Return of the silent spring >THE TIMES, London, August 13 1998 > > OPINION > > Derwent May fears crops from the lab are bad for our birds > > Return of the silent spring > > There are still a few yellowhammers in the farmland > hedges singing, as tradition has it, about their "little bit of > bread and no cheese". But there is a danger that > yellowhammers will soon be wailing that there is no bread > and no cheese - and after that, it will not be long before > they will all be gone. > > The new danger comes from genetically modified farm > crops, and what they might do to the insects and weed > seeds that so many birds, like yellowhammers, depend on > for food. There has already been one near-disaster of this > kind since the war, when in the 1960s DDT and other > organo-chloride pesticides were sprayed indiscriminately > over the fields. Then small birds ate poisoned seeds, and > sparrowhawks ate the small birds, and before long the > sparrowhawk was practically extinct in Britain. As DDT > built up inside their bodies, the deaths of other bird > species would undoubtedly have taken place and "silent > spring" was averted only by the outcry of conservationists > and the banning of DDT. > > Now there is the threat of another silent spring. There are > at present two main areas of experiment with genetically > modified organisms, (GMOs), in agriculture. One is the > production of what are called herbicide-resistant crops; > experiments are mostly taking place on oilseed rape and > sugar beet. What the successful outcome of these > experiments would mean is that the new rape or beet > would not be affected by very powerful or "broad > spectrum" weedkillers, so that farmers could use these on > their fields without fear. > > If these modifications were extended to all crops, even the > remaining weeds in the fields, on whose seeds so many > birds still depend, would vanish. Of course "weeds" here > usually means what the rest of us would call flowers, such > as the big yellow sowthistles and rusty-red sorrel; at > present these are adorning the fields quite spectacularly > after the rainy summer, with goldfinches and greenfinches > and linnets all coming down in flocks and families to feed > on them. Ultimately, all these birds would starve. > > The other kind of genetically modified crops that are being > introduced are those that produce their own insecticides; > insects using these habitually would either die or abandon > them. Even if the insects leave them, where will they go if > there are no wild plants left? Insects are even more > important than seeds to birds in the summer, for linnets > and skylarks and other mainly seed-eaters all feed their > tender young with insects. > > A third danger that is being much talked about at the > moment is that the GMOs might, through > cross-fertilisation, pass their new features on to other > plants, and chemical-resistant "superweeds" might appear > in the countryside. However this, it must be said, is mainly > a danger for farmers - and rather a cause for cheering for > conservationists - especially if the superweeds do not > have the gene that repels insects. The great superweeds > might become strong, safe homes for butterflies and bees, > as well as impregnable food sources for birds. However, > it is hardly a good idea to trust to that! > > Farmland birds are already suffering badly, even though > DDT has gone. Other changed farming practices have hit > them. Not so long ago, farmers left their stubble fields all > winter, and ploughed them in the spring. Keats's "rosy > hue" that fell on them in autumn brought numerous birds to > glean on the spilt grain - even sparrows came out in noisy > crowds from the towns - and throughout the winter, > weeds flourished on them and produced seeds. > > Nowadays the combine harvester goes round relentlessly > and not an ear of corn is left on the earth for the gleaners. > Then, even before the field is harvested, the ploughing > begins again, and soon afterwards the winter corn is > planted. Only last week I watched a combine and a > plough clattering along side by side on a hilly field in > Hertfordshire. There was nothing for small birds there. > > Now GMOs carry the threat of taking the deadly process > much further. That is why the good folk of Fife were out > last March pulling up a mutant crop of oilseed rape and > dancing on the field afterwards, and the Aberdonians cut a > giant X in a GM rape field in May. > > This time, unlike what happened with DDT, we can > prevent a potential disaster - if we want to. English Nature > has called on the Government and other bodies > throughout Europe to carry out long-term testing before > deciding whether these crops are acceptable. It adds, > tactfully, that "we do not want to reject any potential > benefits from these crops". > > But that is self-deception. Farmers who use them will be > in a head-on clash with wild life. They want to get rid of > the insects and weed seeds. So the rest of us must make > up our mind whether we can accept any further inroads > into the numbers of our birds, butterflies and flowers. > > The Edwardian poet Gordon Bottomley wrote: "When > you destroy a blade of grass/You poison England at the > root." > > A hundred years on, would he be tempted to write: > "When you mutate a blade of grass you poison England at > the root"? > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ =========================================================================== /`\ /`\ RABBIT INFORMATION SERVICE: _ _ (/\ \-/ /\) P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 (.\_/.) )6 6( http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm \6 6/ >{= Y =}< VEGETARIAN PAGE =\ /= /'-^-'\ http://www.geocities/RainForest/4620 /O\ / (_) (_) / \ ( | . | U U ) | |} Pity the human race its illusion of permanence (| |)/ \_/^\_/ w'-'w ===========================================================================
