Guest guest Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 GM cotton doesn't cut pesticide use long term, new research indicates Biotech giant Monsanto touts its genetically modified cotton seed -- spliced with the bollworm-killing Bt toxin -- as money- and earth-saving, because it lowers the need for pesticide use. Funny story about that: a new study found that cotton farmers using the seed soon fell back into heavier pesticide use. Researchers from Cornell University followed 481 cotton growers in China who had been using Monsanto's Bt seed, which is two to three times more expensive than conventional cotton seed. They found that for the first three years the farmers grew GM cotton, they used 70 percent less pesticides, thus earning 36 percent more income than non-GM growers. But then other bugs popped up that would normally have been killed by bollworm pesticides; after seven years, the GM-ers were using nearly as much pesticide as non-GMers, and had an income 8 percent lower. More than a third of the world's cotton is grown from Monsanto's Bt seeds, with over 105 million acres in the U.S. alone. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] straight to the source: The Independent, Steve Connor, 27 Jul 2006 straight to the source: India eNews, 27 Jul 2006 straight to the source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Molly McElroy, 25 Jul 2006 " NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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