<div>Dear Holly, Alison, RWG:</div>
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<div>Thank you for bringing up this topic. The environmental impacts of GM crops is huge. . As you have noted, the decrease in "weeds" can interrupt habitats and ecosystems. Of course, herbicide resistant crops also mean more herbicides present on our food</div>
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<div>In addition, forest trees are being genetically engineered for cultivation in monocultures. Here, engineering for natural pest resistance means the internal toxins can also destroy microorganisms responsible for soil fertility. An infamous example of this is the result of Bt cotton in India, where fields lost fertility and could not support subsequent crops. O.k., now imagine this happening to a forest when trees are engineered to be "pest resistant". Engineering forest trees for decreased lignin (to make it easier to process paper) results in weakened trees. And these genetically engineered forest trees can hybridize with other forest trees to pass on the genetic weaknesses.</div>
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<div>Introducing these traits through horizontal gene transfer, mixing genetic material not only from other species, but other genera and even other kingdoms, disrupts the natural ancestral heritage of these plants, corrupting their evolutionary history responsible for their resilience and successful integration with the ecosystem.</div>
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<div>It's the end of phylogeny.</div>
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<div>There are crops being bred to produce pharmaceutical drugs and human hormones. How are these going to affect insects that feed on or pollinate these plants?</div>
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<div>And then there are the "CBI" crops. CBI = confidential business information. <br><br>There are many more genetically engineered crops than most people imagine. I will follow this email with a new subject line, showing how to query which crops are out there.</div>
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<div>Thanks for caring about this topic.</div>
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<div>best regards,</div>
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<div>Gena Fleming</div>
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<div class="gmail_quote">On 31 January 2012 10:18, Holly Sletteland <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hslettel@calpoly.edu">hslettel@calpoly.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR:#1f497d">I for one don’t think you are overreacting and do think this is a subject that is appropriate for the restoration community to address. The development of herbicide resistant crops has NOT led to a decrease in the application of these chemicals as the herbicide companies promised, but rather a substantial increase. This is resulting in more herbicide resistant weeds (let alone other issues such as ground water pollution) reducing the effectiveness of a tool in our toolbox. It’s also leading to agricultural fields that are too clean. The dramatic drop in monarch populations is increasingly believed to be stemming from the loss of milkweed. Part of it is development to be sure, but a large part of it is the loss of milkweed in agricultural fields where it used to be relatively common. What other native “weeds” are we losing that are critical to the food chain? And of course, drift is always an issue with large-scale herbicide applications. It’s not supposed to happen, but we all know that it does periodically with irresponsible applicators. If you provide contact info, I’ll be happy to send an email.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Arial','sans-serif';COLOR:gray;FONT-SIZE:10pt">Holly Sletteland<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Arial','sans-serif';COLOR:gray;FONT-SIZE:10pt">Preserve Manager<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Arial','sans-serif';COLOR:gray;FONT-SIZE:10pt">Morro Coast Audubon Society<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Arial','sans-serif';COLOR:gray;FONT-SIZE:10pt">PO Box 1507<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Arial','sans-serif';COLOR:gray;FONT-SIZE:10pt">Morro Bay, CA 93443<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Arial','sans-serif';COLOR:gray;FONT-SIZE:10pt"><a href="tel:805.772.1991" target="_blank" value="+18057721991">805.772.1991</a> / <a href="tel:805.239.3928" target="_blank" value="+18052393928">805.239.3928</a><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Tahoma','sans-serif';FONT-SIZE:10pt">From:</span></b><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Tahoma','sans-serif';FONT-SIZE:10pt"> <a href="mailto:rwg-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org" target="_blank">rwg-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:rwg-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org" target="_blank">rwg-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Krohn, Alison<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, January 31, 2012 6:37 AM<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:rwg@lists.plantconservation.org" target="_blank">rwg@lists.plantconservation.org</a><br><b>Subject:</b> [RWG] 2,4-d resistant corn<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Has anyone on the list kept up with or followed the expansion of herbicide resistant crops? Monsanto is petitioning USDA to approve 2,4-D resistant corn (isn’t corn already resistant?). I’m very concerned about the widespread reintroduction of 2,4-d in response to Roundup resistant “superweeds” and to kill alfalfa (especially roundup ready alfalfa) for rotation into another crop. I know the organic farming community has been fighting this but what about restoration folks?<u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">We grow native forbs and grasses in Nebraska for seed and experienced 2,4-d drift last spring when an adjacent alfalfa field was sprayed with 2,4-d and glyphosate to rotate into corn. I can’t isolate the herbicide damage from the August dry weather but we did experience a 70% decline in perennial sunflower seed production. We filed a complaint with our state regulators and after finding the “lost” report they warned the operator not to do it again. The tissue samples showed evidence of both herbicides on our field. <u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">We use herbicides to manage some troublesome species but we spot spray. It seems to me the potential impact on roadside refuges of native plant communities may be severe if herbicides like 2,4-d and dicamba are used more frequently. Have any other agencies or advocates weighed in on the proliferation of herbicide resistant crops and the potential impacts on adjacent native plant communities? Am I overreacting?<u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks for your time<u></u><u></u></p></div></div></div></div><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>PCA's Restoration Working Group mailing list<br><a href="mailto:RWG@lists.plantconservation.org">RWG@lists.plantconservation.org</a><br>
<a href="http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/rwg_lists.plantconservation.org" target="_blank">http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/rwg_lists.plantconservation.org</a><br><br></blockquote></div>
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