COTTON AND GM DON'T MIX

Some years ago the idiot savants in the corporate world sold old for new, and some of us really believed the deal. Now a study from Cornell University in the US tells us some facts the savants did not.

The Independent on 27 July (p.23) published a report by Steve Conner in which the results of a detailed study of 481 Chinese farmers contradicts the sales pitch. The farmers all grew cotton and were paying three times as much for their seed as for normal cotton seed. However, they use the same amount of pesticides as the normal seed; Monsanto wins, the farmers lose.

But we could all win if we used hemp, which requires little or no pesticides. Well, maybe not all of us, Monsanto might take a loss. Maybe it's time to sell some shares.

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