The Bees for Development debate

GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) and GM crops have been debated in BfD 54 (March 2000) and BfD 59 (June 2001). Here are some more sources of information

Globalisation Inc - concentration in corporate power: the unmentioned agenda A report published by Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, Canada www.etcgroup.org identifies that a single company Pharmacia/Monsanto is responsible for 94% of GM crops sown. 98% are grown in Argentina, Canada and the USA, with four principal crops: canola, cotton, maize and soybeans. The major GM benefit is herbicide tolerance (75% of total GM crops grown) with Bt engineering the only other GM technology in wide use. Other highlights of this report are that ten seed firms control one third of the world’s commercial seed market written agrochemical corporations controlling 84% of the world’s agrochemical market. The report questions if effective world monitoring is possible with this concentration of ownership and if such consolidation might not put world food security at risk.

The December 2001 issue of LEISA contains ten contributions that focus on Genetic Engineering: not the only option. Published by ILEIA (Centre for Information on Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture, The Netherlands), the magazine is also available in Spanish. There is an interactive website at www. ileia.org. The issue arrived with the December 2001 Biotechnology and Development Monitor (The Network University, The Netherlands) which included eight additional GM articles including one on Monsanto: rewriting the script plus two on Bt one on maize in Kenya and the other on Bt cotton in South Africa.