{"id":31654,"date":"2012-06-18T12:32:05","date_gmt":"2012-06-18T12:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/organicconsumers.org\/?p=31654"},"modified":"2012-06-18T12:32:05","modified_gmt":"2012-06-18T12:32:05","slug":"article_25654","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/organicconsumers.org\/article_25654\/","title":{"rendered":"Bt Cotton and Pests in Chinese Fields"},"content":{"rendered":"

For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Genetic Engineering page<\/a>, Millions Against Monsanto page<\/a>, and our Cloths For a Change page<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.’Spillover’ problems rather than ‘spillover’ benefits
\n2.Widespread adoption of Bt cotton and insecticide decrease promotes biocontrol services<\/p>\n

NOTE: <\/span>A
\n piece of research that’s just been published in the journal Nature
\n(item 2) is being heavily promoted as showing that Bt cotton helps
\npest-killing insects flourish in Chinese fields, and that this benefit
\nmay even spillover beyond the farms growing Bt cotton to other farms in
\nthe area. But this new study focuses specifically on aphids as pests,
\nwhereas other studies have shown that Bt cotton helps other pests to
\nflourish in Chinese fields, turning minor pests into a major problem and
\n triggering more pesticide use to combat them (item 1). These secondary
\npests have also infested crops other than cotton. <\/p>\n

EXTRACT: <\/span>Millions
\n of hectares of farmland in northern China have been struck by
\ninfestations of bugs following the widespread adoption of Bt cotton.
\nOutbreaks of mirid bugs, which can devastate around 200 varieties of
\nfruit, vegetable and corn crops, have risen dramatically in the past
\ndecade, as cotton farmers have shifted from traditional cotton crops to
\nGM varieties. (item 1)
\n—
\n—
1.’Spillover’ problems rather than ‘spillover’ benefits<\/span>
\nEmma Hockridge, head of policy at the Soil Association<\/p>\n

Encouraging
\n predator insects is crucial to managing crop pests sustainably \u2013
\nindeed, that’s how organic farmers avoid pesticides, using natural
\nprocesses to encourage beneficial predators.<\/p>\n

This study finds
\nthat Bt cotton is a better habitat for such predators than cotton that
\nhas been sprayed with pesticides. What it doesn’t cover is other recent
\nresearch in China that has discovered increased insect resistance and
\nincreased numbers of pests developing in and around these GM cotton
\ncrops. <\/p>\n

Studies show problems occurring with secondary pests in
\nBt cotton, which are not only affecting the cotton but also damaging
\nsurrounding crops. This suggests ‘spillover’ problems rather than
\n‘spillover’ benefits. Taking an organic approach to encouraging
\npredators avoids this problem. <\/p>\n

This new research states that
\n“critical concerns about the ecological risk assessment of transgenic
\ncrops still remain, especially at the large scale.” A number of studies
\nwhich have been carried out on Bt cotton in China have shown significant
\n problems in terms of pest resistance and increased use of pesticides:<\/p>\n

*According
\n to a study published in the journal Environmental Management and Change
\n in 2011, a substantial number of farmers in three-cotton producing
\nregions in China have reported that secondary pests have increased since
\n they adopted the use of Bt cotton which is genetically engineered to
\nresist pests such as the bollworm. This is consistent with the
\nscientific literature, which suggests that secondary pests are likely to
\n increase over time. The study also found that the reduction of
\npesticides use has been lower than reported elsewhere, suggesting that
\nmore pesticides are needed to combat emerging secondary pests. Thus, the
\n benefit of growing Bt cotton to reduce pesticides use diminishes in the
\n longer term. [1]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A piece of research that’s just been published in the journal Nature (item 2) is being heavily promoted as showing that Bt cotton helps pest-killing insects flourish in Chinese fields, and that this benefit may even spillover beyond the farms…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1006,1000,1031],"tags":[2,11,7,24],"organicbytes":[],"countries":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBt Cotton and Pests in Chinese Fields - Organic Consumers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/organicconsumers.org\/article_25654\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bt Cotton and Pests in Chinese Fields - 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