Safe New Mushroom-Based Biopesticides Could Spell the
End for GMO Foods
BY JUSTIN
FAERMAN
a new class of safe, natural mushroom-based biopesticides is a very real alternative to health and environment damaging synthetic pesticides currently in widespread use. photo: der hannes photocase.com
It has been said by some of the wiser among us that if
a problem exists, a corresponding solution will also exist to be found in
nature. That somehow, some way, this planet we live on is a self-contained,
self-regulating,
even self-aware system that balances itself continually in response to the
evolving species and situations present at any time. Just as we evolve in
response to our environment, so too does the living earth respond to inherent
and human-made challenges.
So,
it should come as no surprise then that world-renowned mycologist Paul Stamets
has discovered a mushroom-based biopesticide that is just as effective (if not
more so) as synthetic chemical pesticides, without any health or
environment-disrupting effects. In what some are calling “the most disruptive
agricultural technology ever witnessed,” Stamets has patented a strain of
entomopathogenic fungi (read: insect-killing fungus, commonly referred
to as a biopesticide) known as M. anisopliae that can be specifically
engineered to repel over 200,000 different types of insects. Through a process
called “sporulation”, the entomopathogenic fungi spores are freeze-dried and
subsequently sprayed over entire fields of crops, effectively making them
invisible and undesirable for insects, who are evolutionarily wired to avoid
such fungi.
“Stamets’ has discovered a mushroom-based biopesticide that is just as effective as synthetic chemical pesticides, without any health or environment-disrupting effects.”
Traditional
synthetic pesticides, on the other hand, have wreaked nothing short of total
havoc on the biosphere, humans included. Largely believed to be responsible for
the alarming disappearance of the bees, which is threatening to collapse the
entire food chain, synthetic chemical pesticides are also strongly related to
the sharp rise in autism, cancer, and other life-threatening autoimmune
conditions, as they severely disrupt the body’s natural functioning. Make no
mistake about it, pesticides are biological poisons and are being used in
greater and greater quantities every year to offset the immunity that insects
develop to them over time. It’s a vicious cycle that can’t be solved by further
pesticide use and, in fact, is already reaching a zenith as so-called superbugs
develop after thousands of successive generations that are basically immune to
pesticides altogether.
The
rise of pesticide use has also played a large part in the development of highly
controversial genetically modified (GMO) crops, which are bred to be resistant
to pests and the pesticides used to protect them even further. These GMO foods, as you can imagine, have their share of side effects as well, which
include everything from cellular damage to cancer and beyond. The case in point
being that the current agricultural paradigm of “playing God” by introducing
chemicals into the environment is a train wreck that’s in the process of
happening.
However,
Stamets’ biopesticide innovation offers a glimmer of hope—implementing nature’s
own bioregulation mechanisms on a massive scale to create further harmony and
balance rather than the continual disruption propagated by the current
agricultural model. Furthermore, only a teaspoonful of the fungus grown on a substrate such as rice—and costing
only a few cents to produce—is sufficient to treat an area the size of a house
for nearly an entire growing season, Stamets claims. In addition, the M.
anisopliae strain and the active compounds it generates don’t appear to be
harmful to humans, other mammals, fish, useful insects such as honeybees, or plants.
About
The Author
Justin
Faerman is the co-founder of Conscious
Lifestyle Magazine.
https://www.consciouslifestylemag.com/biopesticides-mushroom-based-safe/