|
Fusarium
Mycotoxins:
Vomitoxin
Nivalenol
Lycomarasmin
Fusariotoxin
T2-Toxin,
Fusaric Acid
Fumonisin B1
New! Fusarium mycotoxins:
chemical names list.
Chemical Herbicides
Soil Solarization
Espaņol
|
This
site is supported by a
grant from
Drug Policy Reform Fund of the TIDES Foundation. |
| |
===========================================
P A N U P S
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
===========================================
U.S. Moves Towards Biological Warfare in Colombia
January 24, 2003
U.S. legislators are making new threats to use biological weapons in
Colombia's civil war. In December 2002 a plan resurfaced in the U.S. House
of Representatives to employ an untested pathogenic fungus, Fusarium
oxysporum in Colombia's U.S.-funded "War on Drugs." Critics say the plan
proposes illegal acts of biological warfare, poses major ecological risks to
one of the world's most bio-diverse countries, and will increase the human
damage of a failed eradication policy. The new fungal agents were dubbed
Agent Green by the Sunshine Project, a non-governmental organization opposed
to the use of biological weapons, and were developed by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, and by two other facilities using U.S. government funding--a
private company in Montana, and a former Soviet biological weapons facility
in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The lead agents are types of Fusarium oxysporum (to
kill coca and cannabis) and Pleospora papaveracea (to kill opium poppy).
Their ecological and human health safety is very poorly tested, and they are
known to impact non-target species.
In June 1999, the U.S. Senate approved a US$1.3 billion aid package in
support of Colombia's "War on Drugs," that required testing of the fungal
pathogen as another weapon to be employed against illicit drugs, along with
conventional pesticides. The plan was opposed by civil society worldwide,
and President Clinton eventually waived this requirement, citing concerns
for the proliferation of biological weapons. Colombia also rejected
proposals to test this pathogen due to environmental risks.
The coca-killing strain of Fusarium oxysporum is naturally abundant in
temperate and tropical zones, killing plants by releasing fungal toxins
(mycotoxins) into plant roots. A generalist fungal pathogen, the toxin
attacks a variety of plants. Because it persists in soil, Fusarium oxysporum
would make the soil sprayed in Colombia unfit for coca-cultivation for up to
40 years.
Pesticide Action Network scientist Margaret Reeves states "Fusarium
oxysporum is a huge threat, with potentially enormous negative consequences
for a variety of plant species. Little is known about possible dangers of a
massive introduction of these fungi into the environment, their potential to
attack other plant species or the health risks caused by the toxins they
produce." The Sunshine Project considers Agent Green an indiscriminate
killer, that poses threats to human health and to non-targeted species. Some
Fusarium species are also known to cause human disease, especially in
individuals with compromised immune systems due to cancer, AIDS or even
asthma.
Clearly, the large-scale introduction of a persistent and generalist toxin,
is extremely risky for Colombia. However, Colombia is at a disadvantage
because it depends heavily upon U.S. aid.
The U.S. plan to spray Fusarium oxysporum would violate the Biological
Weapons Convention (BWC), which prohibits international transfers of
bioweapons and equipment. Some of Colombia's neighbors, including Ecuador
and Peru, have passed national regulations to try to preempt U.S. bioweapons
pressure like that exerted on Colombia.
If biological warfare in the form of Agent Green is used in Colombia, it may
legitimize global biological warfare on a larger scale. The Sunshine project
explains that Afghanistan is also on the U.S. target list, as are other
countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Attempts to use Agent Green on illicit cannabis crops within the U.S. were
quashed by environmental regulators in Florida. The Sunshine Project terms
the use of this fungal pathogen in Colombia not only hypocritical but also
colonialist. The use of this generalist and highly persistent fungal
pathogen would legitimize biological warfare, and provide a major threat to
the health and environment within Colombia.
Sources: The Temptation of Dr. Weed, Missoula Independent, January 16, 2003;
Press Release, New US Bioweapons Threat on Colombia, The Sunshine Project,
17 December 17, 2002,
http://www.sunshine-project.org/; Biological Weapons Join Pesticides in
Misguided "War on Drugs," PANUPS, Aug 1, 2000, PANNA Web site.
Contact: PANNA
PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and
reporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the
mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network North America, a
non-profit and non-governmental organization working to advance sustainable
alternatives to pesticides worldwide.
You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for our work and all
contributions are tax deductible in the United States. Visit
http://www.panna.org/donate.
===========================================
To comment, send an email to:
panna@panna.org
To subscribe, send a blank email to:
PANUPS-subscribe@topica.email-publisher.com
Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)
49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
Phone: (415) 981-1771
Fax: (415) 981-1991
Email: panna@panna.org
Web: http://www.panna.org
|
|
