Remember the promises made by Monsanto that genetically-modified (GM) crops would bring higher yields and a better quality of life to the world? A recent study put forth by anthropologists from Washington University (WU) in St. Louis has revealed that Bt cotton, a type of GM cotton that produces its own insecticide, is causing significant problems for sustainable farm management, while offering little to no actual increases in yield.
First introduced in India in 2002, Bt cotton has been the source of much controversy because it simply has not lived up to its promises. A recent report in the U.K. Independent, for instance, explains that at least 200,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide in the past decade because of losing everything to Bt cotton failures (http://www.naturalnews.com/030913_M...). And now, further research is showing that the "frankencrops" are exacerbating other problems on farms, including the rise of damaging pests not warded off by the cotton's built-in insecticide.
Developing countries were being urged by civil society groups to reject “a bad deal” at the...
A major storm pummeled northern California with rain and snow on Thursday and threatened to cause...
A set of powerful storms that could rank among the strongest in decades will slam British...
