GM Watch
  • Main Menu
    • Home
    • News
      • Newsletter subscription
      • News Reviews
      • News Languages
        • Notícias em Português
        • Nieuws in het Nederlands
        • Nachrichten in Deutsch
      • Archive
    • Articles
      • GM Myth Makers
      • GM Reports
      • GM Quotes
      • GM Myths
      • Non-GM successes
      • GM Firms
        • Monsanto: a history
        • Monsanto: resources
        • Bayer: a history
        • Bayer: resources
    • Videos
      • Latest Videos
      • Must see videos
      • Agriculture videos
      • Labeling videos
      • Animals videos
      • Corporations videos
      • Corporate takeover videos
      • Contamination videos
      • Latin America videos
      • India videos
      • Asia videos
      • Food safety videos
      • Songs videos
      • Protests videos
      • Biofuel myths videos
      • Index of GM crops and foods
      • Index of speakers
      • Health Effects
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donations
News and comment on genetically modified foods and their associated pesticides    
  • News
    • Newsletter subscription
    • News Reviews
    • News Languages
      • Notícias em Português
      • Nieuws in het Nederlands
      • Nachrichten in Deutsch
    • Archive
      • 2022 articles
  • Articles
    • GM Myth Makers
    • GM Reports
    • GM Quotes
    • GM Myths
    • Non-GM successes
    • GM Firms
      • Monsanto: a history
      • Monsanto: resources
      • Bayer: a history
      • Bayer: resources
  • Donations
  • Videos
    • Index of speakers
    • Glyphosate Videos
    • Latest Videos
    • Must see videos
    • Health Effects
    • Agriculture videos
    • Labeling videos
    • Animals videos
    • Corporations videos
    • Corporate takeover videos
    • Contamination videos
    • Latin America videos
    • India videos
    • Asia videos
    • Food safety videos
    • Songs videos
    • Protests videos
    • Biofuel myths videos
    • Index of GM crops and foods
  • Contact
  • About

GMWatch Facebook cornfield banner

INTRODUCTION TO GM

GMO Myths and Facts front page.jpg

SCIENCE SUPPORTS REGULATION OF GENE EDITING

Plant tissue cultures

GENE EDITING: UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES AND RISKS

Damaged DNA on fire

GENE EDITING MYTHS AND REALITY

A guide through the smokescreen

Gene Editing Myths and Reality

ON-TARGET EFFECTS OF GENE EDITING

Damaged DNA

Bt corn NOT reducing insecticide use and "potential risks are not thoroughly addressed"

  • Print
  • Email
Details
Published: 04 July 2001
Twitter

Science Paper Issues Biotech Caution
Willie Vogt
Farm Progress
July 3, 2001

John Obrycki is used to the media calling him to talk about corn and butterflies. The Iowa State entomologist is known for his work with potted milkweeds and a second lab feeding study that got quite a bit of attention last season. Looks like he might get a few more calls this year.

Obrycki, along with John Losey, the Cornell University entomologist who's lab work got the world's attention when he showed pollen from Bt corn could be toxic to Monarch caterpillars, and two other collaborators, have written a new paper on the topic of Bt corn. Their paper is a cautionary tale about biotech use for the sake of insurance when there may be unknown consequences.

...The article looks at planting rates of Bt corn, use rates of insecticides and yield studies of resultant crops from Corn Belt states. They settle on some conclusions:

Bt corn is not reducing insecticide use for corn borer. Obrycki tells Rooster.com that before Bt corn came on the scene about 2 to 3% of acres hit by European Corn Borer were treated with insecticides. Insecticide use hasn't fallen but Bt corn use now covers about 18% of U.S. corn acres (according to USDA's latest figures). Bt corn is a kind of insurance policy used in case borers appear. Obrycki says that using Bt corn as insurance is no different from spraying an insecticide just in case you might have a problem. "If you only have corn borer pressure once every seven years if you use Bt corn every year does it pay for the one bad year?" he asks. But these entomologists say that based on the features on which biotech is sold -- lower pesticide use and economic benefit -- the case for Bt corn isn't too strong. "This is a very powerful technology and may be useful for other insects, but does it really have a good role to play in the midwestern U.S.?" asks Obrycki. "From our point of view, based on the past two or three years of data, the answer would be no."

The entomologists say that what's needed is more comprehensive testing. "If we had tested for non-target insects before Bt corn was labeled and knew the real mortality issues in the field, as we're finding now, it might have been different," he says. They say, "potential risks are not thoroughly addressed in the U.S. governmental registration process, an oversight that should be attended to."

full article at: http://www.biotech-info.net/caution.html

Menu

Home

Subscriptions

News Archive

News Reviews

Videos

Articles

GM Myth Makers

GM Reports

GM Myths

GM Quotes

Non-GM Successes

Contacts

Contact Us

About

Facebook

Twitter

Donations

Content 1999 - 2023 GMWatch.
Web Development By SCS Web Design