The best excuse these marmots can muster
We’ve been enjoying the summer too much to write!
We know, we know— that’s no excuse at all. But we’re back and very appreciative to you for sticking with us.
Thank you!
A quick update
After school ended, Emily moved back to the mainland to enjoy the summer. She hiked the Chief, went camping, is volunteering left, right and center, and as always is learning more and more about ways to live in an environmentally sustainable way. Emily’s take on Vancouver’s sustainability scene will be part of the resurrected Marmot Murmurs blog.
Katie opted to forgo her traditional summers at home in Hawaii and remained in Victoria to uncover what exactly these BC summers are all about (strictly for research purposes). So far she has been enjoying the new garden at her new place. (A post on the wonders of gardening and the wonders of having roommates with green thumbs to come). The unswimmable, but skim boarding, hang-out, drink-coffee-by, and yes— even surf friendly beaches burrowed a place into her little heart as has Nootka Island and week long surf/camping trips.
Both are ready to begin this little blog again.
Why start again?
“Approval of Modified Corn Worries Activist, Farmers.”
If the heading sounds familiar, you probably read it in the Times Colonist or whatever your favorite local paper might be. If you read the article, did you also slap your forehead in frustration (though not quite disbelief)? And if you haven’t read it, here’s the re-cap: The CFIA approved a new GMO corn engineered by Monstanto and Dow AgroSciences.
Have you smacked your head in frustration yet?
How about after this: “ ‘You’d think that a combination of eight GE traits would trigger and environmental assessment, but the CFIA has [provided] no public record of their evaluation’ said Lucy Sharratt, co-ordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network.” (Michelle LaLonde of Canwest News Service). Yes, you read that correctly: eight genetically engineered traits. And it gets better. These genetically engineered traits “tolerate” pesticide products made by both Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences.
Still not bothered? Okay, how about this:
“The CFIA has also conditionally authorized for SmartStax a reduction in the size of the buffer zone, or ‘refuge,’ normally required around genetically engineered corn” (Michelle LaLonde of Canwest News Service).
So let’s get this straight: CFIA approved a GMO without publishing its environmental evaluations and provided less protection to farmers who do not want contamination of their crops by these GMOs. Well done, CFIA. Well done.
Thoughts? Comments? Is this too heavy handed? Is there a good reason for the CFIA's decision? Let us know what you think, and let's get this discussion rolling.
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Lame excuse, but good to see you back. If there is an insufficient buffer, could the gm plants make the non-gm seeds infertile? Would this create some legal liability for the loss of fertility?
ReplyDeleteSo the dog ate your homework excuse, eh? Anyway is it true the genetically engineered corn is killing off honey bees? Which in turn disrupts the rest of the food chain? Great to see you back.
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ReplyDeleteThis is a link to a Guardian article about the dangers of gmo cross pollination. To sum it up, cross pollination is a concern-- hence the need for buffer zones. In the article, UC Davis professor and plant geneticist points out that plants cross pollinate. He says, "If you put a gene out there, it's going to escape" and that "zero contamination is impossible at present."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/feb/18/gm.contamination
Not only are there implications for the development of plant species, but also for farmers. What does it mean for a farmer if a patented GM plant some how ends up growing in their field? It could mean that the company who developed the plant now owns the farmer's crop.
The list of implications could go on and we will discuss this topic more in later segments as well.
As per Old Diver's question:
The bee issue has been in the hot seat since at least 2007. Between Sept 2008 and April 2009, treehugger.com (yes... yes...) reported that 29% of bee colonies had vanished. You'll see a fair amount of honey bees circling this Victoria back yard, happily cross pollinating our various plants. But I wonder if a farmer using gmo corn in Wisconsin would see a similar demographic of bees. Probably not. Designing genes specifically to deter bugs probably has an effect on bees too.
Does any one else have insights into any of these questions? We'd love to hear them!
And thanks to our readers again for sticking with us and posting questions. :)