Monsanto Monster Strikes Again
PORTLAND, Ore. - Grass that was genetically engineered for golf courses is growing in the wild, posing one of the first threats of agricultural biotechnology escaping from the farm in the United States, a new study says.
Creeping bentgrass was engineered to resist the popular herbicide Roundup to allow more efficient weed control on golf courses. But the modified grass could spread that resistance to the wild, becoming a nuisance itself, scientists say.
Ellstrand noted the engineered bentgrass has the potential to affect more than a dozen other plant species that could also acquire resistance to Roundup, or glyphosate, which he considers a relatively benign herbicide.
Such resistance could force land managers and government agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, which relies heavily on Roundup, to switch to "nastier" herbicides to control grasses and weeds, Ellstrand said.
The bentgrass variety is being developed by Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. in cooperation with Roundup's manufacturer, Monsanto Co.
The engineered bentgrass is under review by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which published a "white paper" in June that assessed the threat but did not reach any conclusions — leaving that for an environmental impact statement being prepared by the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
But the USDA review paper noted that glyphosate is "the most extensively used herbicide worldwide," and that creeping bentgrass and several of the species that can form hybrids with it "can be weedy or invasive in some situations."
In 2003, the International Center for Technology Assessment in Washington, D.C., filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt development of genetically engineered bentgrass. The suit is still pending.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14603199/
Special Note to Land Owners:
These genetically modified seeds for crops and this grass are a patent product by Monsanto.
Over the past 10 years there have been several cases of agencies coming onto private land to test crop cross contamination and when they find that their modified seed has pollenated and is now growing on your property and you didn't buy it...guess what they sue you. Do a google search on this land grab subject. I would keep an eye on this one.
Creeping bentgrass was engineered to resist the popular herbicide Roundup to allow more efficient weed control on golf courses. But the modified grass could spread that resistance to the wild, becoming a nuisance itself, scientists say.
Ellstrand noted the engineered bentgrass has the potential to affect more than a dozen other plant species that could also acquire resistance to Roundup, or glyphosate, which he considers a relatively benign herbicide.
Such resistance could force land managers and government agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, which relies heavily on Roundup, to switch to "nastier" herbicides to control grasses and weeds, Ellstrand said.
The bentgrass variety is being developed by Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. in cooperation with Roundup's manufacturer, Monsanto Co.
The engineered bentgrass is under review by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which published a "white paper" in June that assessed the threat but did not reach any conclusions — leaving that for an environmental impact statement being prepared by the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
But the USDA review paper noted that glyphosate is "the most extensively used herbicide worldwide," and that creeping bentgrass and several of the species that can form hybrids with it "can be weedy or invasive in some situations."
In 2003, the International Center for Technology Assessment in Washington, D.C., filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt development of genetically engineered bentgrass. The suit is still pending.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14603199/
Special Note to Land Owners:
These genetically modified seeds for crops and this grass are a patent product by Monsanto.
Over the past 10 years there have been several cases of agencies coming onto private land to test crop cross contamination and when they find that their modified seed has pollenated and is now growing on your property and you didn't buy it...guess what they sue you. Do a google search on this land grab subject. I would keep an eye on this one.
posted by Dani @ 8:11 AM
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