Gerson’s column on GMOs questionable
I’m not sure where Michael Gerson got his “erudite” information from about genetically modified organisms … probably from the same politicians who the companies like Monsanto, Synergenta and Dow have in their pockets. It would behoove him to do his research before writing on a subject he seems to know very little about.
Yes, GMOs are created to resist chemicals like Roundup by having BT (bacillus thurengesis) in their genetic modification which makes them resistant to certain bugs. It does for a while, but insects are fast-developing resistance, resulting in massive infestations of superbugs, which then results in herbicides being sprayed even in more massive quantities, drenching the soil and waterways.
The reason for GMOs is, yes, plants can be sprayed without killing them, and it gives farmers the ability to kill the weeds that grow between the crops without affecting the crops.
No-till farming? Dream on. Avoidance of soil erosion is a result of all planting — nothing to do with GMO plants. I doubt he has ever seen one of those large scale farming operations. It seems Gerson is just mouthing what he’s heard from Monsanto and others. I don’t know why he thinks it eliminates greenhouse gas emission. Farmers still drive through the rows of crops, spray with pesticides with gas/diesel-driven machines and fly over with planes that also run on fuel.
Yes, 90 percent of crops are now GMO crops. A wonderful business for Monsanto, et al. Farmers cannot use their own seeds to reseed the grounds. They must buy the seeds from Monsanto, and, of course, their herbicides. What a great return business.
Gerson may discredit what he calls “studies in obscure journals” and call it “pseudoscience.” However, there must be a reason that 26 countries have prohibited GMO crops. Maybe their scientists are not in the pockets of the mega corporations that create the poisons.
Not only that, GMOs also affect U.S. exports to the countries that do not accept GMOs. (Rice to China, India and Thailand, to name just a few).
Perhaps he has not heard that between 1995 and 2012 some 270,000 farmers in India, trapped in debt for buying seeds and chemicals — mostly from Monsanto — committed suicide, no longer being able to survive and bringing shame to their families.
The toxins sprayed have a lethal impact on other living things — bees, butterflies, human fetuses and more — all the living forces of our existence. The drift from GMO farms contaminates other farms that do not plant GMOs and there is much more. Gerson might want to do some research on this to be informed. Maybe then he can write a more coherent article.
Christa Wagner
Kona
Just one of the silent majority
I really wonder if today you can find a single soul who says they are glad that we don’t have the Superferry. It was really a sad day for the state when those ships were pulled back and it’s going to be another sad day if this noisy minority succeeds in squelching the telescope.
It’s just so hard to understand the logic behind the uproar. Aren’t the shorelines as sacred as the mountain? Where was everyone when the developers took over all the beaches and started pouring golf course waste into the sea? Last week, a reader wrote that she couldn’t sit under a tree at Mauna Lani without getting harassed. Of course, someone made money from all the development but it wasn’t the folks who are now so worried about what’s going on at 13,000 feet.
I hope they get started on the project soon. The noise will die down once things get underway. The little do-gooders can find another cause. Perhaps saving the coqui frogs, the coffee berry borer or little fire ant. Good luck with that.
Churd Krzeminski
Kailua-Kona