GM crop cultivation a symbol of death to natives whose loved ones killed by pesticides

Monday, May 09, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Cultivation of genetically modified (GM) soy in the South American country of Paraguay has risen dramatically in recent years, currently topping nearly 6.5 million acres. With this rise has come massive deforestation, the conversion of formerly diversified polyculture into a system of monoculture, and most notably the poisoning of natives with chemical herbicides and pesticides that are sprayed on GM soy in order to make it grow. As a result, GM soy now represents nothing more than a "symbol of death" to natives that have been impacted by it, according to a recent report in The Telegraph.

Petrona Villasboa, for instance, knows first hand how dangerous GM soy cultivation can be, having lost her young son Silvino to GM poison back in 2003. Silvino was directly sprayed by GM soy chemicals on the way home from the food market on that fateful day, and Petrona noticed when he arrived home that the boy reeked of toxic chemicals. The food he brought home also ended up making the entire family ill, as chemical residues must have seeped into it. Petrona immediately rushed her son to the hospital, but it was too late -- he quickly became paralyzed and eventually died.

Similar poisonings have occurred to many others as well, and all due to the massive chemical sprayings that take place in and around communities inhabited by families. As GM soy expansions have plowed through rainforests and other native lands, locals have had no choice but to live right up next to them, consequently bearing the fatal blunt of perpetual exposure.

Not only GM soy, but the entire GM crop cultivation scheme is truly a toxic nightmare that is quickly ravaging the entire world. Massive swaths of delicate rainforests throughout South America that are inhabited by rare plant and animal species, not to mention native tribes, are being destroyed at an alarming rate in order to plant millions of acres of unsustainable, chemical-dependent GM soy. And unless a dramatic shift in awareness, followed by concerted action to stop such efforts, occurs, the entire world will be subjected to the deadly consequences of GM crops in one way or another.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/ea...