UG Govt Approves Continued Use of Biotech Cotton Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Mark Graffis GENETICALLY ENGINEERED COTTON OKAYED BY US GOVT Wednesday, October 03, 2001 By Philip Brasher, Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The government has decided against requiring farmers to cut back on planting cotton that is genetically engineered to produce its own pesticide. Environmentalists are worried that insects are going to become resistant to the crop's pesticide, which is also an ingredient in sprays used by organic farmers. But the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday there is no evidence that such resistance is developing. Requiring farmers to reduce their use of the crop "would result in unacceptable economic losses" and lead to more use of chemical insecticides, the agency said. EPA gave approval for the biotech crop to be grown for another five years, renewing a registration that was to have expired on Monday. The crop is known as Bt cotton for a bacterium gene that is inserted into the plant to produce the insect toxin. To prevent resistant insects from developing, EPA requires farmers to plant sections of conventional cotton along with the Bt varieties. Insects in the conventional fields will mate with insects from the biotech fields and ensure that successive generations of bugs are still susceptible to the Bt poison. The biotech crop, which was developed by Monsanto Corp., has become popular in parts of the South and in Arizona because it prevents damage from several cotton pests, including the budworm. "This renewed registration insures that cotton growers can continue to use this valuable technology to protect against insect pests while reducing the use of chemical pesticides," said Randy Deaton, a spokesman for Monsanto. But Jane Rissler, a biotechnology critic with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said EPA should have increased the size of the conventional cotton fields, known as "refuges." Under EPA's rules, farmers can plant as little as 5 percent of their acreage in conventional cotton as long as they don't spray it with an insecticide. "I don't see how we are going to significantly delay resistance with these small refuges," she said. EPA will require an independent firm to monitor farmers' compliance with the refuge limits. The popularity of Bt cotton has led to a two-thirds reduction in the spraying of insecticides that are most toxic to birds and fish and a one-third cut in the use of chemicals most dangerous to people, EPA said. Copyright 2001, Associated Press ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytenv-10.04.01-04:03:08-21475