agronomist

“Bronwyn, so you have taken a monthly estimate for farmer suicides across India, multiplied it by 12 and applied it just to the state of Maharashtra?”

No, I haven’t. The monthly estimate was very clearly stated as being for the state of Maharashtra, NOT for the whole of India. You've misread the quote.

“Vandana Shiva is not an agriculturalist and has no expertise in agriculture. She is a professional activist.”

She doesn't need to be an agriculturalist to recognize human suffering when she sees it. In fact she is probably much better placed, as a direct result of the fact she is not part of the industry, to talk to people on the ground and to properly put events into their big picture perspective, which is something that GM-obsessed agriculturalists fail to do.

“Farmer suicides in India is indeed a tragic situation, but the root cause is indebtedness, not GM crops.”

Of course, it’s indebtedness, but that indebtedness is a consequence of farmers switching to growing BT crops.

These crops require twice the amount of water to those grown previously, which mightn't be a problem in good seasons but will increasingly become one. If their crops do fail, the farmers are now powerless to recoup even part of their costs, as 'terminator technology' prevents them from saving their seed. They’re being ripped off mercilessly by Monsanto and other corporate conglomerates, as well as small time leeches in for their easy take further down the pecking order. They’re been charged exorbitant amounts, both to borrow, and for the seed and other inputs required.

How sensible is it, in a period of rapidly pending climate change, to introduce Indian farmers to crops that will require of them double the amount of rainfall they once needed?

The scientifically conservative 2007 IPCC report states that the Himalayan glaciers might be gone as early as mid-century. The Himalayas supply as much as 70% of the summer flow in the Ganges and the loss of that ice sheet will have a catastrophic impact on agriculture in India, and as well Pakistan and China.

Farmers in these areas need to be introduced to the principles of permaculture if they are to have any hope of reliably raising crops on less water. The last thing they need right now is to be seduced by the hit and miss potential of so-called ‘magic seeds’, which will require much greater and more consistent access to water than will ever be possible due to climate change.

Agronomist
“The problem with Showa Denko’s L tryptophan was due to poor filtering, not GM. You can read the reports from the US FDA and CDC http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-tryp1.html, http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/tp5htp.html, http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/NEW00064.html, http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-ltr3.htm”
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Agronomist has said twice now re the L tryptophan disaster, the GM food supplement that killed 100 people and caused the disability of 5,000-10,000 more that
it was not because of the genetic modifications, but the filtering . However the filter change Agronomist blames occurred in January 1989, years after the EMS epidemic started.
Then Agronomist said
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/tp5htp.html, http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/NEW00064.html, Showa Denko’s GM L-tryptophan was first marketed in the US in late 1988 so if there was an EMS epidemic years before this, GM L-tryptophan could not be to blame.

This argument is based on the misconception that the first GM strain of bacteria was introduced in1988. Agronomist argues that if there was an epidemic of EMS prior to that,there would have to be a cause other than just the engineering of the strains. Since four earlier GM strains had been used during the 4 years prior to December 1988, this theory is baseless.
Referr to WK Novak and AG Hasleberger, “Substantial equivalence of anti nutrients and inherent plant toxicants in genetically modified foods. Food ChemToxicol.38(2000): 473-483
Im not interested in reading your reports from the FDA, they are riddled with Monsanto people and the Australian counterpart FSANZ are also worse than useless. They don’t have any jurisdiction over animal feed. We find a lot of stockfeed around the world contains otherwise unsaleable GM soy,corn and the like. Beware the factory farmed pork.,..Unspeakably cruel to pigs and the concentration of BT toxin in pork ( and beef from cattle lot fed ) is something we are ignorant of cause FSANZ don’t want to know, they won’t investigate!. Buy pasture fed organic meat for goodness sake.

I have organic pigs, I have to take them to the abbotoir on a regular basis. Our pigs are small and hairy compared to their poor factory farmed peers who, at the same age are smooth and huge and ABSOLUTELY DEMENTED. They scream and fight non stop.

My pigs are well adjusted in comparison, and even in this most scary of environments, they are calm and quiet. I believe it is the awful boring conditions the factory pigs are raised in that has caused their obvious distress and dysfunctional behaviour, but could it also be the feed, probably gm soy component?

I know GM soy has been imported into Australia and has been fed to free range poultry. Many experimenters have noted in feeding trials that there is an increased level of fear and aggression to the handler and amongst themselves with the GM fed animals , compared to the controls.
The repercussions for human society would be huge if my suspicion is correct. We need independent ,peer reviewed ,multi generational feeding studies in Australia YESTERDAY.
Agronomist, I didn’t know you weren’t in Australia. Are you writing to us from Missouri? What hourly rate are you on? I am financially suffering by contributing to this post as my farm is going backwards as I spend time researching to counter your false statements .I”ll pre empt your next come back on the L Tryptophan issue and save time.:
Some, including your esteemed FDA argue that L Tryptophan itself was dangerous and responsible for EMS. According to epidemiologist Ed Kilbourne who investigated EMS while at the Center for Disease Control, said if this were true, then all tryptophan products of equal dose produced from different companies would have had the same effect. No evidence supports this.In fact EMS investigator William Crist revealed that in every case where the origins of EMS –associated LT were identified, Showa Denko was the source. Individuals who took this product from other companies other than Showa Denko did not develop EMS.
. Under One, Non GM, Bronwyn, Hats off to your patience. think your you‘re the winners.

I think it is obvious that the GM proponents are not going to convince those consumers with concerns by rudely demanding that GM is safe.
Is there a resolution?
Its pretty obvious, do the independent health tests that consumers want and be sure that consumers can avoid GM until they are satisfied that is safe.
But what are the pro-GM activists so frightened of? Obviously they are well aware of the problems as they would prefer to deny consumers a choice and do everything possible to prevent independent health trials being done.

OK just one more because non-GM farmer and I just love to dance.

By FAR the most sceptical consumers of GM ingredient containing food are the europeans. Yet their own food safety agency the EFSA agrees with the rest of the world on the safe evaluations of food safety tests for GM crops. Have a look at my website and see for yourselves, especially you non-GM farmer.