Monsanto’s BT-corn: Invincible corn?

August 24-2013

Monsanto’s BT-corn was supposed to be the “invincible corn”. This is the product of mixing the genes of BT or  (Bacillus thuringiensis) into the genes of corn thus, resulting in the GMO that is commonly called as “BT-corn”. BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a bacteria that has an insecticidal property and once an insect tries to eat any part of the corn will have their intestines ruptured, resulting to their death.

That was BT corn until, a recent study revealed a new generation of insect larvae that is eating the roots of genetically engineered corn intended to be resistant to such pests. The number one victim here is the U.S where 65% of their corn production is grown with BT corn and billions of dollars are at stake.

Even though the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) already gave a warning that the insects developing resistance was high, Monsanto argued that the steps necessary to prevent such an occurrence were an unnecessary precaution and the EPA agreed.

According to a recent NPR report: ”The scientists who called for caution now are saying ‘I told you so,’ because there are signs that a new strain of resistant rootworms is emerging…[A] committee of experts at the EPA is now recommending that biotech companies put into action, for the first time, a ‘remedial action plan’ aimed at stopping the spread of such resistant insects. The EPA’s experts also are suggesting that the agency reconsider its approval of a new kind of rootworm-killing corn, which Monsanto calls SmartStax. This new version of Bt corn includes two different Bt genes that are supposed to kill the rootworm in different ways. This should help prevent resistance from emerging, and the EPA is allowing farmers to plant it on up to 95 percent of their corn acres. But if one of those genes is already compromised…  such a high percentage of Bt corn could rapidly produce insects that are resistant to the second one, too.” Basically its just a problem being solved with another problem, and this is going to continue until sometime, we will face a problem that can never be solved.

At the beginning of the GMO project in the 1990′s, Monsanto and EPA swore that the insect-killing bacteria would only harm insects and would be completely safe to human beings. They explained that when this bacteria enters the human body, it will be completely destroyed. Of course that was their initial statement but as the years go by, evidences of BT related medical anomalies started to pile up and because not only is Bt corn producing resistant “super-pests,” researchers have also found that the Bt-toxin can indeed wreak havoc on human health.

There is no doubt that genetically engineered crops are the most dangerous  aspect of modern agriculture. Not only in the BT infused crops but with crops incorporated with herbicidal property and are resistant to glyphosate, courtesy of Roundup Ready crops. The purpose of this is that in case the farmer sprays a non-selective herbicide in his farm, only the GMO herbicide-resistant crops will survive and the weeds will be removed.

Aside from BT-resistant insects, there is also an emergence of a brand new organism capable of producing disease and infertility in both plants and animals, and a wide variety of evidence showing harm to human health, and the most probable future for us is that humanity, as a whole, is being seriously threatened by this rubbish technology.