The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 03, 1991, Image 2
2 The Battalion '"■MUI mwwr—■ Friday, May 3,1991 Herbicide-tolerant plants are environmental hazard One of the early promises of biotech nology was to reverse agriculture's in creasing dependency on chemicals and make sustainable agriculture possible. Biotechnology now promises to in crease agriculture's dependence on toxic and carcinogenic pesticides, and further the decline of the family farm associated with the increasing industri alization of modern agriculture. Despite agriculture's overdepen dence on pesticides and herbicides in particular, many biotechnology, agri chemical, and seed companies, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and state agricultural institu tions, are using genetic engineering (bi otechnology) to develop crops and trees which are herbicide-tolerant (HT). Chemical companies now own most of the major seed companies in Amer ica. By controlling seeds and chemicals, two important chemical agriculture in puts, these companies could reap large financial rewards while furthering en vironmental and social disorder. Annual atrazine sales could increase $120 million if soybeans are made toler ant to atrazine herbicides. The atrazine- resistant soybeans could allow three times as much atrazine to be applied with no damage to the soybean crop. Canola is one of at least 15 different crops, trees, flowers and grasses being engineered for glyphosate tolerance. The genetic engineering of glyphosate- tolerant canola alone could mean "hundreds of millions of dollars in ad ditional sales" for Monsanto, according to one industry analyst. The potential pot of gold is so big that American Cyanimid gave away for free a gene identified to give crops a tolerance to Cyanimid's new family of imidazoline herbicides. Pioneer Hi- Bred, the world's largest corn-breeding company, has agreed to insert the gene into its hybrids. There are clouds on .the horizon of the otherwise clear skies of this cor porate bonanza. HT varieties of canola have lower yields and reduced fertility. Another problem is the price of expen sive patented herbicides. The cost of a herbicide/herbicide-tolerant seed pack age may prove prohibitive for many farmers. Also, HT genes can be sex ually transferred to weeds through cross-pollination, giving weeds the same HT properties as the crops. There are a number of serious envi ronmental and social problems asso ciated with the development and wide spread planting of HT crops. Although herbicides are not immedi ately toxic to humans or animals, there is little research on their long-term tox icity. Chronic toxicity symptoms often do not appear until years after expo sure. Studies done by the Environmen tal Protection Agency and others link various weed-killers with cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disor ders, and skin diseases in humans. Atrazine and metolachlor are the highest and fifth highest used herbi cides in the United States. Both have been detected in groundwater and are classified by the EPA as possible hu- Michael Worsham Columnist man carcinogens. The herbicide 2,4-D is the third most used in U.S. agricul ture, and has been linked to cancer. All three of these herbicides are subjects of HT research. The incidence and extent of pesticide contamination of food is unknown. Even worse, the USDA acknowledges that HT crops might carry more herbi cide residues than current crops do. Scientists generally cannot control where the foreign genetic material is in serted. HT genes could disrupt plant metabolism and gene function, cre ating genetically engineered plants which are possibly less nutritious or even unsafe to eat. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet announced plans to test genetically engineered foods for safety and nutritional value. Twenty-one herbicides are among the 74 pesticides which the EPA has de tected in the groundwater of 38 states. Many of these herbicides are the sub ject of HT research. One study estimated that less than 1 percent of the pesticides (including herbicides) applied actually reach tar get pests. Since widespread HT crop farming will increase herbicide applica tion, the severity of ground and surface water contamination will also increase. Farmworkers will receive even higher levels of pesticides. HT corn could increase yields 2 to 4 percent and add to current surpluses. This would lower corn prices and reduce farmers' income. The decrease in farmer's in come, coupled with the takeover ol smaller farms by big agribusinesses, could lead to the social and economic decline of rural communities. U.S. taxpayers unknowingly spent over $10 million the last few years on HT plant research. The U.S. Forest Service spent $2.million of this devel oping HT forest trees, indicating their continued intent to manage our na tional forest as timber farms. The worst problem of HT plant re search is the effect it will have on the development of alternative, or sustai nable agriculture. The USDA has spent over $13 million on low-input sustaina ble agriculture the last few years, about the same as on ITT research. The National Research Council found that alternative farming systems give farmers significant sustained eco nomic and environmental benefits, and that wider adoption of proven systems would result in even greater economic benefits to farmers, and environmental gains for the nation. Biotechnology has been used in more constructive ways. Genetic engineering has successfully produced a strain of cotton which makes its own pesticide which is poisonous to bollworms. However, HT crop research is an inde fensible and completely irrational step backwards in the wrong direction to wards increased toxic chemical depen dency. Fortunately, Texas A&M Uni versity is not invovled in HT research. It must be pointed out to these mod ern-day Dr. Frankensteins that water, air, soil, birds, animals, plants and peo ple are not resistant to herbicides. Herbicide-tolerant public relations personnel will have little trouble cover ing up that problem, but DuPont and its counterparts will undoubtedly not stop until they have created herbicide- tolerant newspaper columnists. Michael Worsham is a graduate stu dent in environmental engineering. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Timm Doolen, Editor Todd Stone, Managing Editor Krista Umscheid, Opinion Page Editor Sean Frerking, City Editor Jennifer Jeffus, Gallic Wilcher, News Editors Jayme Blaschke, Sports Editor Richard James, Art Director Rob 'Newberry, Lifestyles Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-sup porting newspaper operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opin ions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is published daily, except Saturday, Sunday, holidays, exam periods, and when school is not in session during fall and spring semesters; publication is Tuesday through Friday during the summer session. Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester, $40 per school year and $50 per full year: 845-2611. Advertising rates furnished on re quest: 845-2696. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed Mc Donald, Texas A&M University, College Sta tion, TX 77843-1111. Second class postage paid at College Sta tion, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843- 4111. Mail Call The Battalion is interested in hearing from its readers and welcomes ail letters to the editor. Please include name, classification, address and phone number on all letters. The editor reserves the right to edit letters for style and length. Because of limited space, shorter letters have a better chance of appearing. There is, however, no guarantee letters will appear. Letters may be brought to 216 Reed McDonald or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111. Student shares racism experience EDITOR: In reference to Reggie Allen's article on racism on April 23rd, I would like to say that the same thing happened to me. In fact, events such as this have occurred at least two times in the last year. Both times, it was approximately the same time at night. The policemen also shined lights in our faces when coming to question us. Each time they made my friends and me show not only our student I.D.'s, but our driver's licenses as well. They even went so far as to call our license numbers in to the College Station Police Department. When we asked what we had done they also replied we "'fit the description' of some criminal mischief." Further, I have not only heard of, but been an example of Caucasian women quickening their pace when I happen to follow behind them at night. By the way, my friends and I are WHITE. I am not a rac ist and agree that racism exists. However, when an unfor tunate incident occurs, don't be so quick to label it "ra cism". In doing this, you only add unneccessary fuel to a fire that already has enough real problems. Kevin Parma '91 Leave crop selection to farmers EDITOR: No one would disagree with Mr. Yung that starvation is a terrible problem that needs to be addressed immediately. However, reduced consumption of meat is not the answer. True, 56 percent of U.S. agriculture land is used for cattle. The reason for this is that this land is not suitable for row crops. Many areas are not capable of growing potatoes- only grass, and unless Mr. Yung knows how to feed babies grass, this still remains the most efficient way to use this resouce. Additionally, many grains are not nutritional enough to supply the needed protein to these starving people, and other animal sources of protein are needed. In conclusion, I would like to say that even if all this surplus grain was present in the U.S., the political climate in most of these countries is such that getting the food to the people may be impossible. So why don't we leave crop selection to the farmers. After all, it's their livelyhood and they know what works best. Darrell Palm '93 Taiwanese want independence EDITOR: In the recent article of the editorial page in April 27, there are some opinions which upset us very much and could mislead many Aggies. "Taiwan has been (and still is) a part of China since the beginning of mankind." said Dr. Edmond Chang. This is an emotional argument! Taiwan has been gov erned by the Dutch, the Spanish, the mainland Chinese, the Japanese and the Nationalists. It was not always part of China, as was found in the written history and definitely not part of People's Republic of China now. The Taiwanese now demand the reconstruction of the Congress which was elected, for the most part, 40 years ago during the civil war of China. The Taiwanese are looking forward to the bloodless revolution and a new, democratic and independent country. Taiwanese Student Association Aggieland spirit will live forever EDITOR: I have spent four wonderful years at A&M and plan to attend grad school in the fall. During these four years, I have lost count of the number of letters printed in the Bat talion regarding the spirit of the student body. While some have been positive, most of the letters question the true meaning of being an Aggie. Many times I have wanted to write and tell everyone that A&M is stronger than ever in that respect, but I have not had an experience to support my claim. Well, now 1 can prove it. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I lost my Aggie ring April 24. I misplaced it in the library in the second floor bathroom. I returned ten minutes later, only to discover it gone. Anyone who has experienced this knows the empti ness associated with losing the most important gift this university has given us. I was lucky to recover my ring at the lost and found counter in the library, after several min- iutes of sweating profusely. This letter is to try and convey my deepest expression of thanks to the individual who found and returned my ring. I know there are other people in this world who would have done the same thing, but only at A&M is it ex pected. Even though "Howdy"s are not as common as they used to be, and traditions are replaced to accommodate new generations and ideas, I believe that anyone would find it difficult to encounter another group of people who continue to support and care for each other long after their student life ends. Thanks to this one person, and others like him/her, I know that the deep-seeded spirit of Aggie land will live forever. Gig 'em. Patrick Dierschke '91 Overkill of gay, lesbian articles EDITOR: Do the editors at The Battalion understand the term "o- verkill?" Don't they think there has been a little bit of over kill used in the plethora of gay and lesbian articles printed since Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week? There was a guy who tried to prove my point a couple of days ago, but the idiot also decided to print his warped opinions on the issues of gay rights. He did have a point about overkill, though. Maybe there is a larger gay and lesbian population here than was once thought, and I do think the campus is now more aware of the gay community due to The Battalion's efforts, but this barrage of articles is unadorned over publi cation. The editors can hide behind "the public's need to know" if they want to, but it's sensationalism, plain and simple. It reminds me of a "Baptist" preacher standing in front of Sullivan Ross screaming at women things that need not be reprinted here. Maybe some of the people here at A&M aren't perfect (I know I'm not) or have done things that he considered "wrong," but I doubt his extravagance was warranted. If I read the Bible correctly, Jesus didn't heal a blind man by poking out his eyes, nor the crippled man by kick ing his legs. Without using the Bible, the principle still applies. Cor recting a misperception should be done objectively and calmly. It is said in Japanese business that the first side to yell is the side that lost. Well, The Battalion won't open anyone's mind by spray painting "HOMOSEXUALITY" on a baseball bat and smashing it over their readers' heads. Kevin Lindstrom '93 Cinco ( By Cinco d< but the foe iday has c States, sai< changed C celebratio American Mexican concentrai meaning o Historic; commemo Twent; Texas A were pr Achiever highest and the Students faculty-si day. A $4,i memorat were pn recipient sociation presiden mony. Traditi the awar until anr The IS □ Dr. fessor of and instr □ Dr. F c T> M: SI \