10/February/22

 

Cultivating genetically modified corn is banned in Mexico, but the country still imports it from the United States. Mexican activists want US imports of GM corn banned. Agricultural researcher Timothy A. Wise said there are many options for both the US and Mexico if the import of all GM corn into Mexico is prohibited. “The US could still sell corn for feed to Mexico,” he said. “It would just need to be non-GM corn. And US farmers are perfectly ready and willing to grow non-GM corn for a market as big as Mexico’s.” Al Jazeera

 

 

One in three people across America have detectable levels of 2,4-D, a toxic herbicide linked to cancers, birth defects and hormonal imbalances, a major nationwide survey has found. Human exposure to the herbicide 2,4-D has substantially risen amid expanding use among farmers despite a multitude of health and environmental concerns, according to the first nationally representative study evaluating the footprint of the chemical. Overall, the amount of 2,4-D applied in agriculture increased 67% between 2012 and 2020, but its use will almost certainly grow sharply over the next decade due to the widespread use of the controversial weedkiller Enlist Duo – a relatively newly approved combo (2,4-D and glyphosate) for GM crops. This will make both toxins increasingly difficult to avoid. The Guardian

 

 

More than 400 sq miles (1,000 sq km) of Amazon rainforest has been felled to expand farms growing (GM) soy in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso in a 10-year period, despite an agreement to protect it. In 2006, the landmark Amazon soy moratorium was introduced banning the sale of soy grown on land deforested after 2008. From 2004 to 2012, the clearing of trees in the Amazon fell by 84%. But in recent years deforestation has climbed steeply, reaching a 15-year high last year – encouraged, campaigners say, by President Jair Bolsonaro’s anti-conservationist rhetoric and policies. With the moratorium applying only to soy, farmers have been able to sell the crop as deforestation-free, while still clearing land for cattle, maize or other commodities. The Guardian