Genetically Engineered Crops

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=184 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="95" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 46 WIDTH="91"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="46" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="91" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B>The Environment</B></div> <div> <B>Nutrition</B></div> <div> <B>and</B></div> <div> <B>Genetic</B></div> <div> <B>Engineering</B></div> <div> <B>of Crops</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  <a href="HTMLobj-606/GECrops.pdf"><u>[.pdf version]</u> </a>  </div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>BIRDMAG DOT COM</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Arial" >   |  </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Lucida Sans Unicode" >  </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#990033" FACE="Verdana" ><A HREF="tableofcontents.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Table of Contents"><U>Table of Contents</U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="water.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Water Quality"><U>Water Quality</U></A>   ·   <A HREF="environmental.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Environmental"><U>Environmental</U></A>   ·   <B>Genetically Engineered Crops</B></div> <div>  </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="6" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="608" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFCC66" BORDERCOLORDARK="#FFCC00" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#663300 HEIGHT= 32 ><NOBR><div> <B>How Do Genetically Engineered Crops Affect Us?</B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC HEIGHT= 331 WIDTH="588"><div> <I>   As aviculturists we are concerned that genetically engineered grains and seeds might not be safe for our birds. Particularly disturbing is the "split use" criteria which would allow crops like BT corn to be permitted for animal use only. With a "split use" category, our only guarantee that our exotic birds' food supply would not contain the grains would be the trust we can put in the individual manufacturers.  That trust would have to be extended to the growers and the handlers. We don't want our birds to be test subjects for genetically engineered foods that are not acceptable for humans.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>    But this is only part of the issue.  We should also be concerned about our food supply in general. Since "Aviculture is conservation, too!" we will also want to consider other parts of the environmental picture: pollution,famine, deforestation.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>   The USDA (GIPSA - Grain Inspectors, Packers and Stockyards Administration section) has issued a request for </I><A HREF="http://www.usda.gov/gipsa/biotech/anpr/anpr.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.usda.gov/gipsa/biotech/anpr/a"><U><I>Public Comments</I></U></A><I> on "How USDA Can Best Facilitate the Marketing of Grains, Oilseeds, Fruits, Vegetables, and Nuts in Today's Evolving Marketplace."  I hope that before you go to the site you will consider some other information on this issue. </I><B>Comments to USDA GIPSA will be accepted until February 28th at midnight.</B></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC66 HEIGHT= 32 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>A Global Perspective</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1636 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>Burgundy Carrots?</B></div> <div>     <A NAME="on_february_3_2001_in_the_produce"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div>    In the produce section of my local grocery store, I picked up a bundle of gorgeous purple and orange colored tubers. They had luscious carrot like-greens attached, two feet long - so long the tops were folded and held with rubber bands. </div> <bR> <div>     I pictured the "carrots" ("carreets" maybe?) sliced on skewer for my birds - and was just imagining my rabbits enjoying those greens, when I thought to look at the label. <I>Confound it!</I> These were not some grandma's-garden, forgotten-variety carrot, or a new-to-commerce but anciently-eaten-by-the-Inca's discovery. These were engineered beet-carrots. </div> <bR> <div>    I could see little sprout eyes, but there was a label saying it was illegal to propagate this rootcrop. I wondered if, like in Blade Runner, you could look through a microscope and see a little patent number on the cells.  I have eaten and enjoyed brocco-flower, but these days one looks askance at any produce that might be genetically engineered.</div> <bR> <div>    About thirty years ago I had one of those questions that young people come up with to test new friends, to see how they think. My question was "Would you rather eat a blue apple or an apple with a worm in it?"  I was disappointed to see how many people opted for the blue apple. But the truth is: if you are truly hungry, either apple would look appetizing. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Feeding the World</B></div> <bR> <div>    I recently listened to an impassioned debate on National Public Radio about the pros and cons of genetically engineering crops, especially in India. Indian farmers are protesting being tied to a system using patented grains, a system which will not allow them to save and replant their seed. Since I think sales tax on food is immoral, I can see their point.</div> <bR> <div>    Do most farmers buy seed annually for their big crops? The means and length of cultivation time for growing a food crop or a seed crop would be different. But are multinational companies forcing a way of life on third world farmers which mostly benefits the companies? The issues are complex. What might work in the U.S. will probably not be right for the rest of the world. And what might not work in India might work somewhere else.</div> <bR> <div>    Dr. Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for launching the "Green Revolution" in Asia and for his lifetime work helping to feed the hungry. In an article entitled "Forgotten Benefactor of Humanity" in<I> </I><A HREF="http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97jan/borlaug/borlaug.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97jan/"><U><I>The Atlantic Monthly</I></U></A><I>, </I>Greg Easterbrook said that Dr. Borlaug has "saved more lives than any other person who ever lived." That's pretty phenomenal.</div> <bR> <div>   Now Dr. Borlaug is 84 and he has spent the better part of his life in underdeveloped countries helping farmers do what they can for the survival of their families, their villages and their countries. He was awarded his doctorate in plant pathology in 1942 by the University of Minnesota. </div> <bR> <div>    Dr. Borlaug served at the Rockefeller Foundation as the scientist in charge of wheat improvement under the Cooperative Mexican Agricultural Program. From 1994 until his official retirement in 1979, he led the Wheat Program in Mexico with International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Since 1984, Dr. Borlaug has served at Texas A&M as Distinguished Professor of International Agriculture. He also leads the Sasakawa-Global 2000 agriculture program (SG 2000), a joint venture between the Sasakawa Africa Association and The Carter Center’s Global 2000 program. </div> <bR> <div>    As a witness for the FDA in the early 70's, Dr. Borlaug says he maintained that DDT should never have been taken entirely off the U.S. market because it was so effective for maintaining human and animal health in the countries that needed it the most. Following our ban, pressure was then made on leaders in underdeveloped countries to stop using it, leaving them without an alternative method. He is concerned that biotech will go the same way.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Biotech Crops</B></div> <bR> <div>    <I> </I>In order to understand the role that biotechnology could play in eradicating human hunger, we need to take into account the problems faced by farmers around the world. We need to educate ourselves for our birds' benefit and for our own as citizens of the U.S. and also as members of a bigger community. We should distinguish between agricultural practices that are reckless and polluting and those that are healthy and acceptable. We should understand why organic gardening might not always be appropriate and make the distinction between "nonorganic" nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides. </div> <bR> <div>    <I>Reason Online</I>'s Science Correspondent, Ronald Bailey, conducted an interview in which Dr. Borlaug explains why we should not reject genetically engineered crops. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="6" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="408" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFFFCC" BORDERCOLORDARK="#663300" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFCC80 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 246 WIDTH="388"><div> "Biotech has a big potential in Africa, not immediately, but down the road. Five to eight years from now, parts of it will play a role there. Take the case of maize with the gene that controls the tolerance level for the weed killer Roundup. Roundup kills all the weeds, but it's short-lived, so it doesn't have any residual effect, and from that standpoint it's safe for people and the environment. The gene for herbicide tolerance is built into the crop variety, so that when a farmer sprays he kills only weeds but not the crops. Roundup Ready soybeans and corn are being very widely used in the U.S. and Argentina. At this stage, we haven't used varieties with the tolerance for Roundup or any other weed killer [in Africa], but it will have a role to play."</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> -Dr. Norman Borlaug</div> <div> in an interview with <A HREF="http://www.reason.com/0004/fe.rb.billions.html " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reason.com/0004/fe.rb.billion"><U><I>Reason Online</I></U></A><I> </I></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>  </div> <div>     I hope you will read both the Atlantic Monthly and the Reason Online articles.  We have only had three Peace Prize Nobelists in the U.S. The other two names are much better known - Elie Wiesel and Henry Kissinger. </div> <bR> <div>    I also think I might go back and get some of those beet carrots. I'll take a picture if it's not a copyright infringement.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> -Linda Seger</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="6" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="608" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFCC66" BORDERCOLORDARK="#FFCC00" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 37 WIDTH="588"><div>  <A NAME="comments"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>  <a href="http://htmlgear.lycos.com/specs/guest.html" target="_top"><img border="0" ismap src="http://htmlgear.lycos.com/img/guest/gb_orange.gif"></a><br> <a target="_NEW" href="http://htmlgear.lycos.com/guest/control.guest?u=trilby6&i=3&a=view"><font face="arial,helv,helvetica,sans serif" size="-1">View My Guestbook</font></a><br> <a target="_NEW" href="http://htmlgear.lycos.com/guest/control.guest?u=trilby6&i=3&a=sign"><font face="arial,helv,helvetica,sans serif" size="-1">Sign My Guestbook</font></a><br>   </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="6" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="608" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFCC66" BORDERCOLORDARK="#FFCC00" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 74 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="http://www.thehungersite.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.thehungersite.com"><U><IMG SRC="290783c0.png" border=0 width="120" height="60" ALT="The Hunger Site: http://thehungersite.com" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div>   In cooperation with Mercy Corps and America's Second Harvest</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>   The first "click to donate" site </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>