The US Department of Agriculture's review of Monsanto's own data has shown that years of investment into so-called "drought-tolerant" biotech crops have been nothing more than a risky and very expensive failure, The Seattle Times reports.
Monsanto's new "drought-tolerant" genetically modified corn variety MON 87460 is said to perform no better than non-GMO varieties.
In addition, in the United States and abroad, there are several types of new, drought-tolerant corn grown through natural breeding techniques that are likely to do as well or better than Monsanto's corn. Data from US researchers suggest that conventional breeding is producing drought tolerance two to three times faster than genetic engineering.
The danger is that now that MON 87460 has been deregulated, it will inevitably contaminate truly resilient varieties of organic and conventional corn, destroying the rich genetic diversity that the world's farmers have cultivated in the planet's infinitely varied microclimates.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
US drought causes major key-crop damages
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