Pest resistant crops
Pest resistant GM crops (primarily cotton and maize), have been genetically modified so they are toxic to certain insects. They are often called Bt crops because the introduced genes were originally identified in a bacterial species called Bacillus thuringiensis. These bacteria produce a group of toxins called Cry toxins.
Bt crops are grown widely in the USA, where an estimated 40% of GM maize is used in industrial-scale biofuels (agrofuels) subsidised by the US government. The rest of this maize is mostly used in animal feed, as is Bt maize grown in Brazil and Argentina. Some Bt maize is also grown in South Africa.
Bt maize is also grown in small quantities in Europe, mainly in Spain, where it is used in animal feed.
Bt cotton is the only GM crop authorised to be grown in India and China. It has also been grown in smaller quantities in Pakistan, Colombia, Egypt and Burkina Faso.
Because the pesticide is produced inside Bt plants, rather than sprayed on the outside, it cannot be washed off, so there are concerns that it may have adverse effects on humans, animals and wildlife if and when the crop is eaten.
Bt crops are supposed to be grown with refuges of non-GM crops and plants to reduce the likelihood of the targeted pests developing resistance (meaning that they are no longer killed by the toxin produced in the plant). Despite this, resistant pests have been found in the US and in India. In China, there have been reports of surges in other types of pest that are not effected by the toxin produced by Bt cotton.
To deal with the problem of resistant pests, one experiment in the US used releases of pests sterilised using radiation to try to reduce the population of pests in fields of Bt crops. The UK company Oxitec is developing GM insects which it hopes to be paid to release in fields where Bt crops are grown. The insects are genetically programmed to die before adulthood and are supposed to reduce the population by mating with wild insects.
Resources
- GeneWatch reports
- Press articles
- NPR: As Biotech Crops Lose Their Power, Scientists Push For New Restrictions (29th October 2020)
- Independent Science News: The Failure of GMO Cotton In India (8th September 2020)
- The Conversation: How power shaped the 'success story' of genetically modified cotton in Burkina Faso (30th August 2020)
- New Age: Local varieties exist, not GMOs (17th May 2020)
- EurekAlert: Long-term analysis shows GM cotton no match for insects in India (13th March 2020)
- Progressive Farmer: Bollworm Battle Continues (1st August 2019)
- Tribune: Agrarian crisis takes centrestage in Maharashtra's suicide belt (8th April 2019)
- New Age: IFPRI studies find BT brinjal susceptible to FSB pest (6th March 2019)
- The Cornucopia Institute: GMO Bt Crops May Not Be as Safe as Advertised (8th February 2019)
- Reuters: India's cotton output may hit 9-year low, curb exports - trade (6th December 2018)
- The New Indian Express: Insect-resistant cotton varieties to rescue of ryots (4th August 2018)
- India Spend: As A Genetic Revolution Collapses, Vidarbha's Cotton Farmers Dread Coming Season (21st July 2018)
- AgWeb: Former "Billion Dollar Bug" is Mounting a Come Back (15th June 2018)
- Daily Nation: The future of cotton is not in genetically modified version (19th May 2018)
- The Progressive Farmer: Bt Beans on Hold (9th May 2018)
- People's Archive of Rural India: The storm brewing in India's cotton fields (2nd May 2018)
- SouthWest Farm Press: Experts: Cotton farmers may face increased bollworm pressure this season (25th April 2018)
- Hindustan Times: Pest attack has killed crops and hopes of 41 lakh farmers in Maharashtra (14th February 2018)
- Economic Times: These two issues could put the brakes on the Bt cotton story (21st January 2018)
- Hindustan Times: Disaster strikes: Maha farmers lose 84 percent cotton crop to pest attack (1st January 2018)
- The Tribune: Maharashtra to file FIRs against seed cos after bollworm attacks (8th December 2017)
- The Hindu: Pink bollworm may eat up half of State's cotton crop (17th November 2017)
- United News of India: Alarm over widespread boll worm attack on Bt cotton crop in Vidarbha, Marathwada (13th November 2017)
- Dhaka Tribune: Bangladesh plans to popularise controversial Bt brinjal (16th October 2017)
- The Hitavada: The Fatal Chain: Failure of Bt Cotton, increased sprays, poisoning deaths (13th October 2017)
- Independent Science News: Have Monsanto and the Biotech Industry Turned Natural Bt Pesticides into GMO "Super toxins"? (9th October 2017)
- The Progressive Farmer: Cry1F Failure Confirmed (20th September 2017)
- The Guardian: Groups sue biosafety agency, ministers over permit to Monsanto for GMO cotton (18th September 2017)
- Business Standard: Homegrown cotton seed replacing Bt variety (19th August 2017)
- Moey Control: Ex-Cabinet secretary 'regrets' over introducing GM cotton in India (21st July 2017)
- The Progressive Farmer: Worm Rebellion Continues (20th July 2017)
- Times of India: Bt cotton falling to pest, Maharashtra tensed (5th July 2017)
- The Atlantic: The EPA Quietly Approved Monsanto's New Genetic-Engineering Technology (23rd June 2017)
- Joy Online: CSIR suspends GMO Cotton trials as Monsanto withdraws funds (11th May 2017)
- Bloomberg: Burkina Faso Sees Cotton Output Rising 20 percent in 2017-18 Season (24th April 2017)
- Reuters: Burkina Faso settles dispute with Monsanto over GM cotton (8th March 2017)
- Daily Nation: Genetically modified cotton is risky (16th February 2017)
- The Progressive Farmer: Trait Table Update (15th February 2017)
- Scientific American: Cornboy vs. the Billion-Dollar Bug (14th February 2017)
- Yarns and Fibers.com: Burkina Faso cotton output to rise after discontinuing Monsanto variety (17th January 2017)
- Reuters: Burkina Faso minister estimates 2016/17 cotton crop at 750,000 tonnes vs 600,000T in 2015/16 (17th January 2017)
- Huffington Post: New Research Shows Failings of GMO Insect Resistance, Corn Crop in Jeopardy (6th January 2017)
- The Progressive Farmer: Pests March On: Insect, Weed Resistance Likely to Plague Farmers in 2017 (3rd January 2017)
- The Hindu: Cotton comes under pink bollworm pest attack (21st November 2016)
- Dawn: The merits of traditon (21st November 2016)
- The Progressive Farmer: Worm Woes: Bollworm Outsmarting Bt Cotton Trait (8th November 2016)
- Deccan Chronicle: Pink bollworm is back, cotton crop in trouble (3rd November 2016)
- The Progressive Farmer: Cry1F Crisis Herculex Trait Fails Against Western Bean Cutworm (5th October 2016)
- Focus on Agriculture: Shuffling the Deck Chairs in Bt Crops (10th September 2016)
- Civil Eats: The Root of the Rootworm Problem: What a Tiny Beetle Can Tell Us About Our Broken Agricultural System (25th August 2016)
- MediaMax: Approval paves way for GMO maize (15th August 2016)
- The Progressive Farmer: When Pyramids Fall (10th August 2016)
- Field questions: Bt Cotton in Africa: What Happened in Burkina Faso? (6th August 2016)
- Reuters: Indian farmers cotton on to new seed, in blow to Monsanto (2nd August 2016)
- The Financial Express: Monsoon, whitefly fears set to shave 10 percent of cotton acreage (29th July 2016)
- DNA: After years of rise, cotton cultivation declines in India (20th July 2016)
- Times of India: Demand for Bt cotton seeds sharply down (27th June 2016)
- IPS: Cotton Crisis (24th June 2016)
- New Age: Documentary shows perils of BT brinjal (8th June 2016)
- The Progressive Farmer: Bt Corn Raises Questions (2nd June 2016)
- The Times of India: Raichur farmers suffer 278.72-cr loss due to failed BT Cotton: Report (23rdMay 2016)
- The Hindu: Sanitising Bt cotton fields begins in Raichur district (17th May 2016)
- Hindu Business Line: Fly in the face of Bt cotton (6th May 2016)
- Times of India: AP to cut Bt cotton crop area (28th April 2016)
- teleSUR: Monsanto GMO Banned by Africa's Largest Cotton Producer (24th April 2016)
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Hindu Business Line: Won't accept unjust carbon tax in civil aviation: Prakash Javadekar (12th April 2016)
India's Minister for Environment states that Bt brinjal (aubergine) and other crops allowed in Bangladesh are being brought (illegally) into India (Bihar, Assam, and West Bengal).
- Reuters: Burkina Faso seeks USD84 million from Monsanto over GM cotton strain (4th April 2016)
- Pagina: Al Grano: En Mexico se mantendran suspendidas las siembras de maiz transgenico hasta nueva orden [In Spanish] (8th March 2016)
- Dhaka Tribune: Put a label on it (4th March 2016)
- Business Standard: Bt cotton row: Monsanto threatens to re-evaluate India biz (4th March 2016)
- Dhaka Tribune: Release of 3 more GM brinjal varieties in the offing (28th February 2016)
- Business Standard: Haryana, Punjab plan to cut BT cotton usage (18th February 2016)
- The Hindu: Cotton output may dip 11 percent on steep fall in yields: Report (20th December 2015)
- The Hindu: KRRS seeks compensation from seed companies for Bt Cotton crop loss (14th December 2015)
- InterAksyon: FIRST IN THE WORLD: Supreme Court bans development of genetically engineered products (13th December 2015)
- The Hindu: KRRS seeks relief from seed companies for failure of Bt cotton (2nd December 2015)
- Dawn: Production of strategic cotton crop falling alarmingly (30th November 2015)
- Daily Star: Greens oppose BT brinjal in country (3rd November 2015)
- Economic Times: Swelling input costs push Telangana and AP cotton farmers to traditional hybrid varieties (29th October 2015)
- The Hindu: Wily pink bollworm survives Monsanto's Bollgard-II (28th October 2015)
- The Pioneer: Busting myth of GM crops' invincibility (20th October 2015)
- Ag Professional: Pest blights India's GM cotton crop, fueling debate over risks (12th October 2015)
- Catch News: Cotton farmer suicides: Punjab has been here before and not learnt (9th October 2015)
- Tribune India: Enact law to ensure relief: Farmers to govt (5th October 2015)
- Times of India: Black clouds over BT cotton as whitefly runs amok (9th September 2015)
- The Ecologist: GM cotton really is helping to drive Indian farmers to suicide (11th August 2015)
- New Age: Despite failure, BARI going to release more Bt Brinjal varieties (28th July 2015)
- North Carolina State University: Field study shows how a GM crop can have diminishing success at fighting off insect pest (21st May 2015)
- Ubinig: Science versus baseless claims (15th May 2015)
- New Age: Pvt companies preparing to market Bt brinjal seeds (23rd September 2014)
- Tuoi Tre News: Vietnam licenses genetically modified corn amid scientists' concerns (4th April 2015)
- New Age: Bt brinjal turns out to be 'upset case' for farmers (21st March 2015)
- HNGN: EPA Slaps Monsanto and GMO Corn-Makers On The Wrist (7th March 2015)
- The Wall Street Journal: Limits Sought on GMO Corn as Pest Resistance Grows (5th March 2015)
- Reuters: Monsanto says GM corn trial in final stage in India (27th February 2015)
- The Organic and non-GMO Report: Danube Soya works to create GMO-Free Europe (26th February 2015)
- Organic Connections: More Farmers Predicted to Go Non-GMO and Organic in 2015 (February 2015)
- Agrimoney: DuPont seed sales dip as pest gains resistance to GM corn (27th January 2015)
- Ghana Business News: Food Sovereignty Ghana to challenge Bt cowpeas in court (20th January 2015)
- Science Daily: Transgenic crops: Multiple toxins not a panacea for pest control (19th January 2015)
- Reuters: Armyworm resistance to GMO crops seen in U.S. - study (17th November 2014)
- New Age: Private companies preparing to market Bt brinjal seeds (23rd September 2014)
- New Age: Bt brinjal farmers demand compensation (1st September 2014)
- Deccan Herald: The curse of Bt Brinjal (11th August 2014)
- Digital Journal: Brazilian farmers: biotech companies using deceptive advertising (1st August 2014)
- RT: Brazilian farmers demand Monsanto refund their money for GMO crops that don't work (30th July 2014)
- Reuters: Brazil farmers say GMO corn no longer resistant to pests (29th July 2014)
- Reuters: Brazil farmers say GMO corn no longer resistant to pests (28th July 2014)
- Journal Star: Hybrid crops that used to offer resistance to rootworm no match for Mother Nature (21st June 2014)
- The Guardian: Bangladeshi farmers caught in row over USD600,000 GM aubergine trial (5th June 2014)
- DAWN: Court stops regulator from issuing licences for 'modified' seeds (14th May 2014)
- Sustainable Pulse: Pakistan High Court Bans GM Crop Licenses over Poor Regulation (14th May 2014)
- New Age: BT brinjal farming ruins Gazipur farmers (7th May 2014)
- Mail Tribune: Scientists find multiple problems with GMOs (13th April 2014)
- Financial Express: Pest-resistant Bt Brinjal comes under pest attack (7th April 2014)
- Civil Eats: New Science Sounds the Alarm About Destructive Beetles on GMO Corn (20th March 2014)
- Salon: Evolution one-ups genetic modification (18th March 2014)
- Nature: Pests worm their way into genetically modified maize (17th March 2014)
- Sustainable Pulse: Historic Court Ruling Stops Cultivation of Bayer's GM Maize in Brazil (14th March 2014)
- Off the Grid News: Farmers Abandoning GMO Seeds And The Reason Will Surprise You (4th January 2014)
- Financial Express: Bangladesh at risk of losing EU fresh produce market (10th December 2013)
- Modern Farmer: The post-GMO economy (6th December 2013)
- Agri.eu: Commission considers backing new GM crop despite gaps in its safety testing (31st October 2013)
- Epoch Times: GMOs, A Global Debate: South Africa, Top GMO-Producer in Africa (19th October 2013)
- eNewsPF: The Planting of Genetically Engineered Corn Stopped by a Mexican Court (18th October 2013)
- Mainstream Weekly: Losing Freedom to the Corporate Hawks (12th October 2013)
- Digital Journal: GM crop fails to kill caterpillars (26th September 2013)
- The Bulletin (Illinois): Severe Corn Rootworm Injury to Bt Hybrids in First-Year Corn Confirmed (27th August 2013)
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Brazilian Agriculture Ministry: MDA previne agricultores sobre aparicao da lagarta Helicoverpa em plantaaoes [in Portugues] (9th August 2013)
Warns of a significant incidence of a type of bollworm pest (Helicoverpa armigera) due to inadequate farming practices associated with the excessive use of pesticides and transgenic Bt plants.
- RadioIowa: Some farmers finding genetically modified corn losing resistance to rootworms (25th July 2013)
- Standard (Kenya): Maize stalk borer evolves resistance to GM crops (15th July 2013)
- NPR: As Biotech Seed Falters, Insecticide Use Surges In Corn Belt (9th July 2013)
- Business Recorder (Pakistan) American bollworm attack on BT cotton: FAP urges government to form expert committee (9th July 2013)
- DNA: Agriculture minister for saying bye-bye to Bt cotton (24th June 2013)
- AFP: More pests resistant to GM crops, study says (12th June 2013)
- Business Mirror (Philippines): CA: Bt eggplant field trials unsafe for humans, environment (22nd May 2013)
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Globo: Lagartas atacam plantacoes de milho transgenico no Parana e no DF (31st March 2013)
[Video in Portuguese]. Caterpillars attacking transgenic (Bt) corn plantations in Parana and DF (Brazil).
- Phys.org: Multi-toxin biotech crops not silver bullets, scientists warn (29th March 2013)
- The Hindu: Production dips even as 90 per cent land is under Bt Cotton cultivation: Mahant (15th March 2013)
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Rural Br Agrucultura: Lagarta devora lavouras e provoca prejuizos de BRL 2 bilhoes na Bahia (6th March 2013)
[In Portuguese] Reports an increased incidence of corn earworm caterpillar (Helicoverpa zea), causing damage estimated at 2 billion Brazilian reals. The caterpillars have decimated 2 per cent of the area under cotton in western Bahia so far. One factor is the expansion of the cultivation of GM maize resistant to caterpillars, whose toxin eliminates 100% of the species Spodoptera (armyworms) and only 10% of Helicoverpa. In the plantings of conventional corn, the caterpillar Spodoptera contributed to the control of Helicoverpa. Without natural enemies, the population of the corn ear worm multiplied.
- Farmers Weekly: US farmers may stop planting GMs after poor global yields (6th February 2013)
- KPBS: Mexico Takes Step to Allow Planting of GM Corn (19th November 2012)
- Bloomberg: Bugs Damaging Monsanto Corn May Do Same to Syngenta Crops (14th November 2012)
- Guardian: How GMOs unleashed a pesticide gusher (3rd October 2012)
- Reuters: Pesticide use ramping up as GMO crop technology backfires: study (1st October 2012)
- Bloomberg: 'Mounting Evidence' of Bug-Resistant Corn Seen by EPA (5th September 2012)
- 4-traders: Monsanto Company : Illinois Researcher Confirms Rootworm Resistance To Monsanto Corn Trait (17th August 2012)
- Times of India: Maharashtra bans Bt cotton seeds (9th August 2012)
- Mother Jones: Superinsects Are Thriving in This Summer's Drought (8th August 2012)
- Minnesota Public Radio News: Corn farmers struggle to cope with rootworm resistance (3rd August 2012)
- SciDevNet: GM crop efficacy may be jeopardised by pest mutations (26th July 2012)
- Times of India: Review Bt cotton, orders state govt (21st July 2012)
- Deccan Chronicle: Bt cotton toxic, bollworms seek new hosts (23rd June 2012)
- Western Farm Press: GM crop trouble as pests adapt (20th June 2012)
- Philippines Inquirer: SC urged: Stop genetic 'talong' tests (16th June 2012)
- Bloomberg: Monsanto Corn Injured by Early Rootworm Feeding in Illinois (15th June 2012)
- Farmers Weekly: Cereals 2012: GM corn - not a 'panacea' (14th June 2012)
- BBC News: GM crops 'aid plant neighbours' (14th June 2012)
- Daily News Tanzania: Superweeds caused by GMO are super problems (20th May 2012)
- Huffington Post: Bee Kills in the Corn Belt: What's GE Got to Do With It? (16th May 2012)
- The Guardian: India loses faith in GM cotton (15th May 2012)
- The Hindu: Reaping gold through cotton, and newsprint (10th May 2012)
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RFI: Burkino Faso abandons GM cotton [in French] (10th May 2012)
Reports problems with yield and fibre quality.
- Digital Journal: Evidence of GMO toxin absorption and toxicity (9th May 2012)
- International Business Times: Monsanto Bt Crops: Genetically Modified Corn Linked To Soil Ecosystem Threat (17th April 2012)
- The Times of India: The Bt show at 10 (1st April 2012)
- Daily Bhaskar: Bt cotton to blame for falling yield, say farmers (26th March 2012)
- Western Farm Press: EPA urged to address rootworm resistance to Bt corn (23rd March 2012)
- Reuters: Scientists warn EPA on Monsanto corn rootworm (9th March 2012)
- Science Daily: Lethal Effects of Genetically Modified Bt Toxin Confirmed On Young Ladybird Larvae (27th February 2012)
- Fieldquestions.com: Bt Cotton, Remarkable Success, and Four Ugly Facts (12th February 2012)
- Associated Press: Pests may be developing resistance to common type of genetically modified corn (28th December 2011)
- Business Recorder: Will genetically modified 'Bt Cotton' increase yields in Pakistan? (4th December 2011)
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Bloomberg: Monsanto Corn May Be Failing to Kill Bugs in 4 States, EPA Says (2nd December 2011)
Rootworms in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska are suspected of developing tolerance to Monsanto's Bt maize.
- SouthEast Farm Press: New instances of severe rootworm damage to Bt corn reported (23rd September 2011)
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Wall Street Journal: Monsanto Corn Plant Losing Bug Resistance (29th August 2011)
Reports that western corn rootworms in four northeast Iowa corn (maize) fields have evolved to resist the Bt pesticide made by Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) corn.
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The Guardian: US corn-belt farmers: 'The country has turned on us' (15th August 2011)
A high percentage of US grown GM corn (maize) is subsidised for use in biofuels production, increasing global food prices.
- Business Standard (India): Cotton saga unravels (25th July 2011)
- Cotton International: Part III: 10 Years of Bt in India (8th June 2011)
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Huffington Post: Can Monsanto Police Itself? (15th June 2011)
Suggests that Monsanto's "refuge in a bag" Bt corn (maize), recently approved by the Canadian Food Protection Agency, could speed up the process of pests developing resistance to Bt crops.
- Daily Mail: GM food toxins found in the blood of 93% of unborn babies (20th May 2011)
- The Telegraph: Toxic pesticides from GM food crops found in unborn babies (20th May 2011)
- Cotton International: 10 Years of Bt in India: Biotech Seeds Save Indian Market (1st May 2011)
- Cotton International: Part II: 10 Years of Bt in India (1st May 2011)
- SciDevNet: Bt cotton yields come at hidden cost to farmers - study (15th February 2011)
- Press releases
- GeneWatch briefings
- External links
- Kelkar et al (2019): Women and genetically modified crops: Bt cotton in India (25th September 2019)
- African Centre for Biodiversity: GM cotton in Africa: Battleground between Chinese and US capital (October 2017)
- Soil Association: Failed Promises: the rise and fall of GM cotton in India (October 2017)
- Friends of the Earth Africa: Who will feed Africans? Small-scale farmers and agroecology not corporations! (January 2017)
- US Environment Protection Agency: EPA Needs Better Data, Plans and Tools to Manage Insect Resistance to Genetically Engineered Corn (1st June 2016)
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EU and Government of Aragon: Resultados de la red de ensayos de variedades de maiz y girasol en Aragon. Campanya 2014 (December 2015)
Reports that there were no significant differences in yields between non-GM and GM maize (Monsanto's Bt maize MON810) in 2014./p>
- GM Watch: Propaganda over facts? BBC Panorama and Bt brinjal (28th July 2015)
- Gutierrez et al. (2015) Deconstructing Indian cotton: weather, yields, and suicides
- UBINIG: Coalition against Bt brinjal (30th May 2014)
- African Centre for Biosafety: Monsanto's failed SA GM Maize pushed into rest of Africa (24th October 2013)
- African Centre for Biosafety: Africa bullied to grow defective Bt maize: the failure of Monsanto's MON810 maize in South Africa (23rd October 2013)
- MASIPAG: GM Corn Farmers Lose Lands, Increase Debts Says New Research (20th September 2013)
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Increased mortality is predicted of Inachis io larvae caused by Bt-maize pollen in European farmland
Predicts that butterlies may be harmed by the Bt toxins produced by GM pest-resistant maize in areas of central and southern Europe where butterflies breed twice a year.
- New York Times: In India, GM Crops Come at a High Price (16th October 2011)
- van den Berg: Field - resistance of the African maize stem borer to Bt maize: what did we learn? (September 2012)
- Pesticides Action Network North America: Flood Advisory! GE seeds clog pipeline (26th July 2012)
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Aziz and Leblanc: Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada (May 2011)
Pre-publication copy of a Canadian study which found toxins from GM crops in pregnant mothers and their umbilical cords, suggesting the toxins pass into newborn babies. The two toxins found in pregnant women and their fetuses were Bt from pest-resistant GM crops (Bt crops) and a breakdown product of the herbicide Liberty, used to spray some herbicide-tolerant GM crops. The abstract for the published article is here.