

Grass linked to Texas cattle deaths - stfu
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57459357/gm-grass-linked-to-texas-cattle-deaths/

======
pranjalv123
First of all, the grass wasn't even genetically modified. The grass (Tifton
85) is a hybrid between two other grasses
[<http://www.tifton.uga.edu/fat/tifton85.htm>]. Secondly, even if it was, this
headline is absurd. It's a widely-used strain of grass, used on this plot for
15 years, so the suggestion that the genetic modification is somehow
responsible for killing the cows is absurd.

See also: [http://www.examiner.com/article/gmo-food-hybrid-poison-
grass...](http://www.examiner.com/article/gmo-food-hybrid-poison-grass-that-
kills-texas-cattle-not-genetically-modified).

~~~
ams6110
Further, the production cyanides by plants as a defense against herbivores is
a natural phenomenon. However not sure it's ordinarily seen in grases and it
is curious that the levels were apparently high enough to cause toxicity in
the cattle.

~~~
protomyth
They are having a drought so the levels are up.

------
paulus99
as someone who grew up on a farm, we knew that driving cows or sheep (4
stomached ruminants) onto a hot alfalfa field can kill them from cyanide
poisoning (used to call it prussic acid poisoning in the old days), so this is
nothing new. Just scaremongering media

~~~
ghshephard
That's interesting - Turns out there are a lot of grasses/clovers that can
cause cyanide poisoning:

(See Table 1-1, second page)
<http://www.ivis.org/special_books/knight/chap1/ivis.pdf>

"Plants Containing Cyanogenic Glycosides Cyanogenic glycosides are substances
present in many plants that can produce highly toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) or
prussic acid. Specific plant enzymes released when plant cells are damaged
when chewed, crushed, wilted, or frozen, hydrolyze the glycosides to cyanide.
At least 2000 plant species are known to contain cyanogenic glycosides with
the potential to produce HCN poisoning [1-6]."

