Genetically-engineered
grass easily
contaminates
wild
ecosystems and
farmland.
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Monsanto and lawn care company Scotts have a
particularly
terrible
product
they've been
testing out --
a type of
grass
genetically
engineered to
withstand
being coated
with
herbicide.
Like we need
even more
Roundup
getting
sprayed
everywhere!
But what could be worse is that the grass -- a
variety of
creeping
bentgrass --
has repeatedly
escaped from
its testing
grounds and
contaminated
surrounding
wild and
agricultural
land. Due to
its light
seeds and
pollen and the
many species
with which it
can
cross-pollinate,
it's even more
prone to drift
than many
GMOs.1
An
easily-spreadable, genetically-engineered grass is too dangerous to let
loose onto the
environment.
Tell the
government to
rein it in.
Monsanto and Scotts are petitioning the U.S.
Department of
Agriculture to
deregulate
their
glyphosate-resistant
bentgrass. If
the USDA
agrees to the
plan, the
federal
government
could do
little to
protect the
environment
and farmers.
The Fish & Wildlife Service predicts that
genetically-engineered
bentgrass will
imperil
several
endangered
species,
including the
Fender's blue
butterfly, by
spreading
uncontrollably
and crowding
out native
plants.2
The grass has
already
contaminated
three
counties.3
"It
just tears me
up to think
about the
environmental
and economic
havoc this
grass could
wreak upon our
community,"
said Jerry
Erstrom,
farmer and
chairman of
the Malheur
County weed
board. "The
USDA has
ignored the
concerns of
farmers in the
areas affected
by the
existing
contamination.
I just can't
believe that
they will turn
this loose and
let Scotts and
Monsanto walk
away from what
they did
here."4
Demand
that the USDA
reverse its
plan to
deregulate
this super
weed.
In
return for
this
deregulation,
Monsanto and
Scotts have
pledged not to
"commercialize" their creeping bentgrass for several years. Yeah,
okay... 😒
There
are two
reasons these
corporations
would push for
deregulation:
either they
want to
eventually
sell the
grass, or they
don't want the
feds to force
them to clean
up their
mess.
Either
way, we've got
to stop their
scheming.
Prevent the
USDA from
shirking its
duty on
genetically
engineered
grass.
In it together,
Alexander Rony
SierraRise
References:
1.
(2008). "Bentgrass:
Unintended
Effects of
Genetic
Manipulation."
The Nature
Institute.
2. Frazer, G. "In
Reply Refer
To:
FWS/AES/BCH/."
Fish &
Wildlife
Service.
3. (9
December
2016). "USDA
Gives Monsanto
and Scotts'
Glyphosate-Resistant
Grass Green
Light."
EcoWatch.
4.
Ibid.
Photo
Credit: Oliur
Rahman / CC0
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