Studie "The GMO-emperor has no clothes" (engl.) - Nabu

that GM plants have failed to deliver increased
yields and have been unsuccessful in delivering
any “climate ready” traits. He advocates for
farming practices that build healthy soils which,
in turn, require less water and use less energy
than than industrial, chemical-ridden soils.
Bill Freese discusses how the use of glyphosate
for weed control is largely responsible for a tenfold
increase in agricultural use of the herbicide
in the U.S. from 1993 to 2007. 12 At 200 million
pounds per year in the U.S. alone (2007), 13
glyphosate is the most heavily used pesticide
the world has ever seen. Freese points out that
glyphosate formulations are clearly harmful to the
environment and may pose human health risks as
well. He cites epidemiological studies of farmers
that have shown an association between contact
with glyphosate herbicides and higher rates of
certain cancers – non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, hairy
cell leukemia 14 and multiple myeloma. 15 He also
explores increasing contamination of GM crops to
non-GM crops and has also generated an epidemic
of glyphosate-resistant weeds.
Former Managing Director of Monsanto, India,
Dr. T.V. Jagadisan, writes of Monsanto’s cloak
and dagger business dealings in India and of the
company’s aim to control India’s agriculture by
controlling the country’s seed business through its
wholly-owned Indian subsidiary Mahyco.
He points out that many more long term trials
need to be carried out by independent agencies and
cautions against the scientific community rushing
into GM technology under the false claim of
increasing production without understanding the
true consequences.
In the section on the History of Monsanto,
dintinguished Indian scientist, architect of
molecular biology and biotechnology in India,
Dr. P. M. Bhargava, gives a detailed account of
Monsanto’s violations, including fraud, false
reporting, harassment and intimidation, bribing
officials and in one extreme case withholding
of evidence about the safety of their PCBs to
residents which resulted in a court finding
Monsanto guilty on six counts of negligence,
wantoness and suppression of the truth, nuisance,
trespass and outrage.
In addition to articles by these well regarded
scientists, many country-specific reports provide
information on GMO scientific research
demonstrating many potential harms to humans
and nature from this technology.
Movements and Resistance
As these reports show, civil society movements
within countries and working in global solidarity
continue to expose the falsehoods of GM
technology. Civil society—including farmer,
environmental, consumer, unions, public health
and social justice groups—actions range from
direct actions such as uprooting GM crops to
policy and public outreach projects such as GMO-
Freeze campaigns and GMO labeling initiatives. In
addition, many regional governments also initiate
actions and policies to halt GMOs. Networks
of scientists—notably the European Network of
European Scientists for Social and Environmental
Responsibility, along with the Union of
Concerned Scientists (U.S. based)—provide
critical technical information for civil society and
governments alike.
Some groups are undertaking legal actions. A
few examples include: Biowatch South Africa’s
challenge against Monsanto over the right to
access of information about biosafety and location
of several GM crop field trials: numerous legal
trials in the U.S. led by the Center for Food Safety
to halt or challenge commercialization of GM
alfalfa, GM sugar beets, and other GM crops. In
India, Navdanya has been challenging companies
for stealing seed knowledge and technical
development from indigenous, tribal peoples—
also known as biopiracy.
12
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Pesticides Industry Sales and Usage: Market Estimates” – see reports for
1998/1999 and 2006/2007, Table 3.6 in each report, http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/pestsales/. Agricultural use of glyphosate
rose from 15-20 million lbs. in 1993 to 180-185 million lbs. in 2007.
13
Ibid, 2006/2007 report. Agricultural use (180-185 million lbs) + home/garden use (5-8 million) + industrial/government/
commercial use (13-15 million) = 198-208 million lbs. total (Tables 3.6 to 3.8).
14
Hardell, L., & Eriksson, M. (1999). “A Case-Controlled Study of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Exposure to Pesticides,”
Cancer, 85(6), 1353–1360; Hardell L, Eriksson M, & Nordstrom M. (2002). “Exposure to pesticides as risk factor for non-
Hodgkin’s lymphoma and hairy cell leukemia: pooled analysis of two Swedish case-control studies,” Leuk Lymphoma, 43(5),
1043-1049; De Roos, et al. (2003). “Integrative assessment of multiple pesticides as risk factors for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
among men,” Occup Environ Med, 60(9).
15
De Roos, A. J. D., Blair, A., Rusiecki, J. A., Hoppin, J. A., Svec, M., Dosemeci, M., Sandler, D. P., & Alavanja, MC (2005).
Cancer Incidence among Glyphosate Exposed Pesticide Applicators in the Agricultural Health Study. Environmental Health
Perspectives, 113(1), 49-54.
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