Bad News for the Promoters of GM Crops - New Study confirms Reliance on GM is Not Sustainable

GM cops were touted by their promoters as environmental saviours. Latest research from China indicates that this belief is absolutely wrong.

Traditional cotton farmers in China used to spray their crops with insecticides to combat destructive bollworm pests. Introduction of Bt cotton helped them initially to save money by spraying their crops less. There was euphoria all around. But the excitement was short lived. The bugs have surged back with increased vigour.

A 10-year study across six major cotton-growing regions of China found that by spraying their crops less, farmers inadvertently allowed mirid bugs to thrive and this infested their own and neighbouring farms. Mirid bugs can devastate around 200 varieties of fruit, vegetable and corn crops. The infestations are potentially catastrophic for more than 10m small-scale farmers who cultivate 26m hectares of vulnerable crops in the region studied.

Now scientists are calling for the long-term risks of GM crops to be reassessed. Opponents of GM crops say this was bound to happen. This is nature’s comeuppance.

Details of the research, led by Kongming Wu of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing appears in US Journal,Science