Sheep Deaths Link to Pesticide?

Archived

Wednesday, 10 May 2006

Here's a mystery that GM companies do not want to comment on: at least 1,800 sheep have reportedly died after grazing on post-harvest Bt cotton crops in the Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

According to 42 shepherds interviewed by investigators from the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) and elsewhere, the sheep became "depressed" and died within days. The team strongly suspects a Bt toxin, but farmers in that area use many insecticides and pesticides on their crops.

The CSA team wants an "exhaustive investigation" and a "complete moratorium on Bt cotton cultivation until conclusive results show that the Bt toxin is completely harmless".

Source: The Guardian via www.soilassociation.org