Bt Corn: Biotech-enhanced crops can co-exist
Portland Press Herald
Douglas Johnson
July 10, 2007
Excerpt…
For the past 10 years, opponents of biotechnology-enhanced crops in Maine have claimed bragging rights over the fact that our state is the only one in the nation to have turned down applications for growing Bt corn -- corn modified to contain the natural pesticide bacillus thuriengensis.
Though the close vote of the Board of Pesticides Control denying the applications in 1997 was officially because need for the corn had not been demonstrated, everyone close to the fray knew it was organized opposition, much of it from organic farmers, that shaped the outcome.
Now, three manufacturers of the seed have decided to try again and the fight has erupted anew. This time the battle isn't over whether Bt corn hurts monarch butterflies or causes other environmental calamities; solid science in the intervening years has settled those questions with a resounding no.
This time organic growers are claiming Bt corn will cross- pollinate their organic corn, causing it to lose its organic status. This newspaper supports that claim and in an editorial called on the Board of Pesticides Control to include adequate buffer zones as a condition of approval ("Before Maine gets Bt corn, protect organic crops," July 15).
Is the concern about cross-pollination justified? Should Maine's organic farmers be worried? Corn is an open pollinating crop, so pollen from one corn field theoretically can pollinate a nearby one. But corn pollen is heavy and doesn't travel far. It also loses viability quickly. Wind direction, weather and different maturity dates all play a role in cross-pollination.
Both research and practical experience tell us that cross- pollination between biotech and organic corn is not a problem. A biotech-enhanced corn that is resistant to herbicide sprays has been planted in Maine for years. Yet not one complaint has been lodged against it by organic growers. A study in Spain showed that after six years of cultivation, Bt corn can co-exist with organic and conventional corn "without economic and commercial problems." A 2004 report on U.S. co-existence reached a similar conclusion….
Full article at Portland Press Herald.
