I wonder if the NJ(dupont’s bitch) will print this study…
He grew a Monsanto GM soybean and an almost identical conventional variety in the same field. The modified crop produced only 70 bushels of grain per acre, compared with 77 bushels from the non-GM one.
The GM crop – engineered to resist Monsanto’s own weedkiller, Roundup – recovered only when he added extra manganese, leading to suggestions that the modification hindered the crop’s take-up of the essential element from the soil. Even with the addition it brought the GM soya’s yield to equal that of the conventional one, rather than surpassing it.
The new study confirms earlier research at the University of Nebraska, which found that another Monsanto GM soya produced 6 per cent less than its closest conventional relative, and 11 per cent less than the best non-GM soya available.
The Nebraska study suggested that two factors are at work. First, it takes time to modify a plant and, while this is being done, better conventional ones are being developed. This is acknowledged even by the fervently pro-GM US Department of Agriculture, which has admitted that the time lag could lead to a “decrease” in yields.
and to piggy back the GM issue here is something else to think about…
There is, however, one big problem looming ahead in the world food industry. Unless the scientists get very lucky very soon, we shall soon all be hearing a lot more about something called Ug99. This is the name of a variant of the stem rust fungus, Puccinia graminis, that attacks wheat.
It was first identified in Uganda in 1999, hence the name. But this year it spread dramatically, its spores drifting on the wind across the Red Sea to Yemen and across the Persian Gulf to Iran.
ahhh, good to know we focused on gays, guns and Terri Schiavo for about 5 years though
Tags: DuPont
But you have to admit, the tentacles sprouting from the GM soy plants were impressive.
Castle and Carper are into this stuff with Dupont up to their eyeballs. Google “triasulfuron” in some old delawareliberal posts circa 2006.
Dupont is developing new corn and soy strains that resist THEIR herbicides. Castle of course drew the job of suspending tariffs on imports of the stock chemicals for the herbicides.
First the rules said he had to get the US International Trade Commission to estimate the loss to the Treasury of the tariff suspensions. It wasn’t too bad at first, but the estimates started shooting up in 2009 which IIRC was the last year estimated.
Now the triasulfuron suspension is expiring and Castle has another suspension in committee right now, for three more years. I couldn’t find a USITC estimate of the new loss to Treasury but I bet it’s through the roof with the new corn demand.
Ah…. my other foray into journalism.
As I recall the NJ dismissed it as news after a one sentence denial from Carper.
Case closed. Move on folks…nothing to see here.
Got to be honest and say I believe that the news of food riots around the world and that now Sam’s club will be rationing rice is far more troubling than the media wants to admit.
I’ve been expecting the other shoe to drop for 8 years. So, by my calculations we’ve got 8 years worth of shoes about to hit lit a shoe tsunami.
Stock up on Rye Bread. (If you are into that sort of thing.)