eGarden © 2005 Ed Mues

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on November 16, 2005

Recent News in the World of Flora.

We owe it all to the Roman goddess of flowers. My (your) preoccupation with green growing things, that is. There is so much going on in the world of plants, both regionally and world wide. It's time for me to give another report before we fall too far behind, and things begin to happen that shock or dismay. This way you'll at least be a bit informed and prepared.

As a refugee from the "Big Apple" and a devoted lover of both the arts and horticulture, I am deeply saddened by the passing of one of New York's most prominent philanthropists of the past century. Enid A. Haupt gave away vast portions of her wealth to the benefit of all who shared her vision and joy. From the Victorian style conservatory at the New York Botanical Gardens which bears her name, to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters, Bryant Park, The New York Public Library, the Bronx Zoo, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the National Garden Assn., the Smithsonian Institute ... the list goes on and on naming worthy recipients of her great generosity. Her spirit will live on here and around the world.

The number of reports continues to grow. They state unequivocally that 70% of the food Americans consume has a genetically engineered ingredient in it.

From Australia comes a recent report that low levels of GM (Genetically Modified) canola has been found in non-GM fields. How did this happen? It's a wait and see.

Courtesy of the Science Development Network of sub-Saharan Africa comes a story about DDT-resistant insects. While providing great fodder for exploring how insects and diseases develop resistance to drugs and antibiotics, fruit flies that developed resistance to DDT were not only able to survive exposure, but were able to produce three times as many eggs as non-resistant fruit flies. DDT, banned nearly worldwide, is being reconsidered as a control there for malaria carrying mosquitoes. It's good to question. Alternatives are being sought.

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has employed a model airplane flying club to aid the agency in applying a virus-laden spray to control cabbage loopers in infested fields near Columbia, Missouri. Researchers expect to monitor the effectiveness of the natural pest control. Stay tuned.

From Mother Earth News.com: Two reports given at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society claim that trees are able to vary the chemical composition of their leaves to ward off unwanted insect pests and that other plants have a similar defense against noxious bugs. Members of the sunflower family such as daisies, black-eyed Susans, and marigolds are equipped with sunlight activated chemicals which can actually burn the tissues of insects that feed on the "protected" plant.

They may be the most serious environmental threat to our nation in our history: invasive species. I've written about this issue from time to time, mentioned Gypsy moths and Japanese beetles among other dangers to U.S. flora. Of course, other kingdoms are threatened by other kingdoms of foreign invaders. We read about many human pathogens as well as threats to native animals and plants. Well, New York has joined California, Illinois and Connecticut in suing the USDA for failing to impose effective controls against destructive insects that enter the country. The most common source is solid wood packaging and shipping pallets. As far back as 1999, the USDA acknowledged the problem and a pressing need to find a solution. Phasing out the woody materials and phasing in recycled plastics, or processed wood are the safest and most practical solutions, but no steps were mandated or taken. Too much of our recent history includes Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), Asian Long-horned Beetle (ALB), Sudden Oak Death (SOD), Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Pine Shoot Beetle (PSB) to name only five foreign invaders. These five alone are costing well in excess of $ 100 billion a year and the demise of anywhere between 50 and 150 million trees.

In a related story, more than 5,000 species of non-native plants and animals have become established in the Hawaiian Islands in the past 200 years. Not all have become pests, but too many are. Congressman Ed Case introduced a bill demanding "affirmative prevention". The Hawaii Reporter noted an August issue of the journal Science that "reports on a unique web-spinning caterpillar recently discovered in Hawaii that stalks and eats snails." To go from one new species every 25,000 years to one every 18 days is a grave concern that needs to be, and will be, addressed.

Who would have imagined it? I reported some long time ago about the insertion of certain fish genes to confer cold hardiness to strawberries. Now, scientists from China have gone about inserting genes from scorpions and moths into oilseed rape (canola) plants to make them poisonous to feeding insects. The belief is that resistance will be harder to develop to these new GM plants. They are targeting cotton, next. Questions remain. Biosafety questions. What about birds that feed on the caterpillars? What about mammals that feed on the plants? What about pollen carried by wind to other non-GM cotton or rape plants? The questions sound familiar, but the subjects are new.

Beyond imagining? Reported by African and European researchers: Ricin (remember ricin, that toxic protein that is found in the seeds of castor plants?) is going to be in GM rice and maize plants in the not distant future. Are things moving too fast? I love that there seems to be a constant supply of alternative strategies to outwit or control pests of food crops. My guess is the same questions as in the above ought to apply.

A recent issue of the Journal of Medical Entomology informs readers that crested auklets, small birds from islands near Alaska and Siberia, emit a citrus-like substance that repels mosquitoes and maybe ticks, too. Reported by CBC Health and Science News, the chemical might have widespread applications as pheromones as well as other insect repellants. More tests are needed.

Get ready for numbers you're not used to. Here's a headline hard to ignore: "Frankenfoods to the Rescue". Wow, doesn't that say a lot? With a population growth of nearly 86 million annually, millions are saved from starvation each year. We can only be talking about one people. The Chinese have a saying, "The most precious things are not jade and pearls, but the five grains." In the publication, Nature, the complete genome sequence of rice was published this fall. To a nation with 800 million not having enough food to eat, 3 billion getting by, and 5 million dying of starvation, this progressive step in the green revolution is of enormous significance. The insect resistant GM rice showed 10% in increased yields, and the use of pesticides was reduced by 80%, with a similar reduction in pesticide related illnesses. Famine is endable! Agricultural safety is doable!

Genetic engineering may be a solution waiting to be rediscovered. It's not all monstrous doing, you know. Thanks to the Taipei Times for some of this information, and to Johnjoe McFadden of The Guardian, London. Some of the numbers are still in controversy, but reports from many corners of the world point to greatly reduced pesticide use and health problems associated with GM crops.

On a related front, Monsanto is purchasing Seminis, the largest producer of fruit and vegetable seeds in the world. The agri-biotech giant, Monsanto, controls more than ninety percent of the world's GM seed market, primarily corn, soybeans, and cotton. Expect to see genetically engineered fruits and vegetables in unprecedented numbers around the world. The FDA's regulations are quite lacking in rigidity, and no notification to the agency is required to market new GM crops as long as they contain no "known" allergens or no "significant" alteration in nutrient value. (The quotation marks are mine.) Called by some an unholy marriage, by others a threat to the world's food supply, there is hope that the largest global supplier of seed can also lead to some startling advances in taste, nutrition, food safety, disease and pest resistance, to name a few of the possibilities. Am I being an optimist, or just naive? Let's hope for the former, with some soon to be seen verifiable results. Stay tuned.

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on November 16, 2005

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