Brazail GMO Crops Suffering Massive Caterpillar Plague

GM Watch

The Brazilian ministry of agricultural development is warning farmers that GM Bt crops, pesticides, and monocultures are responsible for the plague of caterpillars that is devastating the country's agriculture.

The ministry is advising family farmers whose farms are close to GM crops and monocultures to take preventive measures. The ministry adds that the areas best protected from the pest are those growing a mixture of non-GM and non-Bt crops and native vegetation.
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MDA [Ministry of Agricultural Development] warns farmers on appearance of the Helicoverpa caterpillar in crops

Ministry of Agricultural Development (Brazil), 9 Aug 2013
http://portal.mda.gov.br/portal/noticias/item?item_id=13900955

GMWatch translation from the Portuguese, shortened

Farmers from all parts of Brazil should be aware of a pest that can damage crops. Due to inadequate farming practices associated with the excessive use of pesticides and transgenic Bt plants, the incidence of the bollworm Helicoverpa armigera has grown. This caterpillar has a complex structure with high adaptability and can attack crops and native plants in several regions of the country.

The occurrence of Helicoverpa, mainly in the Brazilian Cerrado region, was observed from February last year. Serious economic losses were recorded on cotton fields in western Bahia, and other crops and regions were also affected. According to the general coordinator of Risk Management and Rural Security of the Office for Family Farming of the Ministry of Agrarian Development (SAF/MDA), José Carlos Zukowski, the biggest problem occurs in areas of extensive monoculture - vast expanses of the same type of plant.

"Where there have been big advances of monoculture and the intensive use of pesticides, there are no suitable conditions to develop insect predators that fight the caterpillar, which would be a form of natural biological control. Where there is a mixture of different crops, non-transgenic crops without the Bt toxin and native vegetation, there is just no space for the predators to develop, which are important to combat the plague [of caterpillars]," he explains.

There is no record of major attacks by this caterpillar on family farms. But Zukowski highlights that producers should be vigilant, especially those who are close to large monoculture crops with pesticides or GMOs.

The general coordinator of the Department of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension of the MDA (Ater), Everton Ferreira, teaches some practices in case of attack. "First, seek the advice of the local Ater office. The farmer should always seek technical guidance, take samples, and discover the extent of the problem," he advises.

Another guideline is planning the cultivation area, paying attention to some aspects such as planting date, biological control, and refuge areas (for those using transgenic plants with Bt toxins, the refuge area may be a neighbouring crop of the same or similar species, without the Bt toxin and without application of the associated pesticides).

As there are as yet no significant occurrences of Helicoverpa on family farms, Everton explains that this work is preventive. This is where continuous monitoring of pests comes in, one of the ways to combat pests. But, in cases where a farmer is affected, Everton says that the MDA has partnerships and agreements with entities with technical assistance that can help him confront the problem. "If the farmer does not find a technician or office in your county, you can look in the next county. The service is free," he adds.

Biological control

Zukowski warns family farmers about the use of agrotoxics to control the caterpillar Helicoverpa armigera. The producer must seek, above all, the guidance of an Ater technician, because depending on the degree of infestation and other conditions of the crop, it is possible to implement a biological control.

This caterpillar easily acquires resistance to pesticides. "Simply using these products tends to generate greater resistance. There may even be an effect of combatting [the pest] at first, but then it becomes ineffective. So you must use integrated management to combat this plague," he says. It is recommended to seek coordinated action in the community, because the isolated action of one farmer may not be enough...

NOTE:  This is due to the horrendous soy plantations.   Learn the awful truth about Soy

Farmers to Face Fines or Jail Time for Dealing Directly with Customers

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This would seem to embody the USDA’s advisory, “Know your farmer, know your food,” right?
Not exactly.

For the USDA and its sister food regulator, the FDA, there’s a problem: many of the farmers are distributing the food via private contracts like herd shares and leasing arrangements, which fall outside the regulatory system of state and local retail licenses and inspections that govern public food sales.

In response, federal and state regulators are seeking legal sanctions against farmers in Maine, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and California, among others. These sanctions include injunctions, fines, and even prison sentences. Food sold by unlicensed and uninspected farmers is potentially dangerous say the regulators, since it can carry pathogens like salmonella, campylobacter, and E.coli O157:H7, leading to mild or even serious illness.

Most recently, Wisconsin’s attorney general appointed a special prosecutor to file criminal misdemeanor charges against an Amish farmer for alleged failure to have retail and dairy licenses, and the proceedings turned into a high-profile jury trial in late May that highlighted the depth of conflict: following five days of intense proceedings, the 12-person jury acquitted the farmer, Vernon Hershberger, on all the licensing charges, while convicting him of violating a 2010 holding order on his food, which he had publicly admitted.

Why are hard-working normally law-abiding farmers aligning with urban and suburban consumers to flaunt well-established food safety regulations and statutes?

 Why are parents, who want only the best for their children, seeking out food that regulators say could be dangerous?

And, why are regulators and prosecutors feeling so threatened by this trend?