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Don't put all your eggs in one basketBy Randy Buhler CSU Cooperative Extension, Logan County, agronomy Colorado Just when you think things are going well, something unexpected happens. This rule applies to all endeavors. The unexpected can prove fatal, injurious, disgusting, or mildly irritating. Rarely do these events just go away. A recent agriculture e-mail newsletter tipped off the coming publication of an article that could start up the environmentalists attacking our Bt corn hybrids, again. The article is on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America website at www.pnas.org. The article details discovery of the Bt protein (Cry1Ab delta endotoxin) in corn pollen and detritus that has blown or washed into headwaters of a study watershed. Detectable Bt residue was found as far as 2000 meters (1.25 miles) downstream from the source. Laboratory study of the effects of delta endotoxin on freshwater invertebrates found the caddisfly larvae was susceptible to it. Caddisfly larvae are a significant portion of the food chain for riparian and aquatic animals. Fish growth and survival in that watershed could therefore be negatively impacted. Agriculturists would have no reason to disagree with the findings of Bt in corn residue in watersheds because it was measured. Similar tests in other watersheds that found similar results could verify this finding. If the results are not reproduced, that would bring this finding into question. Agriculturists do have reason to disagree with the caddisfly impacts based on laboratory study. The infamous Monarch butterfly study proves the fallacy of applying laboratory results to real world systems. In that case, the caged butterfly larvae were exclusively fed a high dose of Bt corn pollen and nothing else. Field studies did not verify the conclusion made from laboratory observations. The citation for the article is: E.J. Rosi-Marshall, J.L. Tank, T. V. Royer, M.R. Whiles, M. Evans-White, C. Chambers, N.A. Griffiths, J. Pokelsek, and M.L. Stephen; Toxins in transgenic crop byproducts may affect headwater stream ecosystems. PNAS 104: 16204-16208; published online before print as 10.1073/pnas.0707177104. The authors declare that the introduction of Bt corn residue into headwaters has unexpected ecosystem-scale consequences. Previous studies show Bt corn toxicity to non-target soil organisms like earthworms and scarab beetles. We should not dismiss this finding until additional work performed within the ecosystem scale verifies or denies the significance of the laboratory findings. The old saying of "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" applies to this case. While you contemplate planting next year's crop, keep in mind that the Ninth Judicial Court could impose an injunction against planting any Bt corn until an appropriate environmental assessment if made concerning this finding. A similar occurrence that prevented planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa across the nation happened this year. USDA approval meant nothing, except that a number of farmers were left holding the bag after planting alfalfa based on that approval. The possibility of litigation could put Bt corn hybrids into a similar situation. Allow for resumption of the old production methods using insecticides at planting and during the production season. One would think the value of reducing amounts of insecticides applied to soil and to crops would favor planting of Bt hybrids. Recent court cases indicate that is not a good bet.
Date: 11/15/07
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