Old Warnings about BT-cron resistance.

www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/business/06corn.html

This article was published in The New York Times during November of 2009 and expresses concern over farmers failing to follow federal guidelines regulating genetically modified BT-corn crops. The federal government requires bt corn farmers preserve one fifth of their land as an insect refuge where non-GM corn must be planted. The article mentions that a few years ago, approximately 90% of farmers were following federal guidelines by appropriating 20% of their crop field to non GM corn plants, recently surveys and studies conducted by an advocacy group suggest that around 25% of corn farms are now incompliant with the rules. The rates had steadily fallen: in 2007 80% of farmers were compliant, a year later 78% were compliant, and by 2009, more than a quarter of all U.S. corn farms were not following federal regulations to maintain a refuge area. Furthermore the article mentions that only 63% of farms had established a refuge area close enough to the farm fields.

The Genetically modified “bt-corn” was introduced by Monsanto in 2003 and has been very popular with corn farmers across the nation. The advantages of bt-corn were obvious for farmers and consumers alike as they increased productivity and reduced the need for pesticides. The main difference between the bt-corn and other non-gmo corn lies in the presence of a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (bt), which produces a specific protein, “Cry3Bb1,” an insecticidal toxin that makes the plant resistant to pests that would otherwise feed on the crop. This specific protein has never been expressed in corn, and has never even been present in the human food chain, but public health concerns aside, farmers have found it an effective tool to combat infestation. Unfortunately, overuse of the crop may render it useless.

The reason for those guidelines is to avoid the threat of insect resistance. The fear is that if the entire corn farm contains the bacterial toxin, insects such as the rootworm will develop resistance to the toxins and their offspring will in turn be resistant, rendering the GM crops ineffective at preventing infestation from the forthcoming generations of bugs. Gregory Jaffe is the biotechnology project director for The Center for Science in the Public interest, an advocacy group based in Washington D.C. that does not oppose GM practices but argues for stricter regulation of the industry. He warns these findings “should be a wake-up call to the E.P.A. that the regulatory system is not working.” The four transnational biotechnology corporations that hold patents for bt-corn—Monsanto, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Syngenta, and Dow AgroSciences--are required to conduct annual surveys to determine the level of compliance with federal standards. Nicholas Storer, chairman of Agricultural Biotechnology Stewardship Technical Committee which conducts the surveys, said biotech seed companies are aware of the problems and have begun a “Respect the Refuge” campaign, that involves sending postcards personally to corn farmers putting up billboards alongside highways in the Corn Belt. As it seems many farms have not been in compliance, and the E.P.A has already stated it “will take action if necessary,” one wonders when they will feel it necessary, perhaps when insects have already developed resistance.