Destroying lives Then there are the statistics from Consumers International; an estimated 270,000 small-holding farmers in the Philippines are being forced to grow GM corn and ending up in debt. The cost of corn seeds has risen 282% from its introductory price and accounts for 18-21% of a farmer’s total cost of production. It is often farmers in developing countries that feel the impact of these prices most keenly. Farmers are at the mercy of seed suppliers and lenders who are one and the same in the Philippines and refuse to provide lending unless the farmers grow GM corn. In India, reports are emerging about the impacts of Bt cotton (a type of GM crop) and its impact on farmer suicide rates. Although the suicides cannot be entirely blamed on GM as they started before its introduction, it has certainly exacerbated the problem, according to an advisory from the Indian government, which stated, “Cotton farmers are in a deep crisis since shifting to Bt cotton. The spate of farmer suicides in 2011–12 has been particularly severe among Bt cotton farmers.”
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 01:37:25 +0000
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