Keith Hudson wrote: > Apparently, the GM crops concerned (sugar beet) have been modified to be > unsusceptible to weed-killer sprays. Because of this the farmers have been > able to allow weeds to grow taller than otherwise before bopping them with > spraying them. (Presumably, more weed seeds are given opportunity to > germinate and show their heads.) With more natural weed seeds available, > more skylarks have apparently been encouraged in the last few years. It's a > win-win scenario apparently.
Guess what happens to the skylarks when the farmers are suddenly bopping away their food supply..? > I'm dubious about this. This trumpeting on the part of Monsanto may be pure > propaganda. Of course it is, and a most absurd spin at that -- a company that is responsible for the mass poisoning of animals is now suddenly playing the Big Green. Wouldn't it be better for skylarks to return to organic farming instead of even more chemicals (which is Monsanto's way, make no mistake about that). > On balance, I think environmentalists (and I write as a former activist) > have gone rather too overboard about GM foods. The indiscriminate > intermixing of genes between different species of plant life has been going > on throughout millions of years of evolution, particularly within the large > continental blocks. This was certainly accelerated in the last two > centuries by plant collectors bringing back wild species from isolated > ecological niches and then by subsequent interbreeding with the mainstream > flora. Yup, the indiscriminate intermixing of GM with traditional breeding (actually two very different things) is another classic of Monsanto's PR... Chris _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
