From Care2

The Monsanto company has forged a new partnership with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company whose primary focus seems to be on figuring out how to best crack the genetic code so as to manipulate the way genes inherently express themselves. And based on the agreement the two companies have made publicly with one another, it appears as though Monsanto is planning to utilize Alnylam’s proprietary gene-silencing technologies in its emerging agricultural pursuits, which will likely spawn a whole new category of problems for humanity and the planet at large.

In a recent press release, Monsanto disclosed that it has officially obtained “worldwide, exclusive rights” to use Alnylam’s platform technology and intellectual property (IP) in its own agricultural products, and particularly in its new “BioDirect” line of products designed to treat seeds and crops with what the company has dubbed “biopesticides.” Monsanto apparently sees something exceptionally valuable in Alnylam’s technologies that it does not currently possess, and is now seeking to leverage it for the purpose of expanding its own market share. But what is it?

Monsanto may want to turn food crops into gene-altering ‘drugs’

In a nutshell, Alnylam specializes in a technology known as RNA interference (RNAi) that involves deliberately silencing the expression of genes throughout the body for the purpose of preventing the production of proteins that some scientists believe are responsible for causing disease. By artificially blocking production of these proteins, RNAi technology is believed to have the potential to effectively block the development of disease, which is why many major drug companies have also signed on as strategic partners with Alnylam.

But Monsanto is an agricultural company, not a pharmaceutical company, which begs the obvious question as to why this multinational company has suddenly decided to shell out nearly $30 million with promises of perpetual royalty payments to gain access to this emerging technology. As it turns out, Monsanto has plans to roll out all sorts of new genetically-modified (GM) crops, crop pesticides and herbicides, and various other technologies with built-in RNAi modifications, which could turn future GM food crops into “drugs.”

Many modern varieties of wheat, for instance, are problematic for people with gluten sensitivity or Celiac disease because they produce unnaturally high levels of a wheat protein known as gluten. By integrating genetic changes using RNAi; however, companies like Monsanto could theoretically produce a GM wheat variety that does not contain any gluten at all, which they could then market as the solution to gluten insensitivity.

Modifying food crops with RNAi is unsafe, unpredictable

But such experimental gene-tampering is already taking place elsewhere, and it is proving to be a complete failure. In Australia, for instance, field trials of a novel variety of GM wheat with RNAi alterations have been disastrous, as the modified gene expressions in the wheat are also modifying human genes in the liver. Researchers are now warning that human children who eat this GM wheat could actually die before reaching the age of five.

A paper compiled by Greenpeace about the same strains of RNAi-modified wheat explain that RNAi modifications in general “are prone to unexpected and unpredictable effects that have not been considered in the risk assessments done by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.” The paper goes on to explain that releasing RNAi-modified crops “poses severe, and potentially irreversible, risks to the environment and human and animal health.”

Many foods contain natural gene regulators, and modifying them could change the entire human genome

Researchers from Nanjing University in China recently conducted an unrelated study that found gene-altering properties in regular, non-GMO rice. It turns out that certain plant-based foods, or perhaps all of them, contain unique properties that naturally turn genes on or off throughout the body when ingested, depending on these foods’ various nutritive functions.

Synthetically altering these functions in the form of RNAi-modified GM crops, in other words, could result in disastrous consequences as the entire human genome is thrown off balance. As Ari Levaux from The Atlantic puts it, the discovery of food’s natural gene-altering capacities illustrates how GM foods, and particularly those that have been RNAi-modified, “could influence human health in previously unanticipated ways.”

In other words, Monsanto’s latest endeavors involve tampering with plants at their most elemental level, which will in turn tamper with humans at their most elemental level as well. Sure, Monsanto has been inserting, removing, and splicing the genes of plants for decades; but RNAi modifications involve essentially reprogramming the way plants express their genes, which is uncharted territory as far as the consequences to the environment and humanity are concerned.

For more on this article go to: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/monsanto-acquires-gene-silencing-technology.html#ixzz29NVuJK9N

You can read the Greenpeace paper here – summary and full

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From Monsanto website:

BioDirect™ Technology

An Agricultural Biological Platform

The latest addition to our research and development efforts is our agricultural biological platform, featuring BioDirect™ technology. Leveraging our genomics expertise, BioDirect technology uses molecules found in nature that we expect to develop for use in topically applied crop protection and other products. BioDirect technology may enable specific and effective products with a wide range of applications – including weed, insect and virus control.

What are agricultural biologicals?

Agricultural biologicals –often referred to as biopesticides – are typically topical or seed treatment products that are manufactured from, or contain natural materials.  Biologicals are used to complement or replace agricultural chemical products and represent a growing market segment of roughly $1.7 billion in annual sales.  Examples of agriculture biologicals include but are not limited to microbial pesticides such as Bt sprays.

Why is Monsanto getting involved in agricultural biologicals?

We are committed to supporting farmer and consumer demand for sustainable agricultural practices. BioDirect technology uses molecules found in nature which are common components of the food we eat and our environment. While we’re just beginning to explore this technology we have the potential to enable specific and effective products with a wide range of applications – including weed, insect and virus control. We believe this topical alternative is expected to provide pest control products that will expand farmers’ choices.

For more go to:

http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/biodirect-ag-biologicals.aspx

Excerpt from Seeking Alpha website

In late August, agricultural products company Monsanto in St. Louis agreed to license gene-silencing technology from the biotechnology company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a deal that highlights new strategic directions for both companies.

The deal gives Monsanto access for 10 years to Alnylam’s platform technology and intellectual property for use in agricultural products. Alnylam gets $29.2 million from Monsanto immediately, and is eligible for milestone and research-support payments, as well as royalties down the road.

Monsanto is no stranger to genetic engineering in agriculture, but this deal marks a somewhat new direction for that company as well. In Alnylam’s statement announcing the deal, Monsanto’s chemical technology vice-president Tom Adams said his company would use Alnylam’s technology to support Monsanto’s BioDirect platform of biologics applied to agriculture.

For the whole article go to:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/842411-monsanto-alnylam-to-apply-genomics-to-agricultural-pests