22
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 22, 2010) In a press release submitted last week, the Monsanto Company, Inc. announced that it has taken a vital step towards commercializing a new soybean product that is tolerant to the neurotoxic pesticide dicamba by completing its regulatory submission to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for dicamba-tolerant soybeans. Monsanto expects to complete regulatory submission to the USDA and key global markets in the coming months. The dicamba tolerance trait is expected to also be stacked with the glyphosate-resistant, or “Roundup Ready” soybean trait upon commercialization. While Monsanto claims that this is a “highly effective and economical weed control package,” it is likely to be similar to Roundup (glyphosate) Ready crops, just another way to sell more pesticide product. Monsanto is banking on the idea that mixing dicamba with glyphosate will help manage the hard-to-control broadleaf weeds in chemical-intensive farming systems, targeting both pre-plant and post-emergence weed control in an effort to reduce resistance. In a report published last year, analysts found that genetically engineered (GE) crops have been responsible for an increase of 383 million pounds of herbicide use in the U.S. over the first 13 years of commercial use of GE crops (1996-2008). The […]
Posted in Dicamba, Genetic Engineering, Glyphosate, Monsanto, Pesticide Regulation, Resistance | No Comments »
13
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 13, 2010) Recent tests find that mosquitoes that are insensitive to DEET, the pesticide commonly used to repel the pesky flying insect, can pass this characteristic as a genetic trait onto their offspring. The findings are published in the May 3 edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In order to hunt for blood, female mosquitoes use their antenna to locate humans; however, according to researchers, DEET temporarily destroys an insect’s sense of smell by hindering the function of certain odor receptors. The researchers observed which insects bit DEET-treated human arms and discovered that a gene alteration prohibited a sensory cell on the bugs’ antennae from detecting the chemical. “There is something in the antenna they use to smell that reacted differently,” Dr. Nina Stanczyk of Rothhamstead Research, an agricultural research center in the U.K., told the Toronto Star. Scientists studied one species of DEET-insensitive mosquitoes, the Aedes aegypti, a species that carry the diseases yellow fever and dengue fever. When mutated females were bred with males of unknown sensitivity in tests, the quantity of mosquitoes that were insensitive to DEET rose from 13 to 50 percent in one generation. Though scientists are […]
Posted in DEET, Mosquitoes, Resistance | No Comments »
28
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 28, 2010) Having already requested the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) to assess whether an association can be found between the use of triclosan in cosmetic products and the development of resistance by certain micro-organisms, the European Commission is launching a public consultation on the preliminary opinion, which found in March that, “ Low concentrations of triclosan can trigger the expression of resistance and cross-resistance mechanisms in bacteria in vitro”¦.[which] warrants further investigation.” The preliminary report from the SCCS, entitled “Preliminary opinion on triclosan (Antimicrobial Resistance),” was published in March 2010 and open to comment. The committee was asked to answer the question: “Does the SCCS consider a continued use of triclosan as a preservative in cosmetic products as safe taking into account the new provided documentation of resistance development by certain micro-organisms and cross-resistance?” The SCCS also found that, “Some reported environmental concentrations in a number of geographically distinct areas are high enough to suggest that such triggering of bacterial resistance could also occur in the environment. This warrants further investigation.” However, it continues, “The applications of triclosan which contribute to those high environmental concentrations cannot be properly identified nor quantified at present.” As a […]
Posted in Resistance, Triclosan | No Comments »
14
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 14, 2010) A new report shows that the large-scale cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) corn is causing the spread of a new pest in the US Corn Belt. The report, “The spread of the western bean cutworm causes massive damage in the US” published by Testbiotech for Greenpeace Germany finds that GE corn plants in the U.S. that have been genetically modified to express the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin classified as Cry1Ab are being infested by the larvae of the western bean cutworm (Striacosta albicosta). According to Testbiotech, a research based non-profit organization operating out of Germany, this new pest has been caused by the large-scale cultivation of genetically engineered plants expressing Cry1Ab such as MON810 (sold as YieldGard by company of Monsanto). The infestation has been observed since 2000, and the western bean cutworm is emerging as a new plant pest. Historically, this species of cutworm has been confined to very limited regions and did not cause any major problems in maize crops. However, for the past several years the pest has been spreading into more and more regions within the US Corn Belt causing substantial economic damage. Maize plants affected by the western bean cutworm […]
Posted in Bt, Monsanto, Resistance | No Comments »
28
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 28, 2010) Scientists convening at the Pan-American Weed Resistance Conference lamented the critical issue that environmentalists have known would eventually happen, and have argued for decades: the resistance of weeds to the broadscale use of the herbicide glyphosate. The conference, hosted by Bayer Crop Science and held in Miami on January 19-21, 2010, was attended by 284 scientists and media representatives from North and South America. One of the scientists in attendance at the recent conference who offered some of the most dire outlooks on the use of glyphosate, according to The Delta Farm Press, was Stephen Powles, a professor of plant biology at the University of Western Australia, and director of the WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative (WAHRI). In some circles, he is known as an authority on herbicide resistance, and says that glyphosate “will be driven to redundancy in the cotton, corn and soybean belt.” Mr. Powles often refers to this area reaching northward into the Corn Belt down through Alabama and Mississippi as the “Glyphosate Belt.” A report that Beyond Pesticides published twelve years ago, “The Environmental Risks of Transgenic Crops: An Agroecological Assessment is the failed pesticide paradigm being genetically engineered?” argued that as […]
Posted in Bayer, Genetic Engineering, Glyphosate, Resistance | No Comments »
09
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 9, 2009) One out of every four farmers who plants genetically engineered (GE) corn is failing to comply with at least one important insect-resistance management requirement, which increases the likelihood that pesticide-resistant bugs will threaten the future of organic crops, conventional crops and other biotech crops. That finding comes in a new report, Complacency on the Farm, by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). According to CSPI, in 2008, 57 percent of the corn acreage in the United States was planted with corn spliced with genes from the Bacillus thuringiensis bacterium, or Bt. Those crops produce natural toxins that are harmless to humans but will kill corn rootworms and corn borers, which otherwise reduce crop yields. Farmers who plant such crops are supposed to plant a refuge of conventional corn in, adjacent to, or near the GE crop. That refuge is designed to reduce the risk that pests that survive the toxin will breed with each other and produce resistant offspring. Resistant offspring would not only reduce yields of the Bt crops, but could also threaten organic or conventional farmers who use natural Bt-based pesticides on non-GE crops. Depending on the location of the […]
Posted in Agriculture, Genetic Engineering, Resistance | No Comments »
08
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 8, 2009) The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the Global Environment Facility, have announced a renewed international effort to combat malaria with an incremental reduction of reliance on the synthetic pesticide DDT. As recently as two years ago, WHO was criticized for promoting DDT as the answer for malaria control in Africa, leading activists to call for increased use of alternatives. DDT has been recognized as a significant human and environmental health risk, including increased risk of breast cancer a wealth of other health concerns, and have built up in waterways and, in particular, the arctic. Now, ten projects, all part of the global program “Demonstrating and Scaling-up of sustainable Alternatives to DDT in Vector Management,” involving some 40 countries in Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia, are set to test non-chemical methods ranging from eliminating potential mosquito breeding sites and securing homes with mesh screens to deploying mosquito-repellent trees and fish that eat mosquito larvae. The new projects follow a successful demonstration of alternatives to DDT in Mexico and Central America. There, pesticide-free techniques and management regimes have helped cut cases of malaria by over 60 […]
Posted in DDT, Insect-Borne Disease, International, Malaria, Resistance | No Comments »
06
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 6, 2008) Agricultural biotech seed and chemical giant Monsanto will acquire Aly Participacoes Ltda., a Brazilian company involved in breeding sugar cane, and has already begun work to develop genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready (herbicide resistant) sugarcane. The deal for $290 million comes at the same time grain giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is set to invest $375 million in a joint venture with a Brazilian firm to produce sugarcane-based ethanol. Amidst numerous other concerns with the widespread adoption of GE crops and the proliferation of crops grown for biofuels around the world is the threat of increased pesticide use. Roundup Ready crops, which are genetically engineered to be resistant to Monsanto’s best selling herbicide Roundup (active ingredient glyphosate https://www.beyondpesticides.org/gateway/pesticide/glyphosate.htm) have been a boon to Monsanto’s profits, but not without environmental costs. Currently grown Roundup Ready crops include soy, corn, canola, cotton, and sugar beets. The crops’ resistance to glyphosate enables the use of the herbicide during the growing season without harming the crop itself. Glyphosate is now the number one herbicide in the United States. This has serious implications for public health and the environment, as glyphosate has been linked to cancer, reproductive effects, kidney and […]
Posted in Genetic Engineering, Glyphosate, Monsanto, Resistance | 1 Comment »
17
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 17, 2008) A recent study at Cardiff University in Wales shows that antimicrobial wipes, including those containing triclosan, may be spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria, rather than killing it. Researchers from the Welsh School of Pharmacy studied the bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and the ability of different types of wipes to remove or kill it. They found that in “normal use” conditions, or how hospitals in Wales have been using the wipes, bacteria is only moved from surface to surface, increasing potential exposure. According to the university, “The research involved a surveillance programme observing hospital staff using surface wipes to decontaminate surfaces near patients, such as bed rails, and other surfaces commonly touched by staff and patients, such as monitors, tables and keypads. It was found that the wipes were being applied to the same surface several times and used on consecutive surfaces before being discarded.” Furthermore, in laboratory replications, the team found “that although some wipes can remove higher numbers of bacteria from surfaces than others, the wipes tested were unable to kill the bacteria removed. As a result, high numbers of bacteria were transferred to other surfaces when reused.” The findings raise concern from others […]
Posted in Antibacterial, Resistance, Triclosan | No Comments »
15
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 13, 2007) Researchers from across the globe have contributed to a Nature article, which analyzed the defense mechanisms of 12 fly species that damage agricultural crops. The analysis may shed some light on why some insects are able to metabolize toxins and become resistant to pesticides. The paper is part of a series published online edition of the journal Nature special issue on Drosophila (fruit fly) biology, genomics and evolution. A large international team conducted the analysis of the sequence of genomes of 12 different species of fruit flies. Part of the team were researches from the University of Melbourne, Australia, who focused on genes which may be responsible for breaking down poisons that the fly consumes. Comparison of the 12 genomes has allowed the genes that are likely to be involved in breaking down poisons to be identified, said Associate Professor Phil Batterham. “This genetic discovery of the Drosophila is critical in pointing to the genes that form the defense system of insect pests. In pest insects such as blowflies and mosquitoes, the counterparts to these genes may be responsible for the break down of the chemical insecticides that are used to control them.” Fruit flies […]
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