Report: Monsanto’s Latest GM Maize Doesn’t Reduce Pests or Increase Yields
And it's banned by most of Europe
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Monsanto promised that its latest and greatest GM crop, MON810, a genetically modified (GM) insecticidal maize banned by most of Europe, would increase yields and stop crop loss due to pests. A new report from the government of Aragon in Spain says those promises are empty. [1]
There is an inserted gene in the DNA of MON810 which allows the plant to make a protein that harms insects that try to eat it. The inserted gene is from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which produces the Bt toxin that is poisonous to insects in the Lepidoptera order, including the European Corn Borer. [2] Three quarters of the corn grown in Aragon, Spain is currently genetically modified, but conventional varieties were tested against GM Maize varieties in 2014.
“Helen,” “Zoom,” and “Kayras” – the non-GM isogenic (parent) lines (plant varieties) – were compared with the GM varieties derived from each line. The genetic insert was the MON810 construct from the US company, Monsanto.
The report found that:
“Per hectare, from 12.6 to 14.3 kg of maize were harvested. The GM varieties and the non-GM conventional comparator had very similar yields – the difference was between 0.2 and 0.3 kilos.”
This means the GM maize did not produce more than conventional strains of maize.
The data also shows that the corn borer, the pest targeted by the Bt insecticide in MON810 maize, has caused no significant damage in the past 5 years, either to GM or non-GM varieties.
Spain is currently the EU leader in the cultivation of GM maize, though many countries including France have banned Monsanto’s GM crops.
In other EU countries almost no genetically modified maize is sown.
Last year, official figures say that 131,000 hectares were grown, around one-third of the country’s total maize production. A total of 41 percent of this was grown in the region of Aragon, where the maize crop is 76 percent GM.
The authors of the report conclude: “This information should help us reflect deeply about the continued use of transgenic crops on farms.”
Perhaps Spain will join the other EU countries who see no need to continue growing Monsanto’s seed.
Sources:
(in German): Keine-gentechnik.de
[1] Aragon.es
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| Christina Sarich is a humanitarian and freelance writer helping you to Wake up Your Sleepy Little Head, and See the Big Picture. Her blog is Yoga for the New World. Her latest book is Pharma Sutra: Healing the Body And Mind Through the Art of Yoga. |
Warning ! Poison Pusher ‘Roberts’ wants you ALL to have BT toxin producing poison continually in your gut. Even while admitting it’s for a non-problem.
If little miss Chrissy would do some research she would find that corn borer typically doesn’t invade every year. However when it does the results can be very devastating. In fact Bt corn can pay for itself if corn borer invades one out of every ten years. Just another of her misleading articles.
Or maybe you should do some research,
LIFE HISTORY
In Pennsylvania, there are two separate strains of ECB. One strain is
univoltine (one generation per year) and is generally found in the
mid-state and northern regions, and the other strain is bivoltine (two
or more generations per year) and is found throughout the state, though
more so in southern portions. In spring, diapausing larvae emerge from
dormancy and pupate from late April to early June with the univoltine
population tending to emerge later than the bivoltine population. First
generation adult emergence occurs from early May in southeastern areas
to late June in northern counties and mating is facilitated by sex
pheromones emitted by female moths. Females lay eggs from mid-May to
mid-June. The time required for first-generation egg hatch is
approximately seven to ten days after being laid, but hatch is
temperature dependent so it could occur earlier or later depending on
local weather. Newly hatched larvae chew small, round holes in the
leaves and then move to the main stalk. The larvae complete their growth
inside the stalk in about three weeks. Univoltine larvae then enter
diapause (developmental inactivity) when they reach the fifth instar,
while the bivoltine larvae pupate inside the stalk during July and early
August.
Second-generation adult emergence and egg laying begins during late July
and continues through the end of August. Eggs of the second generation
generally hatch five to seven days after deposition depending on weather
conditions. Second-generation larvae attack the tassel and shank areas
of field corn and in some varieties may cause ear drop. In autumn, they
diapause and overwinter as fifth instar larvae inside stalks of their
host plant. When warm weather conditions persist late into the growing
season a third generation is possible. There are also two separate races
of bivoltine ECB that emit different pheromones, an “E” race and a “Z”
race named for the isomer of their main pheromone component. In
Pennsylvania, both races are present. The “Z” race is more common south
and west of Pennsylvania, while the “E” race is common north of
Pennsylvania throughout the northern US and Canada. The univoltine
strain, also present in Pennsylvania, emits the “Z” pheromone isomer.
http://ento dot psu dot edu/extension/factsheets/european-corn-borer-in-field-corn
But as usual, I’m sure your knowledge is far more extensive, after all you sell seeds.
Lol, you got me there coward, I don’t know as much about corn borer as what you can copy and paste, but then again we haven’t actually cared about the for almost twenty years and counting.
Not to debase your concerns, but rather to share information for the readers here.
Sorry, I should have been more polite in my response to you, after all your always a very nice guy.
Sorry not many concerns from you or corn borer these days.