Genetically modified grass (not) blamed for mass cattle deaths in Texas

This stuff is getting bad in Texas... last time it rained the ground looked liked foam, it was everywhere, I now stay in doors when it rains. No telling what they are seeding the clouds with....

Unesasery comment from myself erased.

I don't know if anyone's mentioned it yet, but apparently whoever wrote the CBS article didn't do their research, as this grass was NOT GM, it was a hybrid. No one hates Monsanto and GMOs more than I do, but we have to keep our facts straight.

Hard to believe... grass releasing poisonous gas / chemicals that kills cows?? Really? I guess we all better stay inside and never go out again - or we might die.

Anyway this reminds me of the cheesy M. Night Shyamalan movie that came out in 2008 called The Happening, where trees are releasing poisonous gas that cause people to commit suicide.

en.wikipedia.org...(2008_film)

Off the wall crazy stuff - could this be the source of the "zombies" ? These days, who the hell knows anymore.

Doing due diligence..
An examiner article from yesterday is explicitely saying that this grass is not gmo, but hybrid (as mentioned by others within this thread).. Could this be true or just saving face for a huge industry thst relies on the support of farmers and ranchers for profit??
www.examiner.com...

So, the question, is a hybrid(as described in the article) still somewhat gmo? To me, the fact are still the same,
-this grass is producing cyanide gas and has killed cows, quickly!
-this grass IS modified, through hybridization it appears, by humans
-although it has been used for years, this is the first incident. Doesnt make it any less shocking though!

So, does the fact that our human intervention to create this grass still gives blame to this incident? Imo, yes...
We are messing with nature and finding out that a lot of times, our results have implications that were not planned!
I still think this an extremely valid story, even if the grass is not GMO...

reply to post by Nspekta


We (meaning us and the idiots who are GMO proponents) can argue all day as to whether or not GMOs are being purposely used to cause disease and death, or at least to nold the keys to create worldwide fanine at will, but there is abosultely no arguing that humanity isn't knowledgeable or skilled enough to let a single GMO escape from a lab. We are extremely far from being able to do it right (if there will ever be a right way)

GMO o e day will have its place when colonizing other planets or moons, after we've figured out how to do it right, but it has no place and no purpose on earth. Grow Gardens, folks. You may not be growing all you eat, but offset some of the cost of buying organic - and more importantly - take back some measure of control.

I know that wheatgrass, some beans, and the seeds of fruits contain nitrilosides (Beta-cyanophoric glycosides which are molecules made of sugar, hydrogen cyanide, a benzene ring or an acetone). Nitrilosides are also knows as vitamin B-17 and is used in cancer treatment. I wonder if this GMO Bermuda some how altered this form of cyanide into a toxic form?


looks like primus2012 mentioned this first. Im almost certain this is what occured.

Originally posted by Nspekta
Raw Story

Oh thats awesome eh? Cyanide growing within the grass killing cows..

Other farmers in the area who use the same modified grass have also found cyanide on their properties, though as yet no other cattle have died

My guess would be that a particular chemical, such as fertilizer or weed killer, or maybe even something fed to the cows mixed with this grass, is the cause of the cyanide. I think maybe small amounts were spread by the wind or rain to the adjoining properties which is why those cows didn't die.

Originally posted by AntiNWO

Originally posted by Nspekta
Raw Story

Oh thats awesome eh? Cyanide growing within the grass killing cows..

Other farmers in the area who use the same modified grass have also found cyanide on their properties, though as yet no other cattle have died

My guess would be that a particular chemical, such as fertilizer or weed killer, or maybe even something fed to the cows mixed with this grass, is the cause of the cyanide. I think maybe small amounts were spread by the wind or rain to the adjoining properties which is why those cows didn't die.

edit on 6/24/2012 by AntiNWO because: punctuation police

Read through the thread.. The grass itself IS producing cyanide, it appears as a defensive mechanism to survive drought conditions.
ETA- thats not saying that your theory isnt possible!

wow thats what those birds were trying to tell me last month (sounds crazy, I know lol)

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Genectically modified grass?? really? imagine what the food could have done to the cows?

reply to post by seedofchucky


Without GMO's, we wouldn't be able to produce enough food for the masses. For the most part. Almost everything you've eaten has been modified at some point.

In New Zealand and Australia scientists are trying to create a grass that, when eaten by cows, leads to reduced methane emissions from the cow poop. This along with manipulation of bacteria in the gut of the cow will hopefully lead to a huge reduction in greenhouse gasses from beef and dairy farming.
And it is going to be given to all countries free of charge for the benefit of the whole world, according to the spokespeople.
Lets hope it becomes everything they have promised, and not a cyanide producing cow killer. lol

There are many companies and governments trying to make advances. here's the article reproduced below:-www.3news.co.nz...

Cows fed 'super-grass' could produce more milk
Researchers planning on launching a genetically-engineered "super-grass" by 2013 claim cows grazing on it will produce up to 20 percent more milk.

The GE ryegrass - being developed in Australia for New Zealand seed company PGG Wrightson - has potential to make a huge difference to agriculture, according to the chief executive of the Australia's Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre (MPBCRC), Glenn Tong.

Existing dairy farming pasture-grasses are mainly perennial ryegrass and tall fescue, but the perennial ryegrass grows best in temperate areas that are becoming warmer with climate change.

Mr Tong told the ABC that the technology works to increase the carbohydrates or energy molecules in the grass, and the fodder will also be more digestible than existing ryegrass so the sheep and cows can access those energy molecules more easily.

The Australian researchers working with PGG Wrightson Genomics are also developing a GE grass to reduce the amount of methane given off by livestock, blamed for contributing to global warming.

The scientists at Gramina - the joint biotech venture by New Zealand rural services group PGG Wrightson Genomics and the MPBCRC - are also developing a grass that will not only reduce the amount of methane cows burp up when chewing the cud, but also grow in warmer climates.

This means that farmers may be able to maintain dairy herds' productivity and profitability in the face of a global warming, while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

Methane makes up 14.3 percent of humanity's contribution to global warming and nearly half of New Zealand's.

Ruminant livestock such as cattle and sheep produce methane generated by the micro-organisms in their gut that help them break down cellulose in grass.

Gramina has been using "sense suppression" technology to prevent the expression of an enzyme -- making the grass more easily digested.

The Gramina partnership and PGG Wrightson Ltd, the parent company of PGG Wrightson Genomics, have so far been given over $NZ5 million in funding from New Zealand taxpayers.

Wrightson has previously predicted global markets will be ready for milk and meat grown on genetically engineered pastures by the time it releases its GE ryegrass, even though some consumers may object to dairy products and meat reared on GE pastures.

By the time commercial seed was available there would be consumers willing to accept produce from animals fed on GE grass, it said.

Importantly, the grasses would not be transgenic - containing genetic codes from other species - but would have some of their existing genes either switched off, or boosted in terms of proteins they produced - a research path recently promoted by the biotechnology sector as "cisgenic".

In August 2003, former Environment Minister Marian Hobbs said that - hypothetically speaking - if a state science company wanted to apply to release GE ryegrass without conditions "I'm pretty sure that wouldn't get through at the moment".

The Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) had to take into account the national economic benefit implicit in any approval of GE organisms, she said. One problem would be perceptions GE pasture plants might raise overseas of key export sectors such as dairying.

"If you're doing things that were to go immediately into the food chain in New Zealand, that would begin to raise some issues around timing and confidence and risk and food safety," she said.

In a separate project, NZ Agriseeds Ltd scientists are working on producing temperate pasture grasses with enhanced heat-stress tolerance, water efficiency and increased pest resistance.

Giant dairy cooperative Fonterra initially joined with a United States company, Orion Genomics, to identify the complete gene set of ryegrass, in privately-funded research.

Since then Fonterra has been part of a "pastoral genomics consortium" with AgResearch, Meat and Wool NZ, DairyNZ and the Deer Industry New Zealand, set up to develop a functional genome for clover.

NZPA


Read more: www.3news.co.nz...

Originally posted by RunningFromSpider
reply to post by seedofchucky

 

Without GMO's, we wouldn't be able to produce enough food for the masses.

Completely untrue. There is no food shortage. There is only limitations on who GETS food due in large part to geopolitics.

When native johnson grass seeds out it can kill animals when ingested.
This grass spreads and can be found in a small patch in a field of other grasses or crops.
It is very hard to keep out of a field and can take over rapidly.

reply to post by Ladysophiaofsandoz


Good point. There is really tons of things we do not yet know about the results of genetic manipulation. For that matter even doing the basic protein folding simulations are in there infancy. Simulating all of the possible outcomes due to splicing or shooting in new genes is beyond our current computing capabilities and will be for the foreseeable future (though we will get better over time). So for now the companies are doing their best statistical probability analysis to assess the pros and cons of their work. But probability is not certainty. So for now at least we had better tread lightly in this area. But with that said we need to not ignore the possible benefits for this kind of research. Just imagine a day when no child dies from cancer. That day will come sooner with this kind of research so long as companies and governments work to ensure that we don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

Found this here

15 head of Corriente roping calves died as a result of prussic acid poisoning in Bastrop cattle in a clean field of Tifton 85 bermudagrass. While this has never been reported before, results of analyses of rumen contents and the fresh forage confirmed death was due to prussic acid poisoning.

Key words here:
calves, (not mature cows)
clean field, (no noxious weed grasses)
rumen content (ie: stomach content as in calves ate the grass, so it's not free floating cyanide gas)
never been reported - this one gets me---after all these years growing this grass and it's never happened? Keep in mind this grass was developed in Tifton GA, and also is used and tested in SC, both of which have had their share of droughts in the last couple of years (remember 2009 Lake Lanier & Atlanta?), and I don't remeber any issues with grass causing cows to die. Where I am in SC that's big biz here, making hay and angus beef.

Also, horses graze on this and eat the hay from it.

The cattle were stressed, hungry, and thirsty when they had finished roping for the evening; this is obviously not the ideal condition for cattle to be in when turned into a pasture that had not been grazed this season.

I personally don't know much about cows, but I do know that if you let a horse drink water after running hard you're gonna have a sick horse, you need to walk him first to cool down; if you run your dog after feeding him you risk a serious ER vet visit, best to exercise then feed then nappy time.

The article gives some guidelines on mgmt of which one was:

Never turn hungry, stressed animals into a new pasture; allow them to fill on hay or in a familiar pasture first.

Yeah I would kind think that would be a no brainer....how about that, even cattle have issues with binge eating

The pasture where the cattle died had been severely drought stressed from last year’s unprecedented drought, and had Prowl H2O applied during the dormant season, a small amount of fertilizer applied in mid to late April, received approximately 5” of precipitation within the previous 30 days, and was at a hay harvest stage of growth. Thus, the pasture did not fit the typical young flush of growth following a drought-ending rain or young growth following a frost we typically associate with prussic acid formation.

I'm thinking this is important b/c from what I read here about other grasses this is when cyanide content would be the highest. Prowl H20 is a pre-emergent herbicide used to control noxious and deadly weeds/grasses.

So, from this article I would surmise that it's more an unfortunate issue of mismanagement than of "killer" grass issue. Would be interesting to know if they had turned the calves onto a similar pasture with exact similar circumstances before with no ill consequence. That would be interesting. Also would be interesting to know how experienced the ranchers were. Were they old hands that know their way around a pasture and know cattle, or were they newbies getting back to the land and didn't know know what they were getting into?

About the grass itself, it seems to be a hybrid, not GMO monstrosity

Tifton 85 bermudagrass was released from the USDA-ARS station at Tifton, GA in 1992 by Dr. Glenn Burton, the same gentleman who gave us Coastal bermudagrass in 1943. One of the parents of Tifton 85, Tifton 68, is a stargrass. Stargrass is in the same genus as bermudagrass (Cynodon) but is a different species (nlemfuensis versus dactylon) than bermudagrass. Stargrass has a pretty high potential for prussic acid formation, depending on variety, but even with that being said, University of Florida researchers at the Ona, FL station have grazed stargrass since 1972 without a prussic acid incident.

backed up by this from the hay guys

Tifton 85 Origin: South Africa ... Cross between a tall, highly- digestible african stargrass (Tifton 68; C. nlemfuensis hybrid), and an armyworm-resistant bermudagrass accession from South Africa (PI 290884; C. dactylon)

and this from a 2004 FL FFA (Future Farmers of America for you city folks!) article

A three-year study in Georgia found that steer that ate Tifton 85 gained an average of 300 pounds more than those that ate other grasses. It also showed a $125 per acre yield. This was $30 more per acre than any other grass.

would explain why it's so popular as a pasture grass.

It will be interesting to see if any more cattle are affected as the summer goes on.

Dishonest article. The grass in question was not even GMO. Fear mongering garbage.

And here I was innocently believing Australia wouldn't follow suit in unleashing GMO grass! Seriously Where is the uprising how many more slaps across the face do people need to wake up!

I am going to spread this news like wildfire no way will I stand by and see "super grass" being used here in Australia or any other country.

Money is the root of all evil. What drives a person to put money above all living things I cant comprehend it.

Yes people will argue that we need money in order to survive but the greed for money is what will bring us to an untimely death.

Monsanto and any company that uses chemicals that are knowingly harmful to the planet and all inhabitants must be stopped!

Originally posted by seedofchucky
Another GMO dark cloud.

I do not want to consume GMO's , I do not want to eat animals that have consumed GMO's , I want food in its most natural state without the constant intervention . Is that too much to ask?


What do you mean the grass starts producing cyanide gas lol . What a great weapon for the military to use in overseas and local missions.

I really hope the mass deaths are caused by something else. But as many other stories with GMO's , the list of wtf's are piling up against GMO's.


Say no to drugs , Say no to GMO's , Say no to people who are supposed to be watching out for our best interests

When MAN decides to PLAY GOD, things tend to go haywire. MONSANTO CORP is CRIMINAL in what they have done. Watching them reminds me of watching the 1st X-Files movie with the things they were genetically changing.

When you change the DNA structures of things you change LIFE. Take a look at the things the Anunnaki did to created humans we are today. Combined their DNA with that of early man. to create a race of beings to mine GOLD. They ended up giving us TECHNOLOGY so that we could improve ourselves and survive.

While I DO NOT condone altering the DNA structures of anything, animals, plants, humans ...... because the result can be dangerous or lethal, there is much that can be learned by it in a laboratory enrivonment. When Governments get a hold of that technology, they tend to develop it further to make WEAPONS out of it.