The New Dark Age

Picture a world where there is plenty of food, no hunger, fields grow without chemical pesticides, children are saved from malnutrition, and people live healthily. Three decades later, the promises of GMOs lie across the fields like superweeds – costly, useless, and crowding out real alternatives. In 1995, with the approval of Bt maize and glyphosate-tolerant soy in the US, GMOs were touted as the silver bullet: eliminating hunger, reducing pesticides, boosting yields, and fortifying nutrition. But the dream, peddled by biotech giants and promoted by complicit research institutions, has proven illusory. A comprehensive exposé, GMO Promises, by Save Our Seeds, GMWatch, and Beyond GM, offers a reality check. Through eight meticulously documented case studies, the article lays bare a pattern of ecological harm, regulatory evasion, scientific failure, and corporate overreach. Counterview

In a sixteen-year field trial based in Kenya, researchers have found higher crop yield stability in low-input organic systems with previously degraded soil than in high-input organic and nonorganic agricultural systems. One of the agrichemical industry-fed arguments against organic production is the false belief that, if all agricultural production went organic, then it would lead to a crisis of food security. Proponents of transitioning to organic continually push back, given the steady flow of evidence, backed by decades-long field trials, that organic can compete with — and even outcompete — conventional systems after a transitional period. “Based on the findings of our study, organic farming systems have the potential to achieve yields that match or exceed those of conventional farming systems, particularly in the long term when given adequate time for soil adaptation and improvement in soil fertility,” the authors write in the conclusion of their study. Beyond Pesticides

There is increasing evidence that organically managed crop production systems are more sustainable than chemical-intensive fields, or those that operate under the model of pesticide reduction, in terms of biodiversity, public health, and climate mitigation. The Rodale Institute, Ohio State University, and Tennessee State University determined in a study based on field trials that organic grain cropping systems contain higher concentrations of total nitrogen and soil organic carbon, exceeding those found in conventional, chemical-intensive systems. This study is an extension of the Rodale Institute’s Farming System Trial (FST), a 40-year-long field study published in 2020 with the goal of addressing “the barriers to the adoption of organic farming”. The FST finds:
* Organic systems achieve 3–6 times the profit of conventional production;
* Yields for the organic approach are competitive with those of conventional systems (after a five-year transition period);
* Organic yields during stressful drought periods are 40% higher than conventional yields;
* Organic systems leach no toxic compounds into nearby waterways (unlike pesticide-intensive conventional farming;
* Organic systems use 45% less energy than conventional; and
* Organic systems emit 40% less carbon into the atmosphere. Beyond Pesticides

In India, the reason for the decline in the area of cotton cultivation is primarily the failure of Bt cotton against pink bollworms and other insects – pests that make it economically less attractive compared to the low-risk and highly remunerative crops like maize, rice, and sugarcane, writes Dr Virender Singh Lather, former principal scientist at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI). He says farmers are already facing serious problems of resistance to GM Bt insecticidal cotton in the American bollworm pest. Bt cotton is now also affected by a new pest, tobacco streak virus (TSV), which is causing significant yield losses. This crisis of cotton production has given multinational seed companies an opportunity to pressure Indian policymakers to seek legalisation of HT cotton (herbicide tolerant) hybrids with false promises to double cotton production. But frequent use of the controversial herbicide glyphosate can have several ecological adverse effects, including impacts on soil health, water quality and non-target organisms, endangering the whole agricultural production system. Dr Lather calls for a ban on all GM crops. The New Indian Express

Expressing appreciation to India’s Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and citizens on the sharp decline in cotton productivity, Aruna Rodrigues — lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on GM crops — told him in a letter that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a cancer. “The result is that the agenda of the biotech industry, Bayer-Monsanto/Syngenta, is being executed in Indian agriculture to fully prepare it for GM crops”, including gene-edited and mutagenesis-bred herbicide-tolerant (HT) rice varieties, she wrote. Rodrigues alleges that the regulatory body “has deliberately orchestrated a situation to allow illegal Bt crops including Bt brinjal, illegal GMO imports, illegal HT Bt cotton cultivated domestically on a commercial scale for 15 years, illegal GM seed imports in soy, GMOs in processed food…” She lists these alongside “failed Bt hybrid cotton”, which she says has driven many farmers to suicide due to distress. She recalls that the Supreme Court-appointed independent technical expert committee twice recommended prohibiting HT crops, both in general and for crops for which India is a centre of origin. India is the origin of over 80,000 rice varieties. The regulators’ targeting of rice is “an open act of war on Indian agriculture and our farming community”, she writes. Counterview

Experts have been sounding the alarm after the Trump administration indicated it would be bringing back a pesticide that was twice banned by two different federal courts due to the harm caused by the chemical. On July 23, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposal to approve registration for the use of dicamba on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybean crops. The US Dept of Agriculture data revealed that up to 15 million acres of soybeans were damaged by dicamba drift in 2018 alone. Pollinators such as monarch butterflies and rusty-patched bumblebees are threatened by the pesticide, the Center for Food Safety said, noting that beekeepers in multiple states have reported sharp drops in honey production due to dicamba drift. There have also been studies which found “increased risks linking exposure to dicamba with colon and pancreatic cancers,” David F. Goldsmith, an occupational and environmental epidemiologist at Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University. Newsweek

Moms Across America and more than 500 Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) grassroots leaders and organisations have sent a sign-on letter to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and the MAHA Commission, urging immediate action against toxic pesticides threatening public health. The letter opposes Congressional efforts to shield pesticide manufacturers from liability. Among the signers is Charles Eisenstein, who served as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s speechwriter during the presidential campaign. Eisenstein emphasised the need for MAHA leaders to “push Republicans to prioritise Americans’ health over pesticide maker profits”. A particular focus of the groups’ ire is Section 453 of the House Appropriations Bill, passed by the House Appropriations Committee on July 22. The section contains language that grants any foreign or domestic company immunity from liability for its pesticides — including chemicals linked to cancer (glyphosate) and Parkinson’s disease (paraquat). Zen Honeycutt, founder of Moms Across America and a key MAHA leader, said: “Rather than reformulating their products, manufacturers are spending tens of millions on lobbyists and lawyers to manipulate our elected officials to change the laws of our established democracy to prevent lawsuits and protect their profits. If House Republicans fail to remove this dangerous and unjust provision from the bill, they risk losing support from a very influential MAHA voter block in the mid-term elections.” The legislation heads to the House floor after August recess. Sharyl Attkisson

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