A fully referenced and illustrated version of this article is posted on ISIS members website and is otherwise available for download here.
Genetically modified foods are a threat to our dwindling water supplies; they are less water-efficient and contaminate fresh water
by Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji
Genetically Modified (GM) crops are widely recognized for their potential to damage both human health and the environment. Evidence is now accumulating of the contamination of streams, rivers, rain, as well as groundwater with GM-associated chemicals including Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide, while genetic elements such as antibiotic resistant genes are emerging in water-borne microbes. Further, GM crops have been shown to be less water efficient, corroborating farmer’s reports of failing GM crops during droughts. Industrial farming in general has been shown to be ill-adapted to extreme weather events such as hurricanes as well as droughts; and GM crops are not expected to do any better.
Cultivation of GM crops is a serious threat to food security particularly as global water supply is depleting (see [1] World Water Supply in Jeopardy, SiS 56) and already heavily polluted; with elicit and licit drugs (see [2] Pharmaceutical Cocktails Anyone?, SiS 56, [3] Illicit Drugs in Drinking Water), in addition to pathogens, arsenic, fluoride, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, industrial waste products, landfill leaks, and gasoline etc. [4] Water Not Fit to Drink, SiS 57).
Glyphosate in groundwater, surface water and rainfall
Glyphosate, the active ingredient of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is one of the most commonly used herbicides in the world, owing to the widespread planting of glyphosate-tolerant (GT) crops. It has been associated with a host of human and livestock health issues including birth defects, reproductive problems, carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity and internal organ toxicity, as well as lethality to frogs and harm to soil and aquatic ecosystems (see [5] Why Glyphosate Should be Banned, SiS 56). With all this in mind, the contamination of water supplies with glyphosate, a highly water soluble herbicide, has wide-ranging implications. Read more at full article post: GM Crops and Water - A Recipe for Disaster
Cultivation of GM crops is a serious threat to food security particularly as global water supply is depleting (see [1] World Water Supply in Jeopardy, SiS 56) and already heavily polluted; with elicit and licit drugs (see [2] Pharmaceutical Cocktails Anyone?, SiS 56, [3] Illicit Drugs in Drinking Water), in addition to pathogens, arsenic, fluoride, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, industrial waste products, landfill leaks, and gasoline etc. [4] Water Not Fit to Drink, SiS 57).
Glyphosate in groundwater, surface water and rainfall
Glyphosate, the active ingredient of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is one of the most commonly used herbicides in the world, owing to the widespread planting of glyphosate-tolerant (GT) crops. It has been associated with a host of human and livestock health issues including birth defects, reproductive problems, carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity and internal organ toxicity, as well as lethality to frogs and harm to soil and aquatic ecosystems (see [5] Why Glyphosate Should be Banned, SiS 56). With all this in mind, the contamination of water supplies with glyphosate, a highly water soluble herbicide, has wide-ranging implications. Read more at full article post: GM Crops and Water - A Recipe for Disaster
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