Gates Foundation Seeks to Dominate Africa’s Food Systems

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded another $10 million last week to the controversial Cornell Alliance for Science, a communications campaign housed at Cornell that trains fellows in Africa and elsewhere to promote and defend genetically engineered foods, crops and agrichemicals. The new grant brings BMGF grants to the group to $22 million. The PR investment comes at a time when the Gates Foundation is under fire for spending billions of dollars on agricultural development schemes in Africa that critics say are entrenching farming methods that benefit corporations over people. On September 10, faith leaders in Africa posted an open letter to the Gates Foundation asking it to reassess its grant-making strategies for Africa. The letter cites the Gates-led Alliance for a Green Revolution (AGRA) for its “highly problematic” support of commercial seed systems controlled by large companies, its support of restructuring seed laws to protect certified seeds and criminalize non-certified seed, and its support of seed dealers who offer narrow advice about corporate products over much-needed public sector extension services. “We appeal to the Gates Foundation and AGRA to stop promoting failed technologies and outdated extension methods and start listening to the farmers who are developing appropriate solutions for their contexts,” the faith leaders said. Despite billions of dollars spent and 14 years of promises, AGRA has failed to achieve its goals of reducing poverty and raising incomes for small farmers, according to a July report False Promises. The research was conducted by a coalition of African and German groups and includes data from a recent white paper published by Tufts Global Development and Environment Institute.

Why Bill Gates Is Accelerating a Toxic Food System

The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest charitable foundation in the world, with a trust endowment valued at $48 billion and yearly grant payments in excess of $5 billion annually. In addition to being one of the largest contributors to the World Health Organization (WHO), with heavy involvement in global public health, the Gates Foundation is deeply involved in agricultural development. It's a noble cause but one that's being carried out using an agenda that supports agrochemicals, patented seeds and corporate control — interests that undermine regenerative, sustainable, small-scale farming. In a report by Global Justice Now, the excessive global influence held by the Gates Foundation is illustrated, starting with the $2 billion the foundation has spent on agriculture, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. "It is the world's fifth largest donor to agriculture, spending $389 million in 2013; only Germany, Japan, Norway and the U.S. have larger bilateral aid programs to agriculture," the report noted, and, "With funding comes in influence." Indeed, in February 2012, when the Gates Foundation announced a $200 million donation to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Gates talked of the importance of brining "agricultural science and technology to poor farmers." These are buzzwords that imply genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and biotechnology, which are heavily favored by the Gates Foundation.

Virus Resistant GMO Papaya Fails as New Lineage of the Virus Develops

Ringspot virus-resistant GM papayas are often cited as a genetic engineering success. But a new study (abstract below) reports that in China, the virus resistance in GM papaya has broken down under pressure from a new lineage of the virus. The study reports that the GM virus-resistant papaya planted in Hawaii retains its virus resistance. But this has not saved the Hawaiian papaya industry, since many countries don't want GM papaya and up to a third of the crop is thrown away because it's bruised or mis-shapen. As a result, USDA scientists have been looking at ways to make the unwanted GM papayas into biofuel. In addition, a non-GM virus-resistant papaya has been developed, suggesting that the GM version is not needed.

African Use of Ants and Intercropping to Fight Armyworm Pests in Corn Crops More Effective than GMOs

Recently GMWatch reported on attempts by the GMO lobby to persuade African countries to accept GM Bt maize to fight the fall armyworm pest, which is spreading across the continent and ravaging maize crops. But the lobbyists omitted to mention that GM Bt insecticidal maize targeting the fall armyworm has already failed in different regions due to pests becoming resistant to the GM Bt toxins in the crop. The lobbyists also ignored the fact that agroecological methods, such as attracting ants to feed on armyworm eggs, are proving successful. Now we've been alerted to another agroecological and non-GMO method that is working well in Africa as a defence against the fall armyworm. The method, a climate-adapted version of Push-Pull, is being spearheaded by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), a multinational government-funded organisation that supports poverty alleviation and food security.

Research Shows Gene Drift from GMO Crops to Wild Plants Endangering the Environment

Research from China has revealed a new dimension in environmental risk posed by GM plants: additionally inserted genes can enhance the potential for uncontrolled spread into the environment. There is now evidence to show that this is the case for glyphosate-tolerant plants. Where there is gene flow from the plants into the natural populations, the offspring will have increased fitness and can spread their transgenic DNA more effectively than assumed. Glyphosate-tolerant GM plants have been grown commercially for more than 20 years and are the most commonly grown GM plants worldwide. Nevertheless, their high potential for uncontrolled spread has so far not been investigated in detail in any official risk assessment. There are some previous findings showing enhanced fitness of transgenic plants. Especially GM oilseed rape and rice have several times succeeded in introgressing natural populations. Contrary to expectations, the resulting transgenic offspring very often persisted in the environment and continued to propagate. Chinese researchers have clearly shown that even in a glyphosate-free environment higher fitness does occur. They are demanding that further studies should be conducted, including the hybrid descendants of transgenic crops, to thoroughly assess the ecological impact.

If Sperm Counts Continue Declining Humans Could Become Extinct

If sperm counts continue declining at the current rate, humans could become extinct. Analyzing nearly 200 studies, researchers have found that the sperm counts in men across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand have halved in less than forty years. The study found that the decline in men’s sperm counts may also be accelerating. Although the study didn’t investigate the potential causes of this sharp decline, prior research has implicated exposures to man-made chemicals, especially endocrine disruptors that are plentiful in many consumer products and the pesticides sprayed on our food. One such endocrine disruptor is GM soybeans. In a Russian study on hamsters, scientists observed that consumption of GM soybeans tended to slow their sexual maturation, and completely eliminating their ability to reproduce.

FREE GMOs Revealed Docuseries Seeks to Educate Public on Toxic Food System – World Experts Interviewed

On Tuesday, August 22, 2017, the GMOs Revealed Docuseries will air for the first time online, and registration is FREE. GMOs Revealed exposes the toxic, vicious and constant cycle between glyphosate and “Roundup resistant” engineered crops designed to survive large doses of the chemical that kills plants on contact! We’ll explain how consuming this hidden poison in our foods damages your body, causing an epidemic of disease that is escalating with the increased use of Roundup. What’s even worse is that the risks don’t end there. The new GMO developments have the potential to mute your genes... which can cause health issues to pass genetically to your future generations! You can’t afford to stay in the dark about the dangers of GMOs. That's why we are dedicated to providing you with this essential information free so you can protect your family before it is too late. Join us in exposing the facts about GMOs.

Monsanto Pressured Journal to Retract Study Linking Cancer to Roundup Herbicide

Internal Monsanto documents released by attorneys leading US cancer litigation show that the company launched a concerted campaign to force the retraction of a study that revealed toxic effects of Roundup. The documents also show that the editor of the journal that first published the study entered into a contract with Monsanto in the period shortly before the retraction campaign began. The study, led by Prof GE Séralini, showed that very low doses of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide had toxic effects on rats over a long-term period, including serious liver and kidney damage. Additional observations of increased tumour rates in treated rats would need to be confirmed in a larger-scale carcinogenicity study. The newly released documents show that throughout the retraction campaign, Monsanto tried to cover its tracks to hide its involvement. Instead Monsanto scientist David Saltmiras admitted to orchestrating a “third party expert” campaign in which scientists who were apparently independent of Monsanto would bombard the editor-in-chief of the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology (FCT), A. Wallace Hayes, with letters demanding that he retract the study.

New Bill Would Allow Farmers To Sue Monsanto If GMO Crops Invade Their Property

A bill introduced into the Oregon legislature would allow non-GMO farmers to sue biotech patent holders over trespass by their GMO crops if their crops were to spread on to their farms. HB 2739 survived a legal hurdle in April, when the bill was referred to the House Rules Committee, which isn’t subject to an April 18 legislative deadline that recently killed other proposals. The move could effectively allow HB 2739 to stay alive through the end of the 2017 legislative session, scheduled to end in late June.

Honest Scientists who Question GMOs are Attacked and Silenced

Numerous new medicines and medical devices have been marketed with claims that declare them to be “safe and effective” – which is a compelling marketing slogan, though devoid of scientific proof. Such claims are facilitated by collusion between the pharmaceutical industry and authoritative government agencies, aided by leading scientists (“key opinion leaders” known within industry as KOLs) and renowned scientific institutions. Internal FDA documents confirm that genetic engineered/modified food products (widely known as GMOs), entered the U.S. food supply without having been subjected to scientifically rigorous safety tests as is mandated by law. GMOs entered the market through the perversion of science, the corruption of government by politically appointed bureaucrats whose allegiance was with industry. (Read AHRP Post How Monsanto Rigged the System through politics and propaganda) In 2003, a congressional committee report, documented political interference and manipulation of scientific research at federal agencies charged with developing science-based public health policies.