[lofo List] Genetically Engineered Sugarcane Next Step for Monsanto

[Daryl Hepting <hepting@cs.uregina.ca>]

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=876

Genetically Engineered Sugarcane Next Step for Monsanto
(Beyond Pesticides, November 6, 2008) Agricultural biotech seed and  
chemical giant Monsanto will acquire Aly Participacoes Ltda., a  
Brazilian company involved in breeding sugar cane, and has already  
begun work to develop genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready  
(herbicide resistant) sugarcane. The deal for $290 million comes at  
the same time grain giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is set to  
invest $375 million in a joint venture with a Brazilian firm to  
produce sugarcane-based ethanol. Amidst numerous other concerns with  
the widespread adoption of GE crops and the proliferation of crops  
grown for biofuels around the world is the threat of increased  
pesticide use.

Roundup Ready crops, which are genetically engineered to be resistant  
to Monsanto’s best selling herbicide Roundup (active ingredient  
glyphosate http://www.beyondpesticides.org/gateway/pesticide/glyphosate.htm) 
 have been a boon to Monsanto’s profits, but not without  
environmental costs. Currently grown Roundup Ready crops include soy,  
corn, canola, cotton, and sugar beets. The crops’ resistance to  
glyphosate enables the use of the herbicide during the growing season  
without harming the crop itself. Glyphosate is now the number one  
herbicide in the United States. This has serious implications for  
public health and the environment, as glyphosate has been linked to  
cancer, reproductive effects, kidney and liver damage, and skin  
irritation; it is neurotoxic and toxic to fish and other aquatic  
organisms. Increased herbicide usage has also led to resistant  
varieties of “superweeds.”

Although GE crops have encountered resistance from advocates  
throughout the world with concerns for health, organic farmers’  
livelihoods, environmental contamination, and intellectual property,  
they have been widely adopted in Brazil as in the United States. The  
long-term environmental effects of GE crops are largely unknown, and  
this was the premise of a recent successful lawsuit for Beyond  
Pesticides and other environmental and consumer groups. In September,  
a federal court upheld a ban on Roundup Ready alfalfa.

Brazil did not legalize GE crops until 2005, but prior to this, a  
considerable percentage of the country’s soy and cotton acreage was  
illegally grown GE crops. One of Monsanto’s reasons for investing in  
Brazil, in addition to what it views as the “untapped acres” available  
for production, is the country’s “improving support for intellectual  
property.” Monsanto’s Roundup Ready seeds have been especially  
profitable for them because farmers are not legally allowed to save  
seeds; instead they are required each year to buy the patented seed  
from Monsanto.

According to Monsanto, over 17 million acres of sugarcane is grown in  
Brazil, and the company expects this number to jump 75% by 2017.  
Currently, sugarcane in Brazil is used to make both ethanol and  
processed sugar. While ethanol from sugarcane takes considerably less  
energy to produce than ethanol from corn, clearing land for  
agriculture removes biomass and degrades soils, releasing carbon into  
the atmosphere. The massive growth in production of biofuels in  
response to the energy crisis therefore contributes to climate change  
through the reduced carbon-storing capacity of the soil.

Organic agriculture does not permit GE crops or the use of synthetic  
herbicides, and focuses on building the soil–minimizing its effect on  
climate change http://www.beyondpesticides.org/organicfood/environment/index.htm 
.

Sources: State Journal Register, St. Louis Post Dispatch

Daryl H. Hepting, Ph.D.
Associate Professor  * Computer Science Department * CW 308.22
University of Regina * Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada S4S 0A2
dhh@cs.uregina.ca    * http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~hepting
tel: (306) 585-5210  * fax: (306) 585-4745 * cell: (306) 596-6312


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