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| Corn is the second-most important GM crop worldwide,
growing in 18 countries. GM corn includes insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant varieties, and unlike soybeans, some GM corn has both modifications 'stacked' together. (photo: Reuters) |
Biotech Leader Covered Up Animal Deaths From GM Corn
16 June 2012
In a riveting victory against genetically modified creations, a major
biotech company known as Syngenta has been criminally charged for
denying knowledge that its GM Bt corn actually kills livestock.
What's more is not only did the company deny this fact, but they did so
in a civil court case that ended back in 2007. The charges were finally
issued after a long legal struggle against the mega corp initiated by a
German farmer named Gottfried Gloeckner whose dairy cattle died after
eating the Bt toxin and coming down with a ‘mysterious' illness.
Grown on his own farm from 1997 to 2002, the cows on
the farm were all being fed exclusively on Syngenta's Bt 176 corn by the
year 2000. It was around this time that the mysterious illnesses
began to emerge among the cattle population. Syngenta paid Gloeckner
40,000 euros in an effort to silence the farmer, however a civil lawsuit
was brought upon the company. Amazingly, 2 cows ate genetically modified maize (now banned in Poland over serious concerns) and died.
During the civil lawsuit, however, Syngenta refused to admit that its
GM corn was responsible. In fact, they went as far as to claim having no
knowledge whatsoever of harm.
The case was dismissed and Gloeckner, the farmer who
launched the suit, was left thousands of euros in debt. And that's not
all; Gloeckner continued to lose many cows as a result of Syngenta's
modified Bt corn. After halting the use of GM feed in 2002, Gloeckner
attempted a full investigation with the Robert Koch Institute and
Syngenta involved. The data of this investigation is still unavailable
to the public, and only examined one cow. In 2009, however, the
Gloeckner teamed up with a German action group known as Bündnis Aktion
Gen-Klage and to ultimately bring Syngenta to the criminal court.
Using the testimony of another farmer whose cows died
after eating Syngenta product, Gloeckner and the team have charged the
biotech giant for the death of over 65 cows, withholding knowledge of
the death-link, and holding the corporation liable for not registering
the cattle deaths. The team is even charging Hans-Theo Jahmann, the
German head of Syngenta, personally over the withholding of knowledge.
The charges bring to light just how far large
biotechnology companies will go to conceal evidence linking their
genetically modified products to serious harm. Monsanto, for example,
has even threatened to sue
the entire state of Vermont if they attempt to label its genetically
modified ingredients.
Why are they so afraid of the consumer knowing
what they are putting in their mouths?
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