[themsrsdude]

A cattle ranch in Elgin, Texas., where 15 head succumbed to death by cyanide poisoning after eating genetically-modified grass. (KEYE)

(CBS News) ELGIN, Texas - A mysterious mass death of a herd of cattle has prompted a federal investigation in Central Texas.

A mysterious mass death of a herd of cattle has prompted a federal investigation in Central Texas.


Preliminary test results are blaming the deaths on the grass the cows were eating when they got sick, reports CBS Station KEYE.


The cows dropped dead several weeks ago on an 80-acre ranch owned by Jerry Abel in Elgin, just east of Austin.


Abel says he's been using the fields for cattle grazing and hay for 15 years. "A lot of leaf, it's good grass, tested high for protein - it should have been perfect," he told KEYE correspondent Lisa Leigh Kelly.


The grass is a genetically-modified form of Bermuda known as Tifton 85 which has been growing here for 15 years, feeding Abel's 18 head of Corriente cattle. Corriente are used for team roping because of their small size and horns.


"When we opened that gate to that fresh grass, they were all very anxious to get to that," said Abel.

Three weeks ago, the cattle had just been turned out to enjoy the fresh grass, when something went terribly wrong.

"When our trainer first heard the bellowing, he thought our pregnant heifer may be having a calf or something," said Abel. "But when he got down here, virtually all of the steers and heifers were on the ground. Some were already dead, and the others were already in convulsions."

Within hours, 15 of the 18 cattle were dead.

more at link

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-...cattle-deaths/

[Sthjrderfida]

It's a hybrid not GM.

[costamarianavia]

Don't I eat apricot seeds because they contain cyanide?

[desmond001]

I went looking for a little more information on whether this is gmo or hybred. In this article Tifton 85 is bermuda grass crossed with a cyanide producing african grass. It probably wouldn't have crossed in nature but was helped along in the laboratory. I don't know if the information here I'm posting is accurate but it is interesting and it is important to laern as much as we can about what these Big AG corporations are up to.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/mutated-gmo-grass-makes-cyanide-kills-cattle-2/


ETA: Apparently, there’s quite a controversy about whether or not the grass in question should properly be described as “genetically-modified” or as a “hybrid,” as if those are two mutually exclusive terms. The way I see it, the word “hybrid” is like the word “flower.” A tulip is a flower, and so is a rose. But a rose is not a tulip. Likewise, it’s possible to have “hybrids” that were created in laboratories through genetic splicing, and it’s possible to have “hybrids” that were created by YOU when you cultivated your garden plants, saving seeds and cross-pollinating varieties that perform well where you live. One is “natural,” and what gardeners and farmers have always done. The other is unnatural and can have dire and unforeseen consequences.
One Facebook commenter had this to say: “I have a degree in biochemistry. GMO is simply speeding up or creating a new ‘hybrid’ in a much faster lab setting than the slow natural (think Natural Selection) setting of nature. Both methods involve HUMANS intentionally combining genes that wouldn’t ordinarily be combined, or would take hundreds or thousands of years to SAFELY combine. At the end of the day, it is humans manifesting our arrogance that we have it all figured out, are smarter than mother nature and somehow know better than nature does about what’s good for us.” I agree with her opinion.
Even if you want to plaster the label “hybrid” on the Tifton 85 grass as if that makes it safe, you still have to marvel that the creator of this grass variety didn’t think it would matter that a parent cultivar for their hybrid was a known cyanide-producing African grass. They thought they were “safe,” that they could accurately predict the outcome of their cross-pollination, that they’d bred out the tendency for the the plant to produce cyanide under stress. They didn’t mention this potential outcome to their customers because 1) in their conceit, they never imagined it was possible, or 2) because in their greed, they didn’t want to unnecessarily scare off buyers.
Surely there is food for thought here about the proper role of commercially-produced hybrids. For example, did you know that in order for a hybrid plant to be commercially viable, it must be sterile? That’s so that the seed patent owner can sell you new seeds each year. This sterility can be accomplished naturally through selectively breeding the plants, but more often than not it is accomplished in laboratories through the marvel of biochemical engineering (either by using genetic-modification or chemicals to interrupt the expression of genes). And these are the “naturally-bred” hybrids that everyone thinks have nothing whatsoever to do with GMOs. There is more to discuss, but I wanted to update this post with some of the more interesting revelations of the past day in the hopes of discouraging repetitive comments and encouraging even more fascinating conversations!

[comprar-espana]

That's nothing. A local stockman discovered after killing three bulls that cows cannot survive on gummy bears alone. This should be a lesson to gummy bear fans. You might do better by eating the grass.