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03/23/2006
PLAYING GOD: Bonsai Giraffes and BT Corn
by Lory Tan
Sometime in the stormy seventies, Ferdinand Marcos agreed to take on a shipment of African animals, purportedly to protect them from getting wiped out in one of Africa’s many civil conflicts. He built an ark on a 3,000 hectare island called Calauit, and shipped in small herds of eland, bushbuck, waterbuck, impala, zebra and giraffe. There were people living on Calauit. No problem, this was martial law. So, he had them moved. There were other endemic wildlife , such as calamian deer, monkeys, monitor lizards, eagles, snakes, wild boar and parrots, that called the island home. No problem, let them live side by side, he decided. At some point, Philippine crocodiles were brought in, as were mouse deer, bearcats and peacock pheasants. This ark became a menagerie. A colourful, rather expensive, zoo at the edge of nowhere, which very few people ever visited.
In time, the grazers began to multiply. Before long, portions of the island were grazed bare. So, island managers had to introduce special grasses for food. Then, diseases began to spread through one herd, then another. Maintenance of the island became very expensive, and as soon as Marcos stepped down; so did the fortunes of this rather strange preserve. Some species just could not cope, and little by little, they died off. The more adaptable species did much better. With much less competition, they thrived. Although there are very few waterbuck, bushbuck and eland left today; impala, giraffe and zebra are all over the place. As are calamian deer – which now number more than a thousand. But, one strange thing has happened, the giraffe have shrunk with each generation, leaving Calauit with probably the world’s only herd of bonsai giraffes. Uh oh. They’re stuck. There’s no way they will ever be allowed to return to Africa. With widespread in-breeding and no prospect of new bloodlines, the African animals of Calauit face genetic erosion.
It’s a good thing this whole Calauit-thing was happening way out there, where few prying reporters would take notice, and poke fun at the Philippines. You’d think we would have learned our lessons.
Yeah, right.
BT Corn stares us in the face. And, once again, so many sectors and firms are chafing at the bit to play God once again.
BT corn is a hybrid corn that has been genetically modified to release insecticidal poisons into the soil. These toxins are derived from Bacillus thuringiensis , a naturally-occuring bacterium that kills the European corn borer and some other lepidopteran pests.
Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? You won’t need to pay for pesticides. Better yields. Yes, until you look a bit closer at the details.
BT corn is a hybrid. Like many other genetically modified organisms, it contains a terminator gene. What does that do? You can’t produce seeds from BT corn. After each harvest, you have to go back to the Monsanto dealer and buy seed. In contrast, open pollinated varieties can produce viable seed for four or five croppings. Time to perform a cost/benefit analysis, I think.
BT kills the European corn borer. It also kills monarch butterflies and lacewings. It does not kill all insects. What does this mean? It kills insects, and possibly other animals, that it was not designed to kill. And, listen to this, you will STILL need pesticides after all. Because, it does not eliminate all insect threats. And, the tests done in the US, have not been replicated for the same length of time in the Philippines. This GMO is just as good as those smart bombs that aren’t always so smart.
Although the BT bacterium occurs naturally, it is present in doses much lower than those excreted by BT corn. Those doses in BT corn are synthetic, and are so much higher that they may very well lead to chemical imbalances that will affect other crops grown in the same general area. These toxins possess a binder that enhances their persistence and deters biodegrading. They may also affect those who eat those crops. Us. The problem with BT corn is that those who designed it ignored the impacts of their creation of the entire agro-biological system, focusing simplistically on component parts. Much of the work done in genetic modification of food crops merely apes specific components of our environment and, so far, has not been able to duplicate the complex, interwoven relationships that permeate life on earth.
In short, these guys are not really sure what they are doing. Back in Rio and then again in Johannesburg, we made an international commitment to abide by the precautionary principle. What does this mean? If you are not sure, don’t do it.
When will we ever learn?
23:45 Posted by in Species, Sus Dev | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this | Tags: Sustainable Development
Comments
Great comparison, what a tragedy, doubled by repetation. In New Zealand we have a big drive against GE, mainly for the health benefits which, of course monsanto are trying to propoganda their way out of. The best way to apporach it is definately the cost-benefit ratio! People only seem to understand money these days. Thanks heaps for these articles, I read them every day.
Posted by: NatalieFerguson | 03/24/2006
Natalie, thank you for your support. The people of the Asia Pacific should really work together more closely. A lot of money, aimed at squeezing more out of old, pollutive technology, flows into our region. Time for more enlightened people in this part of the world to leap frog past all this muck and show the rest of the planet how things should be done. The tail should be made to stop wagging the dog. Lory
Posted by: lory | 03/25/2006