GMO Crops Require More Pesticides, Create Resistant Insects

Okay I'm getting tired of constantly coming across more bad news about GMO. I will start with an easier to read source.

GMO Crops Require More Pesticides, Create Resistant Insects

Genetically modified crops are not only devastating to your health, but they are also wreaking havoc on the environment. New research adds to the mountain of evidence that genetically modified crops not only require more pesticides — defeating one primary purpose of their existence — but lead to new insect populations that are resistant to the biopesticides contained in the crops. As insects adapt to the genetically modified Bt, the biopesticide becomes absolutely worthless, igniting a vicious cycle of further genetic alteration.

Bt is a toxin incorporated into genetically modified crops in order to kill different insects, however Bt usage has subsequently spawned insect populations which are resistant to the biopesticide. At least 8 populations of insects have developed resistance, with 2 populations resistant to Bt sprays and at least 6 species resistant to Bt crops as a whole.

So the short story is that since GMO needs more pesticide, the insects will adapt and will no longer be harmed by the pesticide. Which makes the whole purpose of these Frankenstein crops pointless.

The endless cycle of genetically modified biopesticides

What does this mean? Well, as a solution to the Bt resistance, biotech scientists are now creating even stronger genetically modified Bt as farmers use even more pesticides to combat the resistant bugs. However tests conclude that modified Bt toxin provided ‘little or no advantage’ in tackling the insects, despite extensive time and funding put into the research. It seems like an endless cycle in which scientists continue to genetically modify already genetically altered toxins in order to make them stronger and more effective against resistant insects — ultimately ending in insects that are immune to the most potent forms of Bt and other biopesticides. The ultimate effects that this volatile cycle will have on the environment is simply unknown.

So I guess their solution is to make stronger pesticides even though research shows this will have little to no effect on the actual insect problem they are trying to avoid

Now that we got the basics down. Let's look at the original source study. It is much more in depth.

Bt Resistant Rootworm Spreads

Bt is a toxin from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which produces a large family of similar proteins that target different insect pests; and quite a few of them have been incorporated in genetically modified crops to act as ‘biopesticides’. Unfortunately, the pests soon develop resistance to it.

Bt resistance has not only been documented in the laboratory, but also in the wild, with at least 8 populations of insects have developed resistance, with 2 populations resistant to Bt sprays and at least 6 species resistant to Bt crops [1-10].

The emergence of resistance has pushed GM scientists to attempt new strategies of delaying its spread. New strategies include the genetic modification of the Bt toxin to kill pests that have already acquired resistance. Bruce Tabashnik and his colleagues at the University of Arizona, along with collaborators in Mexico, China and Germany, published a study in Nature Biotechnology this month showing that these modified toxins bypass their usual interaction with cadherin, a receptor in target insects that binds the Bt toxin in the first of a multi-step process causing bursting of cells in the insect gut [11]. As some Bt resistant insects have been found to carry mutations in the cadherin receptor, they hypothesised that making Bt toxicity independent of cadherin binding would make pests susceptible to Bt once again. What they found however, was the opposite. Modified Bt toxin provided ‘little or no advantage’ against pests with cadherin mutations, while increasing Bt potency in pests where resistance was independent of cadherin mutations. The agrobiotech business Pioneer has significantly invested in these modified toxins despite the authors conclusions that ‘insects can probably adapt to modified Bt toxins used alone, or in combinations with other toxins’. This study exposes the lack of scientific understanding of Bt resistance as well as our inability to control it. As researchers search for ways of delaying resistance, resistance is evolving in the fields.

I doubt that anyone is surprised that there is plenty of documentation of this happening previously. I'm no scientist but it sounds like they really have no control over this stuff.

Iowa was the first place to have this happen in the U.S. that we know of.

The first evidence of Bt-resistant western rootworm in the wild has been reported by a team of scientists in Iowa State University [9]. Bt resistant pests have been emerging over the last few years, but as many scientists had warned, evidence now suggests that their resistance might not be recessive, i.e. need two copies of the Bt resistance gene to survive Bt crops. Instead, only one copy will do. This is hugely significant in terms of controlling the spread of Bt resistance through the pest populations. It also diminishes the efficacy of natural Bt toxin sprays used by organic farmers for pest control.

Following reports by farmers that their Bt maize fields (containing the Cry3Bb1 toxin) were showing signs of severe rootworm injury, Aaron Gassmann and his colleagues at Iowa State University decided to investigate the possibility of resistance to Bt toxin evolving in these pests. Their research is important, particularly in Iowa where the western rootworm is abundant. Further reports of Bt resistance in neighbouring Minnesota has also been documented [12].

Would any of you be surprised if I told you Monsanto knew about this?

With Bt crops, high selection pressures are being placed on target insects to adapt, especially considering their widespread cultivation. Resistance is not a controversial issue, but an acknowledged evolutionary process. Even Monsanto stated that [13] “resistance is natural and expected, so measures to delay resistance are important.”

And of course, it's happening globally.

This is not the first report of resistance to Bt toxins, although it took a few years for reports to emerge. It can be expected that resistance takes a few years to develop, and now we are beginning to see evidence of that. In 2009, cotton bollworm in four states of India devastated cotton crops, which was acknowledged by Monsanto [13]. Field studies in Northern China and Australia have also documented resistance to Bt cotton crops in 2010 [14, 15].

If you're interested in this topic I advise you actually check out the links because I'm sure they can explain it much better than I can.

Plenty of news lately concerning our manipulation of Mother Nature

It was inevitable!
Same thing might happen in the long run with vaccines against viruses.

reply to post by User8911


It's only inevitable because of our own actions.

If we never started playing "God" and manipulating Mother Nature we wouldn't have to worry about most of these man made disasters.

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
...GMO crops...
... genetically modified crops not only require more pesticides...
...Monsanto...

And once more the myopic simplistic view of the world continues on.

You'd think Monsanto was the only company in the world making GMO items. You'd think The Roundup resistant crops were the only GMO crops. You'd think pesticide resistance was the only function it had.

No.

There are in fact a #eload of companies, a #eload of products, a #eload of applications using a #eload of different technologies.
Each one has to be examined on its own merit.

Sticking them all in a big bucket called "EVIL MONSANTO GMO" might be convenient for you to think about, but its not the reality of the world.

reply to post by alfa1


What's your point?

Did you even have one?

Do you even know that Monsanto is one of MANY companies under a large umbrella corporation?

For you to make your simple assumption that I was indicating Monsanto as the only culprit shows you're incapable of observing I was only providing an example.

Nice try though

Like seriously, there is no way you read the thread before you commented. I mentioned Monsanto once.

Read the thread

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
For you to make your simple assumption that I was indicating Monsanto as the only culprit shows you're incapable of observing I was only providing an example.

Like seriously, there is no way you read the thread before you commented. I mentioned Monsanto once.

1. Actually I read the links you provided before I posted. Actually its really only one link, since one sources the other.
2. The thread title is false. GMO Crops Require More Pesticides is simply false and only refers to one particular technology.
3. Monsanto is the only GM crop company that people ever talk about. You dont need to mention it more than once. Same with your links. Its always the only one.