CHINESE EXPERIENCE SHOWS ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED BT COTTON
Beijing/London – A Greenpeace report reviewing Chinese experience of genetically engineered (GE) Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton shows adverse environmental impacts after just five years of commercial growing, concluding that the variety will be ineffective in controlling pests after eight to ten years of continuous production. (1)
Laboratory tests and field monitoring conducted by four Chinese state- owned science institutes (2) verify a resistance build-up towards Bt in the main target pest, cotton bollworm, a significant reduction of the parasitic natural enemies, and an increase of secondary pests. These factors have forced farmers to continue the use of chemical pesticides, and increased the possibility of outbreaks of certain pests due to the destabilized insect community.
The author of the study, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, and an advisor for Greenpeace, Professor Xue Dayuan, said: “The report confirms that the Bt cotton is released to the environment prematurely. After five years of growing, Chinese farmers and scientists are now faced with serious problems and confronted with the fact that too little is known about the interaction of GE crops with the environment. High hopes have been brought crashing down and reality shows that the information from the GE industry has been unsubstantiated.”
Beijing/London – A Greenpeace report reviewing Chinese experience of genetically engineered (GE) Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton shows adverse environmental impacts after just five years of commercial growing, concluding that the variety will be ineffective in controlling pests after eight to ten years of continuous production. (1)
Laboratory tests and field monitoring conducted by four Chinese state- owned science institutes (2) verify a resistance build-up towards Bt in the main target pest, cotton bollworm, a significant reduction of the parasitic natural enemies, and an increase of secondary pests. These factors have forced farmers to continue the use of chemical pesticides, and increased the possibility of outbreaks of certain pests due to the destabilized insect community.
The author of the study, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, and an advisor for Greenpeace, Professor Xue Dayuan, said: “The report confirms that the Bt cotton is released to the environment prematurely. After five years of growing, Chinese farmers and scientists are now faced with serious problems and confronted with the fact that too little is known about the interaction of GE crops with the environment. High hopes have been brought crashing down and reality shows that the information from the GE industry has been unsubstantiated.”