Genetically Modified Papaya Found In Kanchanaburi: Chula Researcher

[webfact]

Destroy GMO-tainted papaya crops, researcher says

PONGPHON SARNSAMAK

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Academics yesterday called on the Agriculture Department to destroy farms growing Hawaiian papaya in Kanchanaburi province after a recent study found that these crops might be contaminated with genetically modified organisms (GMO).

The move came after a study conducted by Piyasak Chaumpluk from Chulalongkorn University's Department of Botany revealed on Wednesday that 29 samples of Hawaiian papaya tested in Kanchanaburi province were tainted.

"Tests show that papaya grown in 50-rai in Kanchanaburi province have GMO," Piyasak said. "The department should destroy these farms in order to prevent the contamination from spreading."

Piyasak said he had all the information ready, but did not want to make any of it public as it would affect the farmers. He also called on the department to compensate farmers whose farms would be destroyed, adding the authorities should not blame the farmers for this.

"I don't think they knew that the papaya seeds were tainted with GMO," he said.

He is also calling on the department to study the route of GMO-tainted products, from farms to fresh markets or supermarkets.

"We found that pollen from GMO-tainted papaya plants could have contaminated other papaya trees," he said.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace campaign coordinator for Southeast Asia Nattawika Ewsakul said so far the government had failed to control GMO contamination.

To date, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has used the 1964 Plant Quarantine Act to control GMO contamination in papaya, corn and yellow-bean farms.

"But the question is, why does the contamination still exist?" she asked. "It is because the government's measures have not been good enough."

Nattawika added that the government should pass the bio-safety bill, the draft for which has been languishing for the past two years.

"If government does nothing to control GMO contamination, then farmers will end up having to shoulder added costs of testing their crops for GMO," she said.

-- The Nation 2012-05-18

[cloudhopper]

Just exactly which 'GM organisms' have 'contaminated' these papayas? To what effect?

Piyasak said he had all the information ready, but did not want to make any of it public as it would affect the farmers.

Sure dude. Bogus science rears its ignorant hysterical head in LOFS once again.

[Crushdepth]

This really does have the potential for a completely unknown and unintended consequence in the long run.

Of course, but no more nor less than any other random mating or mutation of genes, be it via natural or artificial means.

It is one thing to select traits that originate from within a specie's natural gene pool and quite something else to insert new genes from outside the existing gene pool. I just don't get why this crucial difference remains so hard for so many to understand. But I susoect it is the same genetic flaw that prevents people from understanding the difference between weather and climate.

Indeed it is nowhere as simple as man selecting the healthiest plants from his field to collect the strongest seed. It is about importing very selected genetic characteristics from other completely different species that would never be able to cross into the host plant.

I myself am still undecided and would prefer that the world was still at the r&d level because what we are talking about here is forcing genetic mutation that would ordinarily be impossible or take 1000s of generations. The problem is that the r&d has been largely undertaken by private enterprise so it must see are turn. Messing with the worlds food supply is a massive decision.

The weather and climate analogy is a good one, and we all know how the data for that became discredited so easily. Decisions like this have to stand up to the most rigorous peer review, and since when would anyone say that trusting a private company 100% on its research when it has a vested interest in selling you the result, which may not show any problems in the real world for many years?

The other issue is that to turn back GMO is extremely difficult if not impossible,because the seeds spread around so quickly an entire crop population can be changed in 4 or 5 generations through pollination. If you like your rice spliced with genes from parsnips, good luck

There's at least another 2 billion people on the way that need to be fed. Since the world doesn't want to talk about population control, we pretty much have a choice of improving the efficiency of agricultural practices (of which GMOs are one tool) or doing some very severe damage to the planet. I think the fear of GMOs is way overblown and pales in comparison to the potential destruction that would accompany further agricultural expansion.

There's a very good

might interest some. "If we don't get food production right, both where we produce it and how we produced it, in the next 40 years, we as a conservation organisation can turn off the lights and go home"

[seedy]

The problem is not an inability to grow enough food to feed the worlds population, now or in the future.

The problem is that much of the most productive land is being used to either raise animals for human consumption, raise crops to feed these animals, or for making bio-fuel, which is a net energy loss.

But there is more profit in raising animals or biofuel, hence the practice continues to grow as more people starve.

[Thai at Heart]

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/biotech/20questions/en/

WHO questions and answers

[Reasonableman]

http://www.who.int/f...20questions/en/

WHO questions and answers

Q7. What are the issues of concern for the environment?

Issues of concern include: the capability of the GMO to escape and potentially introduce the engineered genes into wild populations; the persistence of the gene after the GMO has been harvested; the susceptibility of non-target organisms (e.g. insects which are not pests) to the gene product; the stability of the gene; the reduction in the spectrum of other plants including loss of biodiversity; and increased use of chemicals in agriculture. The environmental safety aspects of GM crops vary considerably according to local conditions.

Current investigations focus on: the potentially detrimental effect on beneficial insects or a faster induction of resistant insects; the potential generation of new plant pathogens; the potential detrimental consequences for plant biodiversity and wildlife, and a decreased use of the important practice of crop rotation in certain local situations; and the movement of herbicide resistance genes to other plants.

Edited May 18, 2012 by Reasonableman

[farang000999]

as soon as you increase food supply, the population grows even faster. saying gmo is good because it reduces starvation is thus silly. you are a dog chasing your tail. gmo encourages furthor population growth

(i have no comment on the health risks as i am not a scientist but the above is basic logic)

[yawg]

There are complex problems around GMO crops. Apparently the slow extinction of the honey bees is one of them:

http://www.commondre...ew/2012/05/16-6

There are also reports of infertility of pigs that have been fed GMO corn and malformed babies in Mexico where farmworkers live close or on big GMO farms where loads of "insurance"herbicides are sprayed on the crops. RoundUp kills all other plants and leaves only the genetically engineered crops.

Edited May 18, 2012 by yawg

[bumpkin]

There are complex problems around GMO crops. Apparently the slow extinction of the honey bees is one of them:

http://www.commondre...ew/2012/05/16-6

There are also reports of infertility of pigs that have been fed GMO corn and malformed babies in Mexico where farmworkers live close or on big GMO farms where loads of "insurance"herbicides are sprayed on the crops. RoundUp kills all other plants and leaves only the genetically engineered crops.

Please post the specific reference for these reports. Thanks

[misasaza]

The information is very interesting. I like the post. Thank you, this advice will come in handy. It made me understand something, and it is that I never knew before.

[GentlemanJim]

There are complex problems around GMO crops. Apparently the slow extinction of the honey bees is one of them:

http://www.commondre...ew/2012/05/16-6

There are also reports of infertility of pigs that have been fed GMO corn and malformed babies in Mexico where farmworkers live close or on big GMO farms where loads of "insurance"herbicides are sprayed on the crops. RoundUp kills all other plants and leaves only the genetically engineered crops.

Well, even Einstein predicted that humans would not last 5 years past the extinction of the honey bee. It is a creature that needs to have more money put into it's preservation than all the tigers, whales, elephants and polar bears put together!