the pollen from flowering plants in the open environment can be controlled farmers hay fever sufferers and anyone who observes the chaotic natural world would disagree tonight a look into the world of genetically modified organisms to the lens of new mexico's iconic chili peppers. at the plant genetic engineering laboratory on the campus of new mexico state university in los crucis scientists are developing a genetically engineered chili pepper. genetically engineering the new mexico chili pepper has stirred controversy because it is a cultural heirloom and defines new mexican cuisine this is what he mexico is known for and this is what makes us unique i mean this is this is threatening this is very threatening to our stars there are. well. the seeds are sacred some of these traditional chili lines they've been bred and developed and passed down from generations here in new mexico or where we interface with nature we

interface with traditional culture or we have a different experience and a lot of it is reverence all of the social and economic and marketing ramifications impacts on the environment impacts on potential use of herbicides. impacts on the on farmers in the southern part of the state the organic farmers as well as farmers in the northern part of the state i think all those questions should be investigated before we embark on spending a lot of money developing this plant new mexican cuisine from internationally recognized restaurants to the lowliest taco truck is defined by chili the only important question one needs to ask is red ripen chili or the green unripened variety it is the state's idaho potato it is new mexicans wisconsin cheese originally developed in the rio grande valley the distinctive peppers applied

liberally to new mexican burgers pizza salad fudge bagels french tarts. and even beer. but as a result of the north american free trade act and heightened border security new mexico's chili pepper harvest has been cut by two thirds half of the jobs in the industry have disappeared the labor shortage and other production problems are suffered almost exclusively by large industrial farming operations in the southern half of the state the commercial producers down here have said that they've had to leave fields fallow they simply haven't been able to find a hand labor to harvest them in the last couple of years in contrast during the same period organic farmers and traditional landry's farmers have enjoyed chili price increases. in the face of overwhelming evidence of pollen drift gene flow and crop migration persistent safety questions and never double weed resistance charges

of cultural imperialism predatory practices of biotech corporations and increasing popular resistance to genetically modified organisms worldwide new mexico prepares its genetically engineered chile. in two thousand and seven state legislators signed a memorial calling for protection against genetic contamination of native seeds shortly thereafter legislators awarded m.m.s. you one million dollars aimed at research including developing a genetically engineered chili pepper it with a slap in the face to learn that our state had sponsored the genetic engineering of chu that after the year previous they had supporter supported the farmer's rights to keep their seeds. on contaminated by genetic engineering the genetically engineered chili animists you is developing would reduce reliance on labor at least

in the short term by was standing application of the herbicide glyphosate which is in products like been santo's round up and syngenta has touched down i q is. our intent is really to provide a benefit to the chili producers and of we can give them a crop that allows them to far more sustainably. allows on the farm more productively or predictably and that's our goal the phrases benefiting the farmer and feeding the hungry are used to justify increased input costs in pesticides and machinery to the detriment of agro ecological approaches but since those phrases came into vogue the u.s. farm population has been decimated today there are more prisoners in the u.s. than farmers worldwide more than one billion people are chronically hungry largely due. food price increases the genetically modified organism as that term as it's currently used really refers to organisms created through genetic engineering

and most often it means introducing genes that are not within. the species pool the bacteria shoots genes into the plants the plant grows a big tumor that makes this really weird compound that only agger bacterium can eat and the sag bacterium sets up its own little food factory so this natural disease is really the basis for a lot of genetic engineering we do today. people figured out that this process happened. they learned how to take the disease causing genes out of the transferred d.n.a. and learned how to replace them with genes of interest so we still use agro bacteria and we put the genes we want in agro bacterium delivers the d.n.a. into the plant cells where the plant cells go ahead and use. and what's the

difference between engineering in the natural disease is we've taken the disease causing genes out and replace them with genes that were interested in the genetically engineered chili is being made through a process called systemic where researchers isolate and then reintroduce a gene from the same species though at first seemingly less controversial the process still involves foreign bacteria antibiotics test tubes and has no guarantee of placing the gene or its promoter anywhere near its original place in the d.n.a. chain let's say you want to create a corn point that produces its own pesticide you take a gene for bacteria that produces a natural talks and call bt for bacillus the range it's you take that gene you put a promoter which is an odd switch a stop signal which says stop reading the g.d. . it's here you make your jean-paul instructed you make millions of copies you load a good literally i'd shoot those millions of genes into

a plate of millions of cells hoping that some of those genes will make their way into the d.n.a. of some of them so they're saying farmers have been doing this for thousands of years farmers haven't crossed species for thousands of years but systemise is the same species. so there's this there is this thing farmers have not been that putting bacteria in the cotton for thousands of the year. they never put bacteria in the cotton. or bacteria in the corn. it's not possible. that genetic manipulation whether or not the genetically engineered chili is a g.m.o. is a distinction that could cost the new mexico farmers access to many foreign export markets the e.u. is. much more comfortable with the crops generated through a systemic approach dr hansen and the dean at the end a mess you school of agriculture as you see in the sea mail or trying to say that there chile will not be considered a g.m.o.

in the european union and other countries that ban or curtail their use they make this argument despite laws that clearly say the systemic approach like the one m.m.s. use using is in fact creating a genetically modified organism. doctors sara ling from the university of kahn in france has helped shape european policy towards genetically modified organisms called the european union and four hundred fifty countries around the world the definition of foods here no is not a matter where the gene comes from it's a matter of gene being modified to vitro in its you know the backbone of the origin of the gene what is clear is that more than one hundred countries around the world may require all chile from new mexico to be tested for genetic engineering or even bar imports from u.s. farmers out right this burgeoning resistance to genetically modified organisms

results as much from anger at government and industry economic practices as from the real or imagined health threats of genetically modified products. as that this two thousand and eight investigative report by donald barlett and james steele for vanity fair reveals to goes after farmers farmers co-ops seed dealers anyone it suspects may have infringed its patents of genetically modified seeds as interviews and reams of court documents reveal monsanto relies on a shadowy army of private investigators and agents in the american heartland to strike fear into farm country they fanned out into fields and farm towns where they secretly videotaped and photographed farmers store owners and co-ops infiltrate community meetings and gather information from informants about farming activities farmers say that month santow agents pretend to be surveyors others confront

farmers on their land and try to pressure them to sign papers giving monsanto access to their private records farmers call them the seed police and use such words as dished apo and mafia to describe their tactics. the international assessment of agricultural knowledge science and technology for development titled agriculture at a crossroads is a six hundred page a global report issued by the world bank the united nations and the walled health organization it is the most comprehensive inclusive agricultural study ever completed that directly addresses and recommend solutions to world hunger you know i think i've kind of had a lifelong appreciation of the population growth versus food production regardless of dr hansen spro fest concerns for world hunger he was unaware of the most

comprehensive analysis of agricultural science ever undertaken to address hunger for. the easy to. eat. some. sleep.

i.

well. out of sight but still on our minds from the still exceeds the norm let's try to live smarter with smartphones you never know what some people are hiding and can't be sure to prove delta the molecular level learned that what the doctor ordered is often based on secrets under our skin let us shine the light on a kid in a world. we've got the future covered. it was just put out by the world. the report is that best indifferent to genetic engineering and at times openly hostile this hostility comes despite the report having been initiated by monsanto syngenta and the world bank for your study but out of. it was started as a discussion with the world a. large producers of our interest as they

produced the six other states that haven't had that oh. well it wouldn't hurt you because there's really not that much is ok to discuss as genetically modified organisms as publication of the document with its pointed criticism of genetically modified crops drew near multinational biotech giants monsanto and syngenta withdrew their support for it first supporting the. t.d. and then abandoning it when biotechnology was not surely did months onto and syngenta drew a rebuke from the industry friendly journal nature when we asked dr hansen for research supporting his positions on safety crop yield and migration he provided a two thousand and five compendium that sided studies completed as long as a decade ago none were current no independent long term feeding studies no evidence

of sustained yield gain it would say well you know it's more popular bull for the farmers and what the one thing i would probably say is what i have a higher yield to chill of chili you know with genetically chili but if you look at the studies that have been done that's really not true as the multinational corporations profit and small farmers disappear not a single genetically modified crops has been marketed for increased yield drought tolerance salt resistance or enhanced nutrition the proponents of genetic engineering have misled the public about its benefits and deliberately so. and it hasn't lived really lived up to its promise and they haven't increased yields they they haven't decreased pesticide use they haven't solved any hunger problems whatsoever. and so i don't even understand how people with a straight face can defend genetic engineering transgenic crops you know there's several examples that have been in their field and both the u.s.

and abroad and they've you know demonstrated. they've been able to maintain your old increase returns to farmers. as noted in the world bank report a relatively small number of huge farming operations have increased land holdings and benefited financially. there has not been any old improvement due to genetically engineered. crops and that's my understanding that it really hasn't solved any major problems just make profits monsanto as far as i can tell month is perhaps a deserved whipping boy but it should be noted that other biotechnology corporations who farmers and that m.m.s. you will likely hold the patent rights to the genetically engineered chili seed. when asked who will breed the chili seed or who will sell it and then miss you could not provide an answer when asked if farmers would have to buy the genetically

engineered chili seed for every planting rather than save it and a mess you could not provide an answer one of my main concerns with that with the genetically engineered chilies cvs especially is that it is becoming more and more difficult to find pure seeds you know seize it or that are that are not content not genetically engineered and certain well certain brides posable says canola and soybeans i mean it's almost impossible not to find g.m.o. so beans and canola and what is happening is that the u.s. see companies actually going to other countries you know that the do not have the highest events of genetically engineered cops to grow old with the non g.e. see other galaxies for those types of those types of costs a small number of biotech chemical companies including monsanto and syngenta have benefited enormously one company now owns one fourth of the world seed suppliers and patent rights on over eighty percent of the g.m.

soy and cord seeds sold in the united states. they think that genetically engineered crops are going to feed the world it's going to end and world hunger those are the very same things that being made about the green revolution forty years ago. in fact patenting g.m.o. seeds has allowed for a culture of secrecy around research that threatens the transparency of public programs and reduces access to genetic resources. so very big it's all over the well to how the patents on food because you need to eat each country before you're even communicating or having any army or anything else and they want to how to write these as soon as somebody eats you know well so it's a real one are genetically modified crops are still confined to

a handful of countries with highly industrialized export oriented agricultural sectors. nearly ninety percent of the area planted to g.m. crops in two thousand and seven was found in just six countries. one country alone the united states plants over fifty percent of the world's g.m. crops. most car seat around the well that make sixty percent of the market we shall owe on my ease rice and wheat. they are already. so young my ease that makes eighty percent of the gym most today if they put their hands. wee rides and a couple of others. in which is important to your country then they have the right to say who knows what and who say this was wrong well.

patenting severely limits independent research information sharing among land grant institutions and farmers ability to save seeds it drives up prices dramatically and encourages monocultures that are susceptible to disease inadequate engineering is one tool in the toolkit of an industrial food model that moves us toward centralization. and so that's one of the reasons i object to this we need to be moving towards decentralization the food system and more diverse food production. the united nations world bank report estimates that canola farmers in canada and corn farmers in the united states lose a combined six hundred million dollars a year to european g.m.o. free markets conventional farmers may find some markets close to them because their chili is genetically engineer but i think it may ruin all the markets for their advantage growers also the north american free trade act would force and i miss you

to share its technology with america's competitors if they develop this to this next internet choice seed they don't have to go to mexico they can take the seed and go to mexico mexico peru or china or wherever else and so it's not going to benefit the new the new mexico farmers it whatever technology they can adopt their competitors can adopt so i'm not sure how this is going to solve their problems. resistance to chemically intensive genetically modified foods is increasing worldwide including bans labeling requirements and companies advertising their foods as g.m.o. free. consumer demand for g.m.o. products fifteen years after their introduction is still virtually nonexistent my particular view is that the industrial model of agriculture is not long for this

world that we we can't continue going down this road because it's too energy intensive it destroys biodiversity not only while by allah versity but also cultivated biodiversity and it concentrates too much power in the hands of too few companies most of the farmers that i and. our allies were getting methods trying to utilize small thoughts and if you were to develop genetically engineered she'll be much chances are much more amenable to sort of back for each farm happens in mexico south america now chile another location so i think maybe you better try your small farmers next what's happened over the years as each new technology has been developed farmers have had to adopt that technology in order to reduce costs and increase eels so that

they can still make money in the more of course the more they increase yields the more production goes up which reduces prices which makes it more imperative for them to reduce reduce costs and increase yields so it's a treadmill they can't get off they have to adopt all these technologies and they have to go into debt to buy all these technologies we can give them a crop that allows them to far more sustainable ie the overriding principle of my research program is to in. sustainability of production allowed chili growers to maintain high yields do so in a sustainable manner so they can continue that in the future fine for me sustainability. sustainability means being able to maintain production in the future so you're going to visit resistant crop which will say we can't do everything about weeds will eventually that's a that's what i heard you say yeah that there are natural selection and we'll encourage development it's how do you call it your life is

a sewage system. that's a great question people. people often say oh you're still putting your chemical. sustainability the way we produce our food now is. highly reliant on machines and chemicals and glyphosate resistance is one trait. that can greatly increase sustainability now when you use the glyphosate resistant crop you're still spraying herbicide in the field you're still spring life to say but what you're not doing is spraying the other herbicides that you used to do life to say it replaces the other herbicides. initially life is a tolerant g.m.o. crops did enable a decrease in herbicide use but as we'd resistance grows farmers poor ever morgue

life is eight and predictably return to traditional herbicides like paraquat di quat and actress jean herbicides you use them enough you're going to select and that's if we. manage their use appropriately and get as much as we can out of them and whether it's a save on engineered crops or any other beside on a conventional crop. life is a tolerant crops have increased pesticide use by three hundred eighty three million pounds forty six percent of the total increase occurred in the years two thousand and seven and two thousand and eight. i'm not aware of pesticide use going on johnson grass is an extremely damaging perennial and considered one of the worst weeds in the world. life is a resistant johnson grass is nearly impossible to control it's already in new mexico it's one way to look at a transfer of resistance into chile as the necessary step in this constant battle

that we have to do against pests that's that's based on a particular paradigm in a particular world view that we're kind about war with insects and we and. that's a totally different paradigm than the paradigm of an era ecological approach in which we understand natural systems in the way in which they interact and so we practice various kinds of management strategies to. to manage pests and weeds knowing that will never eliminate them completely but keeping them managed at a level that we can still make a living without having to pour lots of chemicals on the planet herbicide resistance and a naturally occurring weed population is particularly significant because it could threaten the sustainable use of glasses a resistant crop technology from the proceedings of the national academy of sciences december two thousand and nine. in two thousand and eight g.e. crops required over twenty six percent more pounds of pesticides per acre than

acres planted to conventional varieties. you know you can generic this kind of a distraction i think and it's misleading i think we need to look at research that's going to reduce application of synthetic chemicals so developing resistance to application of a chemical i think is the last thing we should be doing really honestly. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so silly you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm sorry welcome to the big picture.

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brutal machete mud in a london street is thought to be a terror attack inspired by radical islam reportedly carried out in revenge for the u.k.'s military actions in most of them countries. riots ripped through immigrant suburbs of stockholm for the fourth night in a row raising tough questions about sweden's open immigration policies. and years in limbo and months of starvation the plight of the guantanamo bay prisoners might finally season change as president obama is expected to reassert his plans to close the facility during his forthcoming counter-terrorism address.