. 30 Year Report. Retrieved from http://rodaleinstitute.org/our-work/farming-systems-trial/ Giampietro, M. (September 01, 2002). The Precautionary Principle and Ecological Hazards of Genetically Modifed Organisms. Ambio: a Journal of the Human Environment, 31, 6, 466-470 Hazim, Dr. Jeff & Goldman, Chaim; (2010-2011) Biblical Health TV. Whats the Big Deal about GMOs (Genetically Modifed Organisms)? Well With You Radio Archives Members only access. Retrieved from http://biblicalhealth.tv/members/wwu-radio-archives Heinemann, Jack A., & Agapito-Tenfen, Sarah Zanon, & Carman, Judy A. (May 2013). A com- parative evaluation of the regulation of GM crops or products containing dsRNA and sug- gested improvements to risk assessments. Environment International, Volume 55, Pages 43-55, DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2013.02.010 Heinemann, Jack, & Carman, Judy, & Agapito, Sarah (April 15, 2013). The Conversation. Se- curing the safety of genetic modifcation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/ securing-the-safety-of-genetic-modifcation-13102 ISAAA (March 2004). International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications. Pocket K No. 13: Conventional Plant Breeding. Retrieved from http://isaaa.org/resources/ publications/pocketk/13/default.asp Kirchner, Severine PhD. (Oct. 9, 2012). Daily Reckoning. Gambling with the Geome. Retrieved from http://dailyreckoning.com/gambling-with-the-genome/ Middleton, Sophie & Smith, Adam (March 2013) Alliance for Natural Health. Organic Farming Blows Conventional Farming out of the Water. Retrieved from http://www.anh-europe. org/news/organic-farming-blows-conventional-farming-out-of-the-water#Point_1 IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 13 Monsanto Company History, Monsanto. Retrieved from http://.www.Monsanto.com OCA (August 7, 2013) Organic Consumers Association. U.S. and Monsanto Dominate Global Market for GM Seeds, Retrived from http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/ article_28059.cfm Quinn, Kenneth M. (December 03, 2013) The Huffngton Post. JFK, UN World Food Day and Confronting the Single Greatest Challenge in Human History, Retrived from http://www. huffngtonpost.com/kenneth-m-quinn/jfk-un-world-food-day-and_b_4373891.html Rizzi, A., Raddadi, N., Sorlini, C., Daffonchio, D., Nordgard, L., & Nielsen, K. M. (February 28, 2012). The stability and degradation of dietary DNA in the gastrointestinal tract of mammals: Implications for horizontal gene transfer and the biosafety of GMOs. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 52, 2, 142-161. Safe Food Foundation (September 11, 2012) PRESS CONFERENCE on the threat of CSIROs GMOs. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI7n_caiTvE Shufeng, W., & Liya, M. (2011). Research on the Defnition and Characteristics of Modernized Big Agriculture. Journal of Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, 3, 024. Smith, Jeffrery (October 6, 2011) Mercola.com. Dangerous Toxins From Genetically Modifed Corn Found in Blood of Women and Fetuses; Retrieved from http://articles.mercola. com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/06/dangerous-toxins-from-gmo-foods.aspx Swanson, Dr. Nancy (April 27, 2013) Sustainable Pulse. Dr Swanson: GMOs Cause Increase in Chronic Diseases, Infertility and Birth Defects. Retrieved from http://sustainablepulse. com/2013/04/27/dr-swanson-gmos-and-roundup-increase-chronic-diseases-infertility- IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 14 and-birth-defects/#.U7DmMKgT6D4 Swanson, Dr. Nancy (April 24, 2013) Genetically Modifed Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States. Retrieved from http://sustainablepulse.com/wp-content/up- loads/GMO-health-1.pdf Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intensive_farming Wuerthele, Dr Suzanne (no date avail). Northwest Resistance Against Genetic Engineering. But no-one has fallen over dead from eating genetically engineered food have they? Retrieved from http://www.nwrage.org/content/no-one-has-fallen-over-dead-eating-genetically- engineered-food-have-they EXHIBITS Exhibit A Exhibit B Exhibit B Exhibit D Exhibit E Exhibit F Photo retrieved from http://sustainablepulse.com/2013/04/27/dr-swanson-gmos-and-roundup- increase-chronic-diseases-infertility-and-birth-defects/#.U7DmMKgT6D4 Exhibits G-S Graphs from Swanson, Dr. Nancy (April 24, 2013) Genetically Modifed Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States. Retrieved from http://sustainablepulse.com/ wp-content/uploads/GMO-health-1.pdf IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 15 Exhibit T Appendix 1 (November 2007 Update) Center for Food Safety, Monsanto vs. Farmers. Retrieved June 30, 2014 from http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/fles/monsanto_november_2007_ update.pdf Exhibit U GMO Infographic Love. (November 9, 2011) Fearless Revolution. Retrieved from http://fear- lessrevolution.com/blog/gmo-infographic-love.html. IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 16 Exhibit A Exhibit B IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 17 Exhibit C IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 18 Exhibit D Exhibit E - one of the photos published by the team of French scientists after feeding the rats Monsantos GMO safe corn IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 19 Exhibit F Exhibit G IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 20 Exhibit H Exhibit I IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 21 Exhibit J Exhibit K IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 22 Exhibit L Exhibit M IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 23 Exhibit N Exhibit O IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 24 Exhibit P Exhibit Q IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 25 Exhibit R Exhibit S IS BIG AGRICULTURE REALLY FEEDING THE WORLD WITH GM CROPS? 26 Exhibit T