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Cyanide-Producing GM Grass Linked To Texas Cattle Deaths
Peristaltic writes "Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are trying to determine if an unexpected mutation in a popular GM grass, Tifton 85, is responsible for the sudden deaths of a small herd of cattle in Elgin, Texas three weeks ago. The grass has been used for grazing since 1992 without incident, however after a severe drought last year in Texas, the grass started producing cyanide in sufficient quantities to kill a small herd of cattle in Elgin, Texas. Testing has found the cyanide-producing grass in nearby fields as well." Update: 06/23 22:59 GMT by T : Reader Jon Cousins writes with a correction that means the headline above is inaccurate for including "GM." Tifton 85, he writes, is "absolutely not genetically modified. It's a conventionally bred hybrid."
How dare your heard of cattle defame the good name of our company by having the nerve to DIE after eating our product. You sir, will be hearing from our attorneys.
Sincerely,
The Monsanto Group
Ever seen Reefer Madness (1936)?
Pain is merely failure leaving the body
This is amazing. I mean this is like something from The Onion. Except its real.
Fortunately, onions have sulfur not cyanide.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Also:
"Moo!" (thud)
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
So? That's really not all important at the time being. Whether it's conventional or not, the grass needs to be firebombed before it's allowed to spread any further.
No, I'm not kidding.
It's reputedly a cold intolerant grass which has high yields. That means it spreads quickly and will only become more prevalent as the world warms. Supposedly, this is an actual mutation and not just a short-term response to the severe climatic stressors.
If it spreads, it will not only kill off one of the most effective and inexpensive sources of fat and protein everywhere it goes, but it will make the land unsuitable for grazing at all, for who knows how long. Possibly forever. Everywhere the plant grows will eventually become a deadzone to pretty much everything else due to the cyanide content (which will kill anything which eats it or the things which eat the things which eat it, including insects, other mammals, and birds). In all possibility, this would result in the entire warm region of America becoming desert, for all we know.
Maybe I'm being alarmist, but to me, it's better safe than sorry - sorry being a desert planet. :(
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Damn. I was just pulling my pitchfork and torch out of the shed. Thought it was interesting; should have done more research.
This is a cross of Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff.