GM Bacteria ‘Suffocates’ Soil, Says Retired EPA Scientist
How GM crops literally suffocate the soil
bacteria
Dr. Ramon Seidler, a retired senior scientist from the US Environmental Protection Agency, has become a leading spokesperson against genetically modified foods and the increasing use of pesticides with GM crops. Dr. Seidler has published numerous papers on the subject of GMOs, arguing against them, rather than for them, as many other industry puppets do. He notes the effect genetically modified bacteria has on our soil as one reason why GMOs aren’t so great.
Dr. Seidler was part of the first team in the world to conduct an outdoor experiment involving different types of genetically engineered alfalfa inoculated with GE beneficial root bacteria. We discovered that the GE bacteria survived for years in the soil, even after the removal of the alfalfa plants. The doctor also found issues with transgenic DNA and Bt toxins, specifically because they were damaging to the ecosystems in which they were planted.
Dr. Seidler told The Organic and Non-GMO Report:
“From the risk assessment, economic, and legal perspectives there are many issues. There is a mixture of unfilled promises, concerns over litigation resulting from cross pollination and seed comingling events, and a disappointment that crop management practices have had significant negative impacts upon environmental biosafety. All of these side effects are happening despite no yield or production advantages of GE crops over traditional crops. There are also major concerns over whether the increased use of pesticides on our food crops have impacts upon the human population.”
So, why is it a problem if GM bacteria stays in our soil?
GM crops literally suffocate the soil. Our soil is full of billions of tiny micro-organisms, and without them, the larger organism – the plant – cannot grow properly. Soil is a complex mixture of these micro-organisms, minerals, rock, fungi, organic matter, and bacteria. If you alter just one aspect of the soil, you alter everything that grows in it.
For example:
“. . . the function of mycorrhizal fungi that surround plant roots and aid plant uptake of nutrients, resist disease and tolerate drought. These are especially vulnerable to human impacts [including GMO].
Mycorrhizae establish a symbiotic relationship with the roots of most plants and then send out their filaments, called hyphae, up to 200 times farther into the soil than the roots they colonize.
They enable the plant to better tap into a wider area for water and nutrients, especially phosphorus. This extended feeding area makes mycorrhizae associated plants healthier, with better root formation, fewer root diseases and pest problems and consequently require less moisture and fertilizer.
These delicate organisms are known to be affected by pesticides and fertilizer and so it is little wonder that the toxins from GM Bt crops, produced from every cell of the plant, have a negative impact on the colonisation of the roots and surrounding soil.”
Furthermore, GM crops are taking important enzymes and minerals out of our soil. Glyphosate and other herbicides and pesticides act as chelators, ruining the healthful nature of organic soil. In fact, glyphosate was first patented as a mineral chelator, so why would Monsanto try to tell us it isn’t ruining the minerals in our soil?
Here is one reported example of how GM corn is nutritionally-inferior to non-GM corn:
- Non-GMO corn has 6130 ppm of calcium while GMO corn has 14 — non-GMO corn has 437 times more calcium.
- Non-GMO corn has 113 ppm of magnesium while GMO corn has 2 — non-GMO corn has about 56 times more magnesium.
- Non-GMO corn has 113 ppm of potassium while GMO corn has 7 — non-GMO corn has 16 times more potassium.
- Non-GMO corn has 14 ppm of manganese while GMO corn has 2 — non-GMO corn has 7 times more manganese.
This means that if the damage GM crops cause to our soil persists for years, possibly even decades, then our chances for growing healthful, robust food full of the nutrients we need is ever-declining.
Might it be time to grow a non-GMO garden of your own? This may be the only way to ensure that we continue to have healthy soil. It isn’t just about ruining GM crops anymore – the very soil is being damaged by the biotech industry made up of a handful of multinational corporations (Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, DuPont, etc.).
Right now, biotech is winning. They control $19,600 million in proprietary seeds. Private farmers have their own seed-saving techniques which account for $6,100 million of the food market, according to this report.
How many millions of acres of land have these companies ruined, though? How many miles of farmland will be unusable until it is heavily remediated for decades after being planted with GM corn and soy for years? The damage can hardly be assessed as it stands. Likely, the trillions we will have to spend righting the wrongs of biotech will have these companies and their executives indebted to humankind for millennia.
Grassroots efforts could start restoring the soil, now, though, if we all acted together. You can watch how one gardener in Portland, Oregon, remineralized his soil to grow amazing, organic plants. He does it one garden bed at a time. If that’s what it takes to fight Monsanto, then so be it. It starts with us.
 | Christina Sarich is a humanitarian and freelance writer helping you to Wake up Your Sleepy Little Head, and See the Big Picture. Her blog is Yoga for the New World. Her latest book is Pharma Sutra: Healing the Body And Mind Through the Art of Yoga. |
Great,
This test was obviously done within the said experts prescribed standard methods, the cheapest method available, budget dictates. The requester has no control over this aspect.
They do not test soil for toxic substances, so in truth it isn’t an accurate accounting of a real soil sample. Just sampled for ph and nutrients, toxins not a value or big deal according to the experts?
So this dude was provided a useless testing and result and now has to waste more money and find another lab, or request another test from this obviously derelict company. I’d go somewhere else, because they just wasted the dudes time and money.
Common customer result, oh well at least I got a soil testing done.
Isn’t toxic elements important in regards to nutritional values, since they could pose human health issues?
I have submitted samples before, although a different element. But bottom line everything was included in the report, including the indicators of contaminates and percentages, why?
Because then trouble shooting SOP’s could be initiated and the systems and attributing factors could be researched and studied and corrections could be made.
Facts, education, experience, knowledge and lessons learned. All of this is designed to prevent future replication of the same mistakes and train additional personnel as future experts in this field.
I also ran a lab before, but was just assigned to trouble shoot internal problems and develop and revise the existing SOP’s.
Bottom line leadership was not trained and not fully function-able, creating havoc and chaos with the lower subordinates, resulting in delays and rendering the process inefficient. Due to the leadership, human error was multiplied and the training process was effectively nil due to applying ineffective personnel management processes.
My bottom line assessment of this soil sample report, it is a piss poor job, leaving too much in question.
What *would* we all do without Bobo’s input on every article concerning GMOs? Lol.
You would be lost because you would only have chrissy lies, of course as gullible as you are that is probably the way you want it.
No, but nice try, trollboy. 😉
Oh so you don’t believe her lies either?
I don’t believe *your* lies, Bobo.
You moron a smart person wouldn’t believe ANY lies. Once again you obviously didn’t think that through. Fortunately all of my facts are the truth so have no fear.
You have spewed disinformation for months at this website, troll-boy. So STFU and be on your merry way while those of us with brains continue to reject GMOs and conventional agriculture as much as possible.
This is NOT an open invitation for you to start spamming me again, Bobo. I’ve had quite enough of you to last me several lifetimes….
LOL, my comments can all be backed up. Yours are based on fantasies.
Wrong again, troll-boy. The only thing you have to “back up” your propaganda is the biotech troll manual and the research performed by biased scientists. 🙂
Big talk but no facts, gee I just summed up all your comments.
I have all the facts I need–the ones you trolls so conveniently ignore. I’m not a sucker, so the drivel put out by the lackeys of the biotech industry doesn’t interest me. But you have fun with your GMOs, buddy boy. You can have my portion as long as you promise to stop stalking me into other articles…
You are a sucker if you are that easily duped by sites like this one and little miss chrissy’s easy to point out lies.
You spend way too much time on here for that to be true. You’re worried, very worried. It’s good that people are opposing corrupt corporations. The tide has turned, not just here, but with fracking also. And you fear it.
Yes, I lose sleep at night it is so terrible. LMAO. The only thing I would hate would be a return to non gmo farming and having to handle the dangerous herbicides and insecticides like we use to.
Glysophate and Enlist Duo are better than organic pesticides, but they still have their dangers. Which get worse with long term usage. That’s why I am following the pesticide free GMO research with such great interest. As well as the antibiotic free immune boosting research.
When those products get here I will more than happily support them, but until then we must keep using what we have today. Yes glyphosate and enlist can be dangerous, but they are better than what we used to use.
Yes, and I believe neocortinoids (which are still used in Europe “courtesy” of Bayer, are much worse, as well as organophosphates. The former was linked to the monarch butterfly die off as well as the bee die off.)
ROFLMAO.
Problem?
Nope. Just laughing my *** off at you.
It is true that some people find topics that they don’t understand funny.
Are you implying that you’re a topic that I don’t understand? Well, that may be. I don’t really understand how a human could be so brainwashed or stupid. I write it off to possession and manipulation by “dark forces”, personally.
Wait you claim I was implying about me, and the you start talking about you being brain washed. You are definitely confused.
You’re really not very smart, are you? How on *earth* could you get so confused? Wait, I don’t want to know. I never want to know how a person could become so stupid. Learn to read and interpret correctly, Bobo. It will take you a long way in life.
You call me dumb? Sarcasm is lost on you not me there pigeon.
Sarcasm? That’s funny since your statement–which didn’t even make sense–was a response to a very sarcastic comment left for you.
Again it was lost on you. Not to surprised there pigeon.
Are you done harassing me yet, in this and the other articles?
If you don’t want replies then don’t post.
Or I could hide all my Disqus comments like a coward—you know…like what you do… Maybe then you wouldn’t follow me around like a lost troll. Lol.
Oh pigeon tell the truth you really do care!!
Idiot.
I love you to pigeon.
Obviously, I meant that you’re a liar and the author of this article is NOT. But I guess the obvious is just too much for you to understand.
Oh if you believe Chrissy after all the times she has easily been proven wrong then that just make you stupid!!!
Look, I don’t know what kind of personal grudge you have against this author, but the fact is that most of the articles here are heavily referenced. It’s not like she’s making this sh*t up. She does add her own opinion, which is obviously not to your liking. Too bad for you, eh?
Even Lumpy changed his mind after actually looking up the information. She lies, try to actually check it out yourself instead of blindly following the herd.
Actually I think there were other factors involved in lumpy’s statements.
I have been profiling him and you.
In order to understand lumpy, don’t just read, but attempt to understand.
Though he went on a tangent a few times, he appears to be very insightful and very well educated.
lumpy stated,
Environment and psychology, wonderful assessment.
My guess, lumpy had to leave.
I agree, I think his had a vast knowledge on certain subjects.
lumpy said, de oppresso libre, what did you think?
Here’s what you should have thought,
A literal translation of the phrase de oppresso liber would be “from (being) an oppressed man, (to being) a free one”.
“to free from oppression” or “to liberate the oppressed”
Our world is local, to heck with Korea.
In other words as we support our world (local), we are eventually also able to help other communities.
But the best method to support our world is to sustain it ourselves. Corporations take and don’t return locally. Effectively they create a stagnant local economy.
The imagination is ours to create, challenge and educate.
From article,
Russian officials propose bill to grant every citizen one hectare of farm and forest land to use for self-sufficiency
The Pacific Rim of Russia could soon see a mass migration of young
people if a government scheme to repopulate this largely uninhabited
area is successful. In an effort to promote self-reliance and good land
stewardship, the Russian government is planning to grant every Russian
citizen who wants it one hectare of land for free as long as these
landholders use their land for farming, self-sufficiency.
With bold and innovative moves like this, their Citizens will survive.
Look, troll-boy, I don’t care what you think about her or her articles or her sources. You’re going to have to do better than just calling her names.
Try fact checking her articles moron, oh I’m sorry that would get in the way of you blind faith wouldn’t it.
I do go to the source of information when I’m interested in something. I’ve read about all of this stuff elsewhere. I don’t actually need her articles to find information. I read them because they are included in the newsletters–you know, the ones you signed up for just so you could see the latest GMO articles as soon as they come out. Or do you just perform daily Internet searches to find everything published about GMOs so you can go heckle the authors?
Oh Chrissy, can’t you even come up with a new lie? These numbers are so old they and fake that even the original people that put them on the internet want anything to do with them. Is that why you didn’t reference? Try looking up how the original actually turn a non gmo activist into a moderate and read “Science is laughing at us”. Of course we all are laughing at you Chrissy.
The new Mother Nature,
GMO Roberts, lol.
Research has shown, but the research is conducted by the product endorsers and manufacturers?
But scientific data, follow the main stream and don’t create waves, or our endorsers will ruin you.
Truth has no place in marketing.
Then do your own research. Get a sample of organic corn and gmo corn and send them both to the lab of your choice. I would recommend Dairy One out of New York, but there are several other good ones out there as well. Why don’t you even post the results so we can all see them.
http://www.css.cornell.edu/courses/260/nutrient%20results%202011.pdf
Did that, your buddies removed the report.
There are available through a google search, don’t need to request one myself.
I also researched the sources, they seem to support their benefactors.
You believe what you find on the internet? Especially when you could do it yourself? You just really don’t want to know the truth because it will kill your fantasies that gmos aren’t the same.
Sources support the benefactors.
.edu, .gov
The reports were from dairy one, so yes I do believe them. Dairy One is bought and paid for, glad you suggested them.
I just researched your suggestion. Followed the money, lol.
The statement, you believe what you find on the internet, is biased to provide doubt within one’s own mind and enforce the accusers beliefs. The accuser is empowered by some mystical force and is placing the research on those who oppose his views. Your just spewing words and not validating them, but rather providing your future ability to argue through pointless babble. This is where the attack will be focused back upon me, since the poster wants to hold the high ground and I have outright challenged him to provide his facts. This is a child like rant and he’ll prove it himself. He’s got nothing…
So everything on the internet is BS, well unless it supports your mindset.
There is a lot of truth on the internet, you just have to search and research.
All have a right to question, correct?