After a long process Peru has finally banned GMOs (genetically modified crops) for at least ten years. Quechua farmers across Peru, like the farmers of Coopain that grow Quinola Mothergrain, have been demonstrating for years to get GMOs banned. As they farm small parcels of land there is a natural resistance to disease, especially as they continue to use a wide variety of food crop strains. Unlike rice where maybe 5 varieties represent the bulk of the global rice crop, in Peru there are literally thousands of quinoa varieties. All have different benefits, whether it be to altitude, lack of water or resistance to certain bugs. The best defense against diseases is to have a large pool of biodiversity, so that any disease mutation will only affect a small part of the crop. GMOs on the other hand, are typically used in a monoculture fashion. Hectare upon hectare of field grows with genetically identical plants. Sadly most GMOs have been engineered not to be resistant to little water or stronger stems against storms, but to be resistant to hugely toxic pesticides and herbicides. For example, the soya that is planted in where the Amazon used to grow has been genetically modified just for this. Unsurprisingly the jungle will regain lost territory very quickly if left to do so. To protect their soya crops, farmers spray them with super toxic chemicals that only the genetically modified soya can resist. And so not a single other species or insect survives. A monoculture desert where all biodiversity has been wiped out. That soya is then shipped to Europe where it is fed to pretty much every single bit of meat that ends up on your plate. Well done that good sense has prevailed over short term greed in Peru.
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