Cotton that has been genetically modified to poison an insect pest can cause a massive increase in the number of other insects.
“Bt cotton” is genetically modified to produce a toxin from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)
Cotton that has been genetically modified to poison an insect pest can cause a massive increase in the number of other insects.
“Bt cotton” is genetically modified to produce a toxin from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that is deadly to the bollworm. More than 4 million hectares of Bt cotton are now grown in China.
But according to Nature:
“Numbers of mirid bugs (insects of the Miridae family), previously only minor pests in northern China, have increased 12-fold since 1997.”
Mirids are now the main pest in the region, and their rise in number can be directly linked to the scale of Bt cotton cultivation.Meanwhile, in the United States, farmers’ widespread use of Roundup weedkiller is spurring the creation of superweeds. There are now at least 10 different species of superweeds resistant to Roundup, spread over 22 states and millions of crop acres.
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Those who believe crops genetically modified to poison specific insects are the solution to agricultural pest control are suffering from a serious case of tunnel vision. As Chinese farmers can now attest, when you wipe out one pest, it simply paves the way for another to flourish.
Bt cotton was engineered with a gene from a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis. Organic farmers use the natural form of the bacterium as an insecticide, spraying it occasionally during times of high pest infestation.
Monsanto engineers, however, isolated and then altered the gene that produces the Bt-toxin, and inserted it into the DNA of the cotton plant.
Now every cell of their Bt cotton produces a toxic protein that kills certain pests, including the bollworm -- one of the major pests that threatened China’s cotton crops.
Killing Off One Pest Throws Nature Out of Balance
When Bt cotton was first introduced, farmers were able to temporarily cut back on their use of broad-spectrum pesticides, which GM advocates use to support their flawed argument that GM crops are environmentally frien