USDA approves Monsanto alfalfa

USDA approves Monsanto alfalfa despite presence of infertility-causing pathogens


(NaturalNews) The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recently
deregulated Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa, but two weeks before the
department's chief, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, made his
decision, a senior soil expert alerted USDA to a newly discovered,
microscopic pathogen that had been found in high concentrations in
Roundup Ready corn and soy the researchers believe could be causing
infertility in livestock, as well as diseases in crops that have the
potential to threaten the nation's entire domestic food supply.

The warning was issued by Dr. Don Huber, a plant pathologist and former Purdue University
professor, who wrote in a letter to the Department of Agriculture that
the pathogen he discovered is new to scientists, and that it appears to
impact the health of plants, animals and most likely humans to a
significant degree.

"For the past 40 years, I have been a
scientist in the professional and military agencies that evaluate and
prepare for natural and man-made biological threats, including germ
warfare and disease outbreaks," Huber wrote in a Jan. 16 letter to
Vilsack.

"Based on this experience, I believe the threat we are
facing from this pathogen is unique and of a high risk status. In
layman's terms, it should be treated as an emergency," Huber warned.

More and more farmland already being affected

The
retired professor has called for an immediate moratorium on any
approvals of Roundup Ready crops. Despite his warning; however, the USDA
fully deregulated Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa Jan. 27 following
nearly five years of court battles with environmental groups and
farmers. The department had partially deregulated Roundup Ready sugar
beets Feb. 4.

Reports have said that the pathogen is about the
size of a virus and is able to reproduce like a micro-fungal organism.
Huber says the organism could be the first micro-fungus of its kind, and
that evidence exists that the infectious pathogen may cause diseases in
plants and animals, which is rare indeed.

The pathogen appears to be prevalent in soy crops that are suffering from a disease known as sudden death syndrome; corn crops, meanwhile, are suffering from Goss' wilt disease, which, according to Iowa State University,
turned into the "disease of the year," despite historically dry
conditions (Goss's wilt tends to develop more readily in wet weather
with high humidity).

The "disease is caused by a bacterial
pathogen that overwinters in residue of corn and several grasses," says a
description of the disease by agri-giant DuPont.

"Historically, damage to corn had been confined mostly to the Great Plains states. In recent years;" however, "significant crop
damage has also been reported in central Corn Belt states," said
DuPont, adding that in some cases, crop damage can be as high as 50
percent.

Lab tests indicate that the pathogen is also present in a
"wide variety" of livestock that is suffering from infertility and
spontaneous abortions. Huber warned that the pathogen may be responsible
for reports of increased fertility rates in dairy cows and spontaneous
abortions in cattle that reach as high a 45 percent.

Growing concern over infestation of resistant 'superweeds'

The
scientist says he's concerned the pathogen could be spreading because
of an over-reliance on Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops, which are vastly
dominant in American agribusiness and increasingly around the world as
well, especially over the past decade.

"We are informing the USDA of our findings at this early stage, specifically due to your pending decision regarding approval of alfalfa,"
Huber said. "Naturally, if either the Roundup Ready gene or Roundup
itself is a promoter or co-factor of this pathogen, then such approval
could be a calamity."

Experts like Huber have been critical of
glyphosate products like Roundup for weakening the natural defense
systems of crops while promoting the spread of glyphosate-resistant
"superweeds" that have developed a dangerous tolerance to glyphosate and
infested millions of acres of U.S. farmland.

"We are now seeing
an unprecedented trend of increasing plant and animal diseases and
disorders," Huber wrote. "This pathogen may be instrumental to
understanding and solving this problem. It deserves immediate attention
with significant resources to avoid a general collapse of our critical
agricultural infrastructure."


Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/039387_USDA_GM_alfalfa_pathogens.html