The recent deaths of 15 head of cattle in Bastrop County have been linked to the grass in the field where they were grazing, which tests indicated produced cyanide gas.
The findings were first reported by CBS Station KEYE in Austin.
Federal officials are investigating whether a random mutation of the grass variety was responsible.
However, it was incorrectly reported that the grass the cows ingested – a form of Bermuda grass known as Tifton 85 – was a genetically modified organism.
In fact, Tifton 85 is a hybrid, not a GM organism.
Hybrids are plants in which horticulturalists have crossed varieties of two or more plants in order to cultivate the most desirable characteristics of each, a process which has been used by farmers for centuries.
According to the Georgia Seed Development Commission, Tifton 85 is a Bermuda grass hybrid developed in the mid-1980s as a hay grass that could withstand cold temperatures.
It was a grass which Elgin, Texas rancher Jerry Abel has used for 15 years without incident, until several of his herd died.
An official at the Department of Agriculture told CBS News that there are currently no genetically modified grasses on the market or bring grown for public use or consumption.
I am pleased that a CBS reporter actually considered possible damages from genetically modified plants.
The alliance of politicians with Monsanto and the news media, and the absence of open debate on this matter, bothered a lot of us.
With kind regards,
Oliver K. Manuel
Former NASA Principal
Investigator for Apollo
http://www.omatumr.com
http://omanuel.wordpress.com/about/
I must disagree with you Oliver. The lack of critical thought given to the initial article is stunning. A Bing search on “Cyanide bermuda” brings up this
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Bermudagrass
as the first article not about this story specifically, and it specifically states that bermuda can cause acute cyanide poisoning. While it’s a vague reference, this strongly indicates that it is the species, not the “genetically modified” part that is the problem, I can hope that a news agency would do a basic internet search on what they were commenting about.
Ben, wildly o/t: did you receive an e-mail from me on the 20th?
No, it’s not in my junk mail folder either.
can you e-mail me editor at junkscience.com to confirm your address & I’ll reply with a resend
Funnier still is how CBS had *two weeks* to fact-check before they published the article. The notion of GMO grass killing cows with cyanide is so wild that surely someone could at least have googled it.
What this proves is that the mainstream media are staffed with gullible Green Left fools.
Re: “An official at the Department of Agriculture told CBS News that there are currently no genetically modified grasses on the market or bring grown for public use or consumption.” Unless alfalfa is not considered a “grass” or hay feed, which in practice it clearly is, then this statement is also untrue since the USDA has approved transgenic Roundup Ready alfalfa for commercial production.