Greenpeace

1

• Greenpeace
• Lauren Gianniny
• Britta Zack

2
Greenpeace who we are

• Non-profit organization
• Non-violent
• 40 countries
• Goal - to keep the earth green and peaceful
• Protect oceans and forests
• Stop nuclear threats
• Eliminate toxic chemicals
• End genetic engineering

3
Not Used In Other Countries

• Where it is banned
• Germany
• France
• Luxemburg
• Portugal
• Austria
• Where it was never used
• China
• Australia
• Why
• Protect consumers
• Defend health protection
• Dont have enough information to say it is safe

4
Effects on Insects

• Insecticidal crystal proteins
• - bind to midgut
• membranes
• Bts resistance?
• - insects resistant in 3-4
• yrs.
• - leads to new and more
• harsh insecticides.
• If strands combine?
• - Riverside CA research
• effects on insect population

5
Does size matter?

• Is there a problem with the size difference?
• A resistant Heliothis fed on sub lethal
  concentrations of Bt toxin grows normally
• Growth of a susceptible Heliothis larva is
  stunted

6
We dont know yet how sever the impact of GE
maize will be on individual butterfly populations
and which will suffer the mostGMOs simply
ignored the risks (Railo and Haerlin, Genetic
engineering)

• Bt kills Monarch butterflies
• Within 48 hours -19 mortality
• Avg. weight of larvae fed on Bt was ½ that of non
• Bt larvae.

7
Just butterflies or more?

• Horizontal Gene Transfer
• Mycorrhizal fungi responsible for transfer of
  nutrients between organisms
• Wood wide web
• Brings together soil nutrients from plant
• to plant.
• Transfer from plant chromosomes to soil bacteria
  carrying homologous sequences.

8
Taco Bell and Kellogs in Trouble

• Taco Bell found to have Cry9c
• - Bt not approved for human consumption
• - Triggers allergies
• - Difficult human digestion

• Kelloggs fights that US eats genetically altered
  corn.
• Banned in Europe

9
Economic Disadvantages

• Because of resistance
• - Harsher chemicals
• - Increases cost
• - Decreases trade
• Market rejection
• - U.S farmers lost more than 200 million
• - Predicted decline in planting of Bt corn

10
Where Is Our Society Heading?

• Does Bt corn use lead to capitalization and
  globalization?
• Control of food supplies will be in the hands of
  a few large companies
• Small organic farmers become undermined
• Large-scale farming methods produce rural
  unemployment

11
Recommendations

• Labeling of GE products
• Segregation of crops
• Ban GE food in US
• Further research performed