Widespread contamination
GMO seeds and crops easily contaminate both conventional and organic farmland and the food chain. The first report into the extent to which GMOs have 'leaked' into the environment reveals a disturbing picture of 113 cases of widespread contamination, illegal planting and negative agricultural side effects in 39 countries.
Contamination incidents include pork meat from GMO pigs being sold to consumers, ordinary crops being contaminated with GM crops containing pharmaceuticals, growing and international distribution of illegal antibiotic-resistant GM maize seeds, planting of outlawed GM crops which have been smuggled into countries, mixing of unapproved GM crops in food including shipments of food aid, and inadvertent mixing of different GM strains even in high profile scientific field trials.
For details visit the GM Contamination Register at www.gmcontaminationregister.org.
See also our interview with the Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser who faced by a million-dollar patent infringement lawsuit by Monsanto after being contaminated by their GMO crops.
Pest resistance
The use of GMO seeds and crops which are modified to increase pest-resistance often end up producing the opposite effect, as the pests adapt and become resistant to the poisonous crops. Widespread failure of Monsanto's GMO Bt cotton crops in India resulted in thousands of farmers going bankrupt and hundreds committing suicide. For more on this see GM crop failure and farmers's suicides in India and The pseudo-science of biotech lobbyists by Vandana Shiva.
Superweeds
Just as the use of antibiotic drugs has led to antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" that are difficult if not impossible to control, the widespread use of weedkillers (herbicides) such as glyphosate and glyphosinate ammonium has led to the proliferation of herbicide-resistant "superweeds". The release of Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" and other patented GMO crops which are genetically modified to be resistant to weekillers increases the spraying of weedkillers, which, in turn, has produced a veritable plague of "superweeds". The use of glyphosate increased dramatically in the mid-1990s with the introduction of crops genetically modified to tolerate the herbicide. In addition to soybeans, varieties of corn, cotton, oilseed rape (canola), sorghum and alfalfa also have been developed to allow the post-emergence use of the herbicide.
As of January 2007, scientists have confirmed at least ten glyphosate-resistant weeds worldwide. They include common ragweed, giant ragweed, horseweed, tall waterhemp, buckhorn plantain, goosegrass, hairy fleabane, Italian ryegrass, palmer amaranth and rigid ryegrass. According to Ray Massey, an agricultural economist at the University of Missouri, USA, it is not uncommon for farmers to believe "that resistant weeds aren't a problem until they occur on my land". He said "there's a belief that a silver bullet will come along, but there isn't another silver bullet. I just don't see it happening." He said "It might be more expensive upfront, but working to prevent glyphosate-resistant weeds from ever developing is more economical in the long run". Once superweeds have developed, eradicating them is an extensive proposition requiring the use of multiple and stronger, more toxic weedkillers, thus causing new agro-environmental problems as well as higher production costs for farmers.
Note that a 2005 study found that the glyphosate and glyphosinate based weedkillers such as Roundup are 10 times more toxic than previously thought (see next article below).
Increased use of weedkillers
Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, which contains the chemical glyphosate, is the world's most common agricultural herbicide. It is widely used on Irish farms and may also be used in Coilte's monoculture tree plantations.
Roundup herbicide causes sudden crop death. It is lethal to frogs, and highly toxic to human placental cells, even at one-tenth the recommended dosage. (It is already linked to cancers, neuro-defects and spontaneous abortions.)
Genetically modified "Roundup Ready" crops have been responsible for increased use of the herbicide in recent years. Monsanto's sale of glyphosate has expanded approximately 20% each year through the 1990s, accounting for 67% of the company's total sales as of 200l. More Glyphosate is now being introduced into the environment and the human food chain through cultivation of GMO crops that are tolerant to the herbicide and contain glyphosate residues.
A 2005 study of Roundup presents new evidence that the glyphosate-based herbicide is far more toxic than the active ingredient alone. The study, published in the June 2005 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, (Sophie Richard, Safa Moslemi, Herbert Sipahutar, Nora Benachour, and Gilles-Eric Seralini, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 113, No. 6 June 2005, http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2005/7728/7728.html and http://ga4.org/ct/k71TIKE1WzfS/) reports glyphosate toxicity to human placental cells within hours of exposure, at levels ten times lower than those found in agricultural use. The researchers also tested glyphosate and Roundup at lower concentrations for effects on sexual hormones, reporting effects at very low levels. This suggests that dilution with other ingredients in Roundup may, in fact, facilitate glyphosate's hormonal impacts.
Roundup is a mixture of glyphosate and other chemicals (commonly referred to as "inerts") designed to increase the herbicide's penetration into the target and its toxic effect. Since inerts are not listed as "active ingredients" the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not assess their health or environmental impacts, despite the fact that more than 300 chemicals on EPA's list of pesticide inert ingredients are or were once registered as pesticide active ingredients, and that inert ingredients often account for more than 50% of the pesticide product by volume.
Reduction of biodiversity
[Under construction].
Who benefits from GM crops?
This new report by Friends of the Earth reveals Monsanto's plan to genetically modify all of Europe's maize by 2010. The report concludes that in the ten years since the introduction of genetically modified (GM) foods in Europe, the biotech industry has failed to deliver any benefits for consumers or the environment, and has not played any role in solving hunger and poverty.
The report highlights that over the past 10 years Monsanto and its trade bodies have consistently worked to weaken European laws to protect consumers, the environment and farmers and that despite overwhelming public rejection in Europe, Monsanto and the biotech industry have an unacceptable influence over many parts of European food, research and agriculture policy.
You can download the Key Facts (116kb PDF file) and
Executive Summary (604kb pdf file)
The full report is available from www.foe.org.
THE REST OF THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Information published on the EPA website as of 19 March 2006:
Note: this was published on 21 July 2003 and apparently not updated since then!
Irish legislation
The potential environmental impact of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is regulated under two EU Directives for which the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has overall responsibility -
• Directive 90/219/EEC (as amended by Directive 98/81/EC) on the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms, and
• Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC.
Further information on the EU position on GMOs is available from the European Union website http://www.europa.eu.int or by visiting the GMO section of the site: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/gmo/gmo_index_en.html.
The fundamental objective of both Directives is the protection of people and the environment.
Directive 90/219/EEC, as amended, is transposed into national law under the Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations, 2001 (S.I. No. 73 of 2001: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZSI73Y2001.html) and Directive 90/220/EEC is transposed under the Genetically Modified Organisms Regulations, 1994 (S.I. No. 345 of 1994: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZSI345Y1994.html). Click below for the 2001 Regulations:
2001 Regulations: http://www.environ.ie/DOEI/DOEIPol.nsf/0/058576aeccca70c580256f0f003bc7f0/$FILE/SI73of2001.pdf (PDF,154KB)
Work on transposition of Directive 2001/18/EC is underway and the Regulations, when made, will be available to download.
National Competent Authority
The Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.ie/) is the competent authority for the purposes of the EU Directives and the national Regulations in this area. A register of GMO users in Ireland is maintained by the Agency and is open to the public for inspection.
Public consultation
A consultation paper entitled "Genetically Modified Organisms and the Environment" was issued by the Minister in August 1998 for the purpose of initiating a review of national environmental policy on the deliberate release of GMOs to the environment.
Consultation Paper: http://www.environ.ie/DOEI/DOEIPol.nsf/0/058576aeccca70c580256f0f003bc7f0/$FILE/GMO cons paper nontechsumm.pdf (PDF, 250KB)
The main objectives of the consultation process were to stimulate an informed public debate on the environmental implications of releasing GMOs, to review national policy and practice, and to develop a clear environmental policy position.
The consultation formally concluded in October 1999 when the Minister issued a policy statement on "GMOs & the Environment". The policy position established in the statement recognises the need for balance in terms of environmental protection and socio-economic considerations and places primary emphasis on precaution well grounded on scientific risk assessment and management.
Policy Statement: http://www.environ.ie/DOEI/DOEIPol.nsf/0/058576aeccca70c580256f0f003bc7f0/$FILE/GMO Policy Cover.pdf (PDF, 25KB)
InterDepartmental Group on Modern Biotechnology
Although the public consultation which the Minister initiated related specifically to the environmental aspects of releasing GMOs, the responses raised many wider issues including food production, quality and safety, and consumer protection and choice. In response to these wider issues, the Government decided in March 1999 to establish an InterDepartmental Group on Modern Biotechnology, chaired by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (http://www.entemp.ie/), to report on a co-ordinated overall Government position on genetic modification. The Group's report was issued in October 2000 and can be downloaded from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment's website.
EU regulatory framework on modern biotechnology
The EU Directives for which the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is responsible are part of an expanding EU regulatory framework on modern biotechnology. Since May 1997, the marketing of novel foods (including foods and food ingredients containing or consisting of GMOs) within the EU is regulated under Regulation (EC) No. 258/97. The Department of Health and Children (http://www.doh.ie/welcome.htm) is responsible for the implementation this Regulation in Ireland.
Other related legislation include Directives 91/414/EEC on the marketing of plant protection products and 98/95/EC on the marketing of seed for cultivation, for which the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (http://www.irlgov.ie/daff/default.htm) is responsible, and Directive 98/44/EC on the protection of biotechnological inventions for which the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is responsible. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development is also participating in EU level negotiations on an amending Directive concerning the marketing of animal feed products.
Further information from the EPA:
Ronnie Devlin: email ronnie_devlin@environ.ie
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