Monsanto admits their technology doesn’t work!
Datum: Dienstag, 9. März 2010 14:46
Reyes, one of our agriculture campaigners in India, shares her immediate thoughts on this 'first-of-its-kind' admission by Monsanto雷耶斯，一位我們在印度的農業運動家，分享她的即時想法，在孟山都'這種的第一'入場券。
This was my Saturday's lyrics to breakfast in sunny Bangalore: Monsanto has decided to tell the truth about something: its technology doesn't work!, reports The Hindu. I'm going to need a second cup of chai to digest this, Monsanto speaking honest!? Indian farmers and scientist have been seeing this in their Bt cotton fields for a few years: pests become resistant to Monsanto's genetically engineered toxins and thus farmers apply huge amounts of pesticides. Monsanto has always denied this, has the recent massive rejection of its Bt brinjal in India woken up its senses?
這是我週六在陽光明媚的班加羅爾早餐的歌詞：孟山都已決定說出某些事情的真相：它的技術不行！印度教報告。我將需要第二杯的猜以消化這一點，孟山都講誠實的！？印度的農民和科學家幾年來一直在他們的Bt棉田看到這：害蟲對孟山都的轉基因毒素產生抗藥性，和因此農民應用大量的農藥。孟山都一直否認這一點，有否最近在印度的大規模拒絕其轉基因的brinjal喚醒了它的理智？
For years Monsanto has been shouting that the main - read only - benefit of Bt cotton in India (the only genetically engineered crop planted here) was the reduction in pesticide use. Well, it seems they have just admitted this is not true. Pink bollworm, a serious pest for cotton farmers in India, is now resistant to the toxin in Bt cotton. Meaning that this bug is now sort of a super-pest that farmers will have to work harder and harder to avoid.
孟山都多年來已一直喊著，在印度主要的 - 唯讀 - Bt棉利益（唯一的轉基因作物在這裡種植）是減少農藥的使用。嗯，它看來他們剛承認這是不正確的。對在印度的棉花農民紅鈴蟲是一種嚴重的害蟲，現在對 Bt棉的毒素是抗藥性的；意思是說，現在這甲蟲成為一種超級害蟲，農民將要加倍努力去避免。
What is Monsanto's solution to this? Maybe you have guessed it: use Monsanto's next weapon – same technology - Bt cotton 2.0. With double the amount of toxins (and almost double the price of non-Bt seeds). Hmmm? I need another cup of chai! This is looking too much like an arms-race, which due to rapid pest evolution of resistance could reach a battle of infinite proportions... followed closely by Monsanto's profits, of course. Indigestible! -my stomach shouts-, because along with Monsanto's profits from selling their special seeds I see also the struggle of debt and the threats to the livelihoods of the many farmers I've met.
什麼是孟山都的解決方案呢？也許你已猜到：用孟山都的下一種如武器 般的技術 - Bt棉2.0。雙倍數量的毒素（和近雙倍非轉基因種子的價格），吓？我需要另一杯的猜！這看起來太似一場軍備競賽，它是害蟲抗藥性快速發展的原因，因此可延伸為一場無限比例的戰爭...當然孟山都的利潤緊隨其後，難以消化的！ ，我的胃狂呼，因為隨著孟山都出售其特別種子的利潤，我亦看到許多我見過的農民，在為債務掙紥和生計受到威脅。
Bt cotton troubles don't end here. A few weeks ago, a pro-GE scientist from the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) in Nagpur, Dr. Kranthi, spoke about other 'wonders' of Bt cotton. According to Dr. Kranthi, Bt cotton has increased, yes increased, the use of dangerous pesticides and now other ferocious pests, like mealybug (never seen before by Indian farmers), are destroying the harvests. Wonderful! Monsanto makes money and the farmers risk huge debts and family health from the massive use of pesticides. My breakfast is tasting very bitter this morning.
Bt棉的麻煩並沒有到此為止，幾個星期前，一個親通用電氣公司的科學家，在那格浦爾的中央研究所棉花研究所（紅十字委員會）Kranthi博士，談及其它的Bt棉'奇蹟'。據Kranthi博士，Bt棉已增加，對的增加，使用危險的殺蟲劑，和現在其它兇猛的蟲害，如粉蚧（印度農民從未見過)在破壞收割。奇妙的！孟山都賺錢而農民孭巨大債務風險，和家庭健康風險因大量使用農藥。今天上午我的早餐嚐到很苦的味道。
But I have also spoken to many Indian farmers that are not so desperate. Last November I spent a few weeks travelling around the cotton fields of Andhra Pradesh. In the mist of a lot of very worried Bt cotton farmers (drought, debts, mealybugs, loans at 50% interest rates, etc), I also met many more cheerful farmers -- the organic ones!
但我亦與不那麼絕望的印度農民談過，去年11月我花了幾個星期周遊安得拉邦的棉花田，在很多很擔心的Bt棉農民的迷霧中（乾旱、債務、粉蚧，50％的貸款利率等），我還遇見了更多的快樂農民 - 有機的！
Organic farmers work with several NGOs and farmers associations to develop ways to fight pests without health risks and without money! Yes, without or with very little money. Chetna, one of these farmer associations, support farmers in Karimnagar and Adilabad (very poor areas in Andhra Pradesh) and work with them in making the whole farm, not just the crop, resistant to pests. India is so lucky too, the Neem tree, a wonder of anti-insecticide and many other medicinal properties, grows naturally in almost every farm... its fruits are free and very effective in protecting against pests. Chetna and the rests of the organisations promoting ecological cotton farming, know that the answer is not in a single bullet. The answer is biodiversity - growing a variety of different natural strains and using methods that deal with pests ecologically and with very little investment (and thus less debt for farmers) - like using the Neem tree fruits.
There is hope out there in the dry cotton fields thanks to the hard work of these organic farmers' associations and thanks to Indian biodiversity. My Indian breakfast dosa was a bit hard to swallow, but ended with a very sweet organic chutney!
http://www.datensatz.de/monsanto-admits-their-technology-doesnt-work.html
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