Fwd: EPA allows Monsanto's continued attack on organic corn

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Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:40:16 -0800

News Update from The Campaign

EPA allows Monsanto's continued attack on organic corn

 

News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

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Dear News Update Subscribers,

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is continuing to

jeopardize organic agriculture with its approval on Tuesday of

Monsanto's MON 863 genetically engineered corn. It will be sold as

YieldGard Rootworm corn.

 

The media is providing broad coverage of this approval with the angle

that it will reduce the use of pesticides. But the reduction of

pesticides will only occur because the plant itself has been turned into

a pesticide with a genetically engineered version of the toxin Bacillus

thuringiensis (Bt) present throughout the cells of the plant.

 

The built-in Bt pesticide will not kill all the rootworms, so farmers

will probably need to continue to spray with pesticides. And

overexposure to Bt will render it ineffective in as little as seven

years.

 

The EPA ignored the advise of its own " scientific advisory panel " that

recommended a 50 percent refuge be set up around the genetically

engineered corn to prevent the rootworms from developing resistance.

Monsanto only wanted a 20 percent refuge. EPA officials approved

Monsanto's request.

 

ORGANIC CORN UNDER ATTACK

 

The EPA's approval of Monsanto's MON 863 genetically engineered corn

attacks organic corn in two very direct ways:

 

1) Pollen from Monsanto's MON 863 corn will cross-pollinate with organic

corn contaminating the organic corn with the genetically altered gene.

The MON 863 corn contains a genetically engineered toxic derived from

the soil bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).

 

A great deal of organic corn grown in the United States is already

testing positive for genetically altered genes. The dramatic increase in

acreage of Bt corn that will occur with the introduction of the MON 863

variety will greatly accelerate the contamination of organic corn.

 

2) Overexposure of insects to Bt crops such as Monsanto's MON 863 corn

will soon render the spray version of Bt useless for organic farmers.

Currently organic farmers use the spray form of Bt if they have a severe

insect infestation. The increasing acreage of genetically engineered Bt

crops being planted in the United States will cause organic farmers to

lose one of the most valuable tools they have to prevent crop lost.

 

The EPA even admits that insects may become resistant to the MON 863

corn in as little as seven years. It is quite likely that the spray form

of Bt that organic farmers are using will also become ineffective before

the end of this decade. The biotech industry will simply develop another

toxin to build into their genetically altered crops. But organic farmers

will be left with no replacement for the spray form of Bt to fight

insects.

 

Posted below are five articles about Monsanto's new MON 863 corn. The

first article is from the New York Times, the second from the Washington

Post, the third from the Associated Press and the fourth is from

Reuters.

 

The fifth article is a press release from the EPA defending their

approval of MON 863. It is titled " New Corn Pest Control Approved by EPA

Can Lead to Reduced Pesticide Use. " The EPA knows that the reduction of

pesticide use is only occurring because the plant is being turned into a

pesticide. They also know that the insects will soon grow resistant to

the built-in pesticide. Over time farmers are likely to need to spray

more and more pesticides on the plants to achieve results. This is not a

model for sustainable agriculture.

 

The bottom line is that the EPA's approval of MON 863 corn helps the

profits of the biotech agriculture industry at the expense of the

organic agriculture industry. Promises of reduction of pesticide use are

being exaggerated and will likely be short-lived.

 

Long-term agricultural sustainability and dramatic reductions of

pesticide use can be best obtained through organic farming methods.

 

Craig Winters

Executive Director

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

 

The Campaign

PO Box 55699

Seattle, WA 98155

Tel: 425-771-4049

Fax: 603-825-5841

E-mail: label

Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org

 

Mission Statement: " To create a national grassroots consumer campaign

for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass

legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered

foods in the United States. "

 

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E.P.A. Approves the Use of Monsanto's Altered Corn

 

The New York Times

February 26, 2003

By ANDREW POLLACK

 

The government announced yesterday that it had approved a type of

genetically modified corn that it says could lead to a significant

reduction in the use of toxic insecticides.

 

The approval was granted by the Environmental Protection Agency to a

corn developed by Monsanto that is resistant to the corn rootworm. This

soil-dwelling pest accounted for one out of seven applications of

insecticide to all agricultural crops, according to the E.P.A. The

resistant corn would require little or no chemicals.

 

" Corn rootworm is the pest that requires the single largest use of

conventional pesticides in the United States, " said Stephen L. Johnson,

the E.P.A.'s assistant administrator for prevention, pesticides and

toxic substances. " From an environmental and human health perspective,

this product replaces some very significant problematic, or potentially

problematic, chemicals. "

 

The approval is a boost for Monsanto, which has been struggling with

falling earnings, and for biotechnology crops, because it is the first

truly new product in some years. Until now the industry has subsisted on

variations of two main products: soybeans and other crops resistant to

Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, and BT corn and cotton, which are

resistant to the corn borer and the cotton bollworm, respectively.

 

The new product is also a form of BT corn, meaning it contains a gene

from a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis that causes the plant to

produce a toxin that kills the rootworm. But the type of BT toxin is

different from the ones used to kill the corn borer and the bollworm.

 

Advocates of crop biotechnology have long said that one of its benefits

would be to cut the use of more toxic insecticides that are sprayed on

fields, often killing not only the target pests but other insects and

wildlife and endangering the health of farmers. With the existing BT

corn, some experts say, there has been little if any reduction in

pesticide use because farmers do not always spray for the corn borer.

 

Monsanto said it expected the genetically engineered corn, which is

called YieldGard Rootworm, would eventually be used on 12 million to 15

million of the nation's 80 million acres of corn, generating $150

million to $200 million in revenue. But this year there will be less

than a million acres grown because many farmers had already bought their

seed before the approval came and because Monsanto needs to manufacture

more seed.

 

Monsanto is banking on genetically modified crops to reduce its

dependence on its mainstay Roundup herbicide, which is now facing

generic competition. The company's profits have been weak because of the

competition for Roundup, economic problems in Latin America and

resistance to genetically modified crops in some areas of the world,

particularly Europe. The company's stock fell 7 cents, to $16.75.

 

Fred Yoder, president of the National Corn Growers Association,

predicted farmers would eagerly adopt the new corn. " We've been waiting

a long time for this, " he said. " Rootworm is the No. 1 pest and the No.

1 yield robber we have in growing corn. "

 

But Charles Benbrook, a consultant and former agricultural specialist

for the National Research Council who has been critical of genetically

modified crops, said that data provided by Monsanto showed the corn

would not kill all the rootworms. " If it doesn't perform any better than

soil insecticides I think a lot of farmers will stick with the

insecticides, " he said.

 

The E.P.A. regulates the plant because it is considered to contain a

built-in pesticide.

 

To prevent rootworms from becoming resistant to the BT corn, the E.P.A.

is requiring that farmers plant 20 percent of their corn fields with

different corn, as a refuge. That is the figure proposed by Monsanto.

 

But the majority of members of a scientific advisory panel convened by

the E.P.A. last August recommended that the refuge be 50 percent of each

farm's corn acreage. This larger refuge requirement might have

discouraged some farmers from growing the new corn.

 

Mr. Johnson of the E.P.A. said that after the advisory panel meeting,

Monsanto submitted more information that led the agency to conclude that

20 percent would be enough. That requirement is the same as for existing

BT corn varieties, and that would make it easier for farmers to comply.

 

The approval of the new corn is only for about one year, though it is

expected to be extended to three years, he said. In that time, he said,

scientists could gather more data on what size of a refuge is needed.

 

Dow Chemical and the Pioneer Hi-Bred unit of DuPont are working together

on their own version of BT rootworm resistant corn, which they hope to

market in 2005.

 

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In Key Test, U.S. Allows Sale of Genetically Engineered Corn

 

By Justin Gillis

Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, February 26, 2003; Page A01

 

Monsanto Co. won government approval yesterday to sell genetically

altered corn designed to combat the most significant pest in the largest

crop grown in the United States, setting up a major test of whether the

plant biotechnology industry can deliver on its long-standing promise to

reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

 

The new corn is genetically engineered to resist corn rootworm disease.

That problem, which plagues farmers nationwide, is the biggest single

reason they apply toxic pesticides to their fields. Monsanto, of St.

Louis, estimates that the corn could eventually be grown on 12 million

acres, or 15 percent of the nation's cornfields.

 

In granting permission, the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged

that some environmental questions remain but declared that on balance

the corn appears to offer more benefits than risks.

 

" What this decision means is that the environment will have literally

millions of pounds of very toxic pesticides not being used, " said

Stephen Johnson, the assistant EPA administrator in charge of pesticide

regulation.

 

People would be unlikely to eat much, if any, of the new corn. Like most

corn grown in North America, the new crop is likely to be used

overwhelmingly as animal feed, so people would eat it only indirectly --

as poultry, beef or other meat. But a small amount might be turned into

products such as corn syrup, a sweetener.

 

The approval is a victory for Monsanto, a company struggling to gain

public acceptance of gene-altered crops. " This is a new tool to help

farmers fight insects, " said Robb Fraley, Monsanto's chief technology

officer. " But the real beneficiary is the public, which is getting a

more sustainable agricultural system. This will allow growers to be

better stewards of the land. "

 

For years, the backers of agricultural biotechnology, which involves

inserting new genes into plants to confer traits such as improved insect

or weed resistance, have claimed that their techniques hold the

potential to replace toxic herbicides and insecticides with more benign

control methods.

 

But big reductions in chemical use have been achieved only with

gene-altered cotton. For genetically engineered crops grown as human

food or animal feed, the data have been far murkier. Corn rootworm,

nicknamed the " billion-dollar bug " because it costs farmers nearly $1

billion a year in lost yields and control expenses, is such a huge

agricultural problem that the new gene-altered corn is likely to serve

as the definitive test of whether big chemical reductions can be

achieved in a food crop.

 

" This is a blockbuster, " said Gregory Jaffe, director of biotechnology

programs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington

consumer group that favors the use of agricultural biotechnology under

tightly regulated conditions. " It's the first product to come down the

line in a while that really could cut insecticide use and help the

environment. "

 

Jaffe and representatives of some other watchdog groups, however,

expressed disappointment that the EPA had yielded to Monsanto on one key

issue.

 

Most members of a scientific advisory panel had urged the EPA to require

farmers to plant sizable " refuges, " or strips of conventional corn,

around the genetically altered crops to provide food for the rootworm

and slow the pests' ability to develop a resistance to the new corn

variety. Panel members wanted the EPA to require that 50 percent of a

farmer's cornfield be planted as refuges, while Monsanto pushed for 20

percent, similar to requirements already in place for other crops. The

EPA sided with Monsanto.

 

" What we have here is companies doing as they usually do: profiting in

the short term " even if it shortens the life of the product, said Jane

Rissler, senior staff scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a

Washington group.

 

Johnson, of the EPA, rejected criticism on the issue, noting that the 20

percent requirement will be in effect for only three years while the

resistance issue is studied further. New plans may be put in place if

resistance proves to be a problem, Johnson said.

 

Corn rootworm is the common name for the larval stage of four species of

beetles that grow in fields throughout the United States. The immature

beetles feed on the roots of corn plants, sometimes damaging them so

much that the plants blow over in storms or yield little corn.

 

To create resistant corn, Monsanto, through molecular engineering,

inserted a gene that contains instructions for making a protein toxic to

most varieties of the worms, but one that can be easily digested by

people or other mammals. The new crop does pose theoretical risks to

some other species, including beneficial insects, and the EPA said it

would monitor that issue.

 

Monsanto hopes to put limited supplies of the new corn on the market for

the 2003 growing season, but the corn is not expected to gain wide use

until 2004, when additional seed becomes available. The company intends

to cross the new corn with an older gene-altered corn designed to resist

a lesser worm, the European corn borer. And, in a first, Monsanto will

create a variety with three genetic modifications: the two anti-worm

proteins plus a gene that helps farmers fight weeds.

 

This latter variety, designed to solve virtually all common problems

that farmers confront in growing corn, may serve as the first real test

of whether large-scale, industrialized agriculture is possible in the

United States without significant use of toxic chemicals.

 

***************************************************************

 

EPA Approves Monsanto's New Type of Corn

 

By EMILY GERSEMA

..c The Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new corn genetically designed to resist rootworm can

go onto the market, the Environmental Protection Agency announced

Tuesday.

 

``This new variety of corn pest control holds great promise for reducing

reliance on conventional insecticides now used on millions of acres of

corn in the U.S.'' said Stephen L. Johnson, an assistant administrator

at the EPA.

 

Monsanto, a St. Louis biotech company, designed the corn variety so it

would produce its own insecticide to fend off rootworm, a pest whose

larvae feed off the plant's roots. The plant's pesticide is derived from

a protein contained in a natural soil bacterium called Bt, or Bacillus

thuringiensis.

 

Farmers have had to depend on chemical insecticides and alternating

soybean and corn crops every other year to control rootworm.

 

Monsanto officials said the government's approval came just in time for

the 2003 planting season. The variety will be sold as YieldGard Rootworm

corn.

 

``The registration of YieldGard Rootworm corn is great news for the

hundreds of seed companies and tens of thousands of U.S. farmers who are

seeing the benefits of biotech products,'' said Jennifer Ozimkiewicz, a

Monsanto spokeswoman.

 

EPA officials said they want to reduce the risk of rootworm developing a

tolerance to the corn's pesticide by requiring Monsanto to ensure that

20 percent of the acreage where the seeds are planted is kept as a

buffer zone.

 

The zone would be a refuge for rootworms that won't be in contact with

the pesticide. EPA officials expect the unexposed rootworms to mate with

those exposed to the Bt bacterium, which should prevent the insects from

passing on their tolerance and help the pesticide remain effective.

 

Gregory Jaffe, biotech director at the Center for Science in the Public

Interest, warned that setting aside 20 percent of the acreage to prevent

resistance development isn't enough. He said at least half the acreage

should be set aside for the buffer zone as an extra precaution.

 

On the Net:

 

Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov

 

Monsanto: http://www.monsanto.com/

 

02/25/03 20:24 EST

 

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Monsanto biotech corn wins regulatory approval

 

By Carey Gillam

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb 25 (Reuters) - Monsanto Co. said Tuesday

it had received final regulatory approval for a new biotech corn

designed to fight rootworm, and seed would be marketed in time for

spring planting in the United States.

 

Both Monsanto and members of the U.S. corn growing industry have been

eagerly awaiting the regulatory approval, with Monsanto seeing the new

product as a significant addition to its growing stable of biotech

crops.

 

" This is a very important product for Monsanto, " said Bryan Hurley, a

spokesman for Monsanto, which has been working to offset lagging

revenues in its herbicide business with increased sales of biotech seeds

and traits.

 

The genetically modified corn, called YieldGard Rootworm corn, contains

a protein from a common soil microbe that targets the larvae of corn

rootworm, a devastating pest that eats into yields and farmer profits.

The corn is able to naturally protect its roots against the corn

rootworm.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that rootworm costs

U.S. corn growers about $1 billion annually.

 

" This is very good news, this would really help our farmers, " said Sue

Schulte, spokeswoman for Kansas Corn Growers Association.

 

Monsanto is the first company to commercialize a biotech corn aimed at

combating corn rootworm, though Dow AgroSciences has one in the

pipeline.

 

The new corn will be available in corn hybrids sold through Monsanto's

branded seed businesses as well as through licensed, independent seed

companies. There will be only enough seed for slightly under a million

acres this year, out of a potential estimated market of more than 12-15

million acres where rootworm is treated with insecticides, said Hurley.

 

" It is logical we could probably capture that market longterm, " he said.

 

Monsanto will price the seed to be competitive with the estimated

$150-$200 million a year farmers spend on insecticides to fight corn

rootworm, Hurley said.

 

The initial release will focus on areas of eastern Colorado, and western

Kansas and western Nebraska, where the problems are most severe.

Monsanto hopes to ramp up seed production to have supplies for 5-6

million acres by 2005.

 

Gregory Jaffe, biotech project director for the Center for Science in

the Public Interest, said the new biotech corn should reduce use of

insecticides while still helping farmers protect their crops.

 

But, he said the benefits may be short-lived because regulators are only

requiring a 20 percent refuge area -- acres not planted to biotech corn

-- to protect against resistance.

 

" The EPA decided to put short-term profits ahead of the long-term public

good by agreeing to Monsanto's refuge plan of 20 percent, " said Jaffe. A

50 percent refuge was preferred by scientists to reduce the chance that

strains will become less resistant to insects over time.

 

" We wanted to see this product succeed because we think it will have the

potential for tremendous environmental benefits, but as a society it

will only realize those benefits if it is used in a safe manner. And our

view is that 20 percent refuge is not a safe manner at this point, " said

Jaffe.

 

An EPA spokesman defended the agency's review of the new biotech corn.

Dave Deegan said the EPA found a 20 percent refuge zone was still

effective, and was consistent with similar requirements for other

biotech crops.

 

" We do think we are actually being very protective, " said Deegan. " But

(insect resistance) is something we are continuing to look at and

require additional study. "

 

The EPA said it expected resistance of the corn to develop no sooner

than seven years, similar to what occurs with traditional pesticides.

 

Shares in Monsanto were down 7 cents a share at $16.75 in trading on the

New York Stock Exchange.

 

(Additional reporting by Christopher Doering in Washington)

 

02/25/03 17:50 ET

 

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New Corn Pest Control Approved by EPA Can Lead to Reduced Pesticide Use

 

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 /U.S. Newswire/ -- After an intensive, multi-year

scientific analysis, EPA has approved the use of a new

plant-incorporated protectant designed to control corn rootworm, a

widespread and destructive insect in the United States. This new

product will provide corn growers with a safe, non-chemical pest control

alternative that can reduce reliance on traditional insecticides. The

reduced pesticide use will benefit the environment directly and can mean

less exposure to people who apply chemical pesticides to corn.

 

" EPA has put this new product through a rigorous, science-based review

process, including extensive public comment and independent scientific

peer review, to ensure that it is safe for human health and the

environment, " commented Stephen L. Johnson, EPA's Assistant

Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. " This

new variety of corn pest control holds great promise for reducing

reliance on conventional insecticides now used on millions of acres of

corn in the U.S. " continued Johnson.

 

The new corn pest control, referred to as " MON 863 " and developed by

Monsanto, produces its own insecticide within the plant derived from

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a naturally occurring soil bacterium. The

Bt protein, called Cry3Bb1, controls corn rootworm, a highly destructive

pest responsible for the single largest use of conventional insecticides

in the United States. At roughly 80 million planted acres, corn is the

largest crop grown in the United States. Use of the new pest-control

tool is expected to result in major reductions in the use of numerous

conventional insecticides. Many of the older alternative insecticides

belong to the organophosphate and carbamate chemical classes which have

been the subject of increased EPA analysis and regulatory restrictions

since passage of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996.

 

In order to reduce the possibility of corn rootworm developing

resistance to Bt, EPA is requiring Monsanto to ensure that 20 percent of

the planted acreage of this product be set aside where non-Bt corn will

be grown to serve as a " refuge. " These refuge areas will support

populations of corn rootworm not exposed to the Bt bacterium. The

insect populations in the refuges will help prevent resistance

development when they cross-breed with insects in the Bt fields. This

resistance management strategy was developed as a condition of the

registration, and EPA will require routine monitoring and documentation

that these measures are followed. EPA is also requiring Monsanto to

conduct additional research on corn rootworm to ensure that optimal

long-term resistance management practices are maintained.

 

Today's action is based on a thorough and comprehensive scientific and

regulatory evaluation by EPA. It also builds upon a multi-year

reassessment performed by the Agency on all currently available Bt

plant-incorporated protectants regulated by EPA which was completed in

October 2001. As with all similar products, EPA has approved MON 863

for time-limited use which will be subject to reevaluation in several

years. For more information on EPA's regulation of these products, see:

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/.

 

Contact: David Deegan of the Environmental Protection Agency,

202-564-7839

 

02/25 16:00

 

 

 

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