-Caveat Lector- > P A N U P S > Pesticide Action Network Updates Service > =========================================== > > U.S. EPA Approves Bt Corn Despite Lack of Testing > > October 22, 2001 > > On October 15, 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) > announced approval of genetically engineered Bt corn for an > additional > seven years, despite serious questions about the dangers crops pose > to > human health or the environment. Genetically Engineered Food Alert > (GE > Food Alert) criticized the EPA for rushing to approve Bt corn without > > conducting necessary tests on human health effects and failing to > investigate new concerns about environmental impacts. > > Bt plants produce a type of insecticidal or Bt toxin, one of a family > of > related molecules produced by a soil bacterium, Bacillus > thuringiensis > (Bt). To develop these Bt crops, a company clones the insecticidal > gene > from the bacterium and inserts it into a crop plant. The plant then > produces the toxin in most, if not all, parts of the plant through > all > or most of a growing season. There five varieties of Bt corn still on > > the market are made by Monsanto, Pioneer/DuPont, Dow and Syngenta. At > > least three types of Bt corn were previously taken off the market. > Most > Bt corn varieties were approved by EPA in 1995 with a federal > registration that expired on September 30, 2001. > > As we learned with the StarLink debacle, human allergenicity is a key > > issue related to Bt crops; however, during the re-registration > process, > EPA failed to take into account several recent studies showing that > Bt > toxins could act as possible human allergens. In July, EPA's own > scientific advisory panel, which included leading U.S. allergists, > called for more tests to determine the potential allergenicity of Bt > crops, yet the Agency approved the corn for planting before such > tests > were carried out. > > The allergenicity studies that serve as the basis for EPA's approval > of > Bt corn have several serious flaws. For example, the Agency has not > required that biotechnology companies conduct toxicity and > allergenicity > tests on the pesticidal proteins actually produced in Bt crops and > eaten > by consumers. Instead, EPA accepts substandard tests conducted on > surrogate proteins from bacteria, which can differ substantially from > > their plant-produced counterparts. (For more information visit the > Friends of the Earth Web site at http://www.foe.org/safefood.) > > In addition to human health research, studies on potential > environmental > impacts of Bt corn were inadequate. EPA ignored the concerns of > researchers at Cornell University, Iowa State University and the > University of Minnesota about impacts of Bt corn on monarch > butterflies. > Recently released studies leave open the possibility that exposure to > Bt > corn may have long-term, harmful effects on the butterflies. > Biologists > from the three schools, all of whom have been involved in related > research, urged EPA to delay a decision, or grant a one-year > provisional > renewal, until more data were available on the risk for monarch > caterpillars exposed to Bt corn. (For more information see Ag Biotech > > Infonet at http://www.biotech-info.net/butterflies_btcorn.html.) > > Organic farmers were also disappointed with EPA's decision. Bt sprays > > are an important pest management tool for many organic and some > conventional farmers, but continued use of Bt crops may reduce their > effectiveness. Toxins in Bt sprays break down rapidly in the > environment > as opposed to the Bt in genetically engineered crops, which breaks > down > very slowly. With widespread use of Bt crops, there is increased > insect > exposure to the toxin, and insect resistance is much more likely to > develop resulting in the loss of Bt sprays as a valuable tool. > > EPA announced that to ensure that Bt continues to be a safe and > effective form of pest management for farmers, the Agency has > mandated > several provisions "to strengthen insect resistance management, to > increase research data on potential environmental effects and to > improve > grower education and stewardship." Whether these mandates will be > successfully implemented is doubtful when one examines implementation > of > such requirements in the past. A biotechnology industry survey > published > in January 2001 showed that nearly 30% of farmers who grew Bt corn in > > 2000 did not follow the resistance management guidelines. > > Lack of implementation and enforcement of Bt corn guidelines was also > > clearly evident during the StarLink corn disaster. In 2000, GE Food > Alert found that StarLink corn, a type of Bt corn approved only for > animal feed, had contaminated the human food supply. In the resulting > > investigation, it was found that many farmers had not followed the > guidelines for growing StarLink, and had not segregated the corn > after > harvest. Regulations and guidelines agreed to by Aventis, the > corporation that produced the StarLink seed, were not passed on to > farmers, and little if any follow up by the corporation or EPA was > done > to see if the plans were being implemented. > > Genetically Engineered Food Alert supports the removal of genetically > > engineered ingredients from grocery store shelves unless they are > adequately safety tested and labeled. Genetically Engineered Food > Alert > founding members include: Pesticide Action Network North America, > Center > for Food Safety, Friends of the Earth, Institute for Agriculture and > Trade Policy, National Environmental Trust, Organic Consumers > Association, and the State Public Interest Research Groups. The > campaign > is endorsed by more than 200 scientists, religious leaders, doctors, > chefs, environmental and health leaders, as well as farm groups. Find > > out more about the campaign at http://www.gefoodalert.org. > > Sources: GE Food Alert press releases, July 24 and October 12, 2001. > EPA > Pesticide Program Update, October 18, 2001. "Farmers violating > biotech > corn rules," Associated Press, January 31, 2001. > > Contact: PANNA. > > PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and > reporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the > mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network North > America, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working to > advance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide. > > You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for our work and > > all contributions are tax deductible in the United States. Visit > http://www.panna.org/donate. > > > =========================================== > NOTE: Replies to the sender of this message > will not be read. > > To comment, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe, send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) > 49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA > Phone: (415) 981-1771 > Fax: (415) 981-1991 > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Web: http://www.panna.org > =========================================== > > ==^================================================================ > EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://igc.topica.com/u/?aVxh9y.aVGHGn > Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! > http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register > ==^================================================================
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