GM: Mass Deaths in Sheep Grazing on Bt Cotton, notes Dr. Mae-Wan Ho

GM: Mass Deaths in Sheep Grazing on Bt Cotton, notes Dr. Mae-Wan Ho

The Bt trail of dead sheep, ill workers and dead villagers over three years At least 1,820 sheep were reported dead after grazing on post-harvest Bt cotton crops; the symptoms and post-mortem findings strongly suggest they died from severe toxicity. This was uncovered in a preliminary investigation conducted by civil society organisations in just four villages in the Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh in India. The actual problem is likely to be much greater. This latest report confirms the findings of an earlier fact-finding investigation, also conducted by civil society organisations, on illnesses in cotton farm workers and handlers caused by Bt cotton in another cotton-growing state, Madhya Pradesh, in India (“More illnesses linked to Bt crops”, this series). And not so long ago, we reported similar illnesses and deaths among villagers in the Philippines linked to exposure to Bt maize since 2003 (“GM ban long overdue, dozens ill and five deaths in the Philippines”, SiS 29).

1800 is just one count... many more were actually killed

Twenty-five percent of sheep dead within five to seven days

This year, there have been several media reports of sharp increases in the deaths of sheep and goats after grazing in Bt cotton fields. There were similar reports in 2005, when complaints were lodged with the Joint Director of Agriculture by a few NGOs, but no action has resulted. Between February and March 2006, the shepherds of Warangal district again reported high mortality in their flocks after grazing in harvested Bt cotton fields. Some shepherds reported to the animal husbandry department and requested confirmation on whether the deaths were due to grazing on Bt cotton. Still getting no response, a fact-finding team of five members was constituted by the Andhra Pradesh Shepherds Union: two members from Anthra (NGO working on livestock issues), veterinary scientist Dr. Ramesh and a field researcher Mr. Apparoa; Mr. Jamalaiah, Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Shepherds Union; and two scientists from the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture working on Bt cotton issues, Mr. S. Ramprasa and Mr. G. Rajashekar.

www.maya12-21-2012.com...


Original Story carried in 2006
Mass Deaths in Sheep Grazing on Bt Cotton
The Institute of Science in Society
www.i-sis.org.uk...

reply to post by zorgon


Genius. (*sarcasm dripping from fingertips*) Pure genius.

But seriously, how were the scientists that genetically modified the plants supposed to know that ANIMALS would EAT PLANTS -- g'head guys, keep playing god. Nice work.

BT: Bacillus thuringiensis -

It cannot be mere coincidence that similar Bt toxins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis incorporated in the genetically modified crops are involved in all these cases; but the regulators have done nothing.

reply to post by zorgon


monsantos slow kill crops work fast on smaller animals
question
how do i get genetically modifyed so i can ingest this stuff?
because its killer to everything that eats it
how are we any different?
or is the next step to GM us to eat the GM crop?
this is genocide by corperate interests
supported by the american govenmnet

see wiki cable about the us gov and monsanto

its obvious they want us dead or GM patented as property of monsanto

xploder

Originally posted by XPLodER
reply to post by zorgon

 

how do i get genetically modifyed so i can ingest this stuff?

XPLodER - unless proven to help spelling, there is no need to ingest this stuff...

because its killer to everything that eats it
how are we any different?

Exactly!!! Don't turn yourself into a guinea pig!

or is the next step to GM us to eat the GM crop?
this is genocide by corperate interests
supported by the american govenmnet

Big leaps there, but lots of theories - including those stones in Georgia - that might tie into a theory here.

see wiki cable about the us gov and monsanto

Do you have the link handy? What did it say??

its obvious they want us dead or GM patented as property of monsanto

Sounds like the makings of a movie

Originally posted by Yukitup

see wiki cable about the us gov and monsanto

Do you have the link handy? What did it say??

WikiLeaks details battle for biotech corn
blogs.desmoinesregister.com...

Max Keiser: Wikileak on Monsanto GM seed
agonist.org...

Jeffrey M. Smith: WikiLeaks Monsanto & Europe
www.bioportfolio.com...

Wikileaks: Monsanto et al
cafe.comebackalive.com...

reply to post by zorgon


thanks zorgon

untill people realize this stuff is only safe if you are GM yourself
then we are in trouble

ps my spelling sucks
but the message is important

xp

Thanks Z.

Doing a little digging on Monsanto provided the following re the BT cotton gene alteration process:

Gene insertion was done using a gene gun (particle bombardment). Kirk, who has an undergraduate degree in biochemistry, understood this to be “a kind of barbaric and messy method of genetic engineering, where you use a gun-like apparatus to bombard the plant tissue with genes that are wrapped around tiny gold particles.” He knew that particle bombardment can cause unpredictable changes and mutations in the DNA, which might result in new types of proteins.

and

...mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) and its human counterpart, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). These fatal diseases had been tracked to a class of proteins called prions. Short for “proteinaceous infectious particles,” prions are improperly folded proteins, which cause other healthy proteins to also become misfolded. Over time, they cause holes in the brain, severe dysfunction and death. Prions survive cooking and are believed to be transmittable to humans who eat meat from infected “mad” cows. The disease may incubate undetected for about 2 to 8 years in cows and up to 30 years in humans.

and this in an update to the article:

It turns out that the damage done to DNA due to the process of creating a genetically modified organism is far more extensive than previously thought. GM crops routinely create unintended proteins, alter existing protein levels or even change the components and shape of the protein that is created by the inserted gene. Kirk’s concerns about a GM crop producing a harmful misfolded protein remain well-founded, and have been echoed by scientists as one of the many possible dangers that are not being evaluated by the biotech industry’s superficial safety assessments. GM cotton has provided ample reports of unpredicted side-effects. In April 2006, more than 70 Indian shepherds reported that 25% of their herds died within 5-7 days of continuous grazing on Bt cotton plants. Hundreds of Indian agricultural laborers reported allergic reactions from Bt cotton. Some cotton harvesters have been hospitalized and many laborers in cotton gin factories take antihistamines each day before work.

www.globalresearch.ca...

It is not inconceivable that genetically modified foods are playing a much larger role in these mass animal deaths that we realize.

It'll be interesting (and telling) to see if the big brokers start to short Monsanto.

I'm no fan of GM crops at all, however, the toxicity of the cotton may be due to using too strong or too much of herbicides/pesticides. I think it's a well known problem, at least in India, or labourers not being able to read the instructions on bottles of herbicides and pesticides and poisoning themselves and others or causing severe illness to themselves and others. No reason why it wouldn't also poison the sheep.

Originally posted by monkey_descendant
I'm no fan of GM crops at all, however, the toxicity of the cotton may be due to using too strong or too much of herbicides/pesticides. I think it's a well known problem, at least in India, or labourers not being able to read the instructions on bottles of herbicides and pesticides and poisoning themselves and others or causing severe illness to themselves and others. No reason why it wouldn't also poison the sheep.

If it was an isolated case, sure... some people are not smart when it comes to chemical applications... but it seems every day now we see another weird case that comes with a stupid cause. (fireworks, trucks, etc)

Here is the latest from Viet Nam

Cold weather kills 10,000 heads of cattle
www.abovetopsecret.com...

The fact that they leave out any real details of temperature and other conditions is actually scary. No interviews of farmers, no data to check... nothing. Just 10,000 cows drop dead because they got cold.