<div id="story_head" class="clearfix" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:14px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:14px;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">
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FYI: <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-01/monsanto-corn-may-be-failing-to-kill-rootworms-in-four-states-epa-says.html">Monsanto Corn May Be Failing to Kill Bugs, EPA Says</a></h1><div id="story_meta" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">
<div class="q_style_button add_to_q" title="Add to queue" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:initial;outline-style:none;outline-color:initial;font-size:9px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:url('http://cdn.gotraffic.net/q/v/20111221_155007/stylesheets/q/q_story_buttons.png');text-align:left;overflow-x:hidden;overflow-y:hidden;display:inline-block;width:100px;height:18px;float:right;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">
Q</div><cite class="byline" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:11px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;width:640px;color:rgb(111,111,111);display:block;font-style:normal;line-height:1.3em">By Jack Kaskey - <span class="datestamp" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial">Dec 2, 2011 10:31 PM GMT+0100</span></cite></div>
</div><div id="story_content" class="clearfix" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:10px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:10px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:1px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:1px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(221,221,221);border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(221,221,221);background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:15px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;font-family:Arial;line-height:1.6em">
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=MON:US" title="Get Quote" class="web_ticker" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Monsanto Co. (MON)</a> corn that’s genetically engineered to kill insects may be losing its effectiveness against rootworms in four states, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.</p>
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Rootworms in Iowa, <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/illinois/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Illinois</a>, <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/minnesota/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Minnesota</a> and <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/nebraska/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Nebraska</a> are suspected of developing tolerance to the plants’ insecticide, based on documented cases of severe crop damage and reports from entomologists, the EPA said in a memo dated Nov. 22 and posted Nov. 30 on a government <a href="http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0922-0003" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">website</a>. Monsanto’s program for monitoring suspected cases of resistance is “inadequate,” the EPA said.</p>
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“Resistance is suspected in at least some portions of four states in which ‘unexpected damage’ reports originated,” the EPA said in the memo, which reviewed damage reports.</p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:15px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;font-family:Arial;line-height:1.6em">
The insects, which begin life as root-chewing grubs before developing into adult beetles, are among the most destructive corn pests, costing U.S. farmers about <a href="http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs2/04_12501p_com.pdf" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">$1 billion</a> a year in damages and chemical pesticides, according to the <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/u.s.-department-of-agriculture/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">U.S. Department of Agriculture</a>.</p>
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Monsanto fell 3.8 percent to $70.42 at the close in <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/new-york/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">New York</a>, the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=SPX:IND" title="Get Quote" class="web_ticker" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">tenth-biggest (SPX)</a> decline among companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.</p>
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“The stock is always going to be susceptible to headline risk as it pertains to the effectiveness of their products,” <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/mark-demos/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Mark Demos</a>, a portfolio manager who helps oversee $18 billion at Fifth Third Asset Management in <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/minneapolis/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Minneapolis</a>, said by telephone. “They are leading the charge in biotech, so it’s bad for the whole industry.”</p>
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Introduced in 2003</h2><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:15px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;font-family:Arial;line-height:1.6em">
Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, introduced its rootworm-killing corn technology in 2003. The modified corn was planted on more than 37 million acres this year, Lee Quarles, a spokesman for St. Louis-based Monsanto, said yesterday. Monsanto isn’t having resistance issues with seeds engineered to kill corn borers and other pests that live above ground. Corn is Monsanto’s largest business, accounting for 41 percent of its $11.8 billion of sales in the fiscal year ended Aug. 31.</p>
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An <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/iowa/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Iowa</a> State University study said in July that some rootworms have evolved resistance to an insect-killing protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, a natural insecticide engineered into Monsanto corn. Entomologists in Illinois and other Midwestern states are studying possible resistance where the insects devour roots of Monsanto’s Bt corn.</p>
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‘Stay Ahead’</h2><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:15px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;font-family:Arial;line-height:1.6em">
Monsanto continues to believe there’s no scientific confirmation of resistance to its Bt corn, Quarles said by telephone. Still, Monsanto takes the EPA report “seriously” and is increasing efforts to teach farmers how to respond to unexpected damage in their fields, he said.</p>
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Less than 0.2 percent of the acres planted with Monsanto’s Bt corn were affected by unexpected rootworm damage this year, Quarles said. Farmers with root damage in their fields should consider changing practices to “stay ahead of this insect,” Monsanto said in a statement. That could include rotating corn with soybeans or using a product such as Monsanto’s SmartStax corn, which kills rootworms with two types of Bt, the company said.</p>
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The EPA report “does throw a harsher light on the longer- term efficacy of the trait,” Chris Shaw, a New York-based analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt & Co., said today by telephone. The development of SmartStax shows Monsanto knows it can’t rely on a single gene to address farmers’ problems, he said.</p>
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No Refuge</h2><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:15px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;font-family:Arial;line-height:1.6em">
The agency said in the memo that SmartStax could lose its effectiveness if it’s planted in fields where bugs have developed a tolerance to Monsanto’s Bt gene, known as CRY3bB1. That’s because SmartStax’s effectiveness is predicated on both types of Bt working as designed. SmartStax corn produces the second type of Bt, called Cry34/35, with a gene licensed from <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=DOW:US" title="Get Quote" class="web_ticker" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Dow Chemical Co. (DOW)</a></p>
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To deter resistance to all types of Bt corn, the EPA requires farmers who use the modified crop to also plant corn that doesn’t produce the pesticide. The agency reasons that bugs in the so-called refuge that are not exposed to the toxin will mate with any resistant rootworms, creating a new generation of insects that are once again susceptible to the insecticide.</p>
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Some corn farmers don’t appear to be planting the required refuges in Minnesota, where moderate to severe rootworm damage is spreading and occurred for a third straight year in 2011, according to the EPA.</p><h2 style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:20px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:18px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;font-family:Arial;line-height:1.3em">
Remedial Action</h2><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:15px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;font-family:Arial;line-height:1.6em">
The EPA’s decision earlier this week to extend the registration of SmartStax, which was originally approved in 2009, shows that the resistance concern “isn’t significantly important,”<a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/mark-gulley/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Mark Gulley</a>, a New York-based analyst at Ticonderoga Securities, said in a phone interview today.</p>
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Monsanto should enact a remedial action plan in fields where resistance to its Bt insecticide is suspected, the EPA said. That includes having growers use conventional pesticide to kill adult rootworm beetles late in the season and alternate pest control methods in the following season.</p>
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Monsanto tested rootworms for resistance in Nebraska, Illinois and Iowa and should expand the monitoring to <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/colorado/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Colorado</a>, Minnesota, <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/south-dakota/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">South Dakota</a> and western <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/wisconsin/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Wisconsin</a> because questions about the performance of Bt corn extends to all seven states, the EPA said in the memo.</p>
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Monsanto’s most advanced resistance problem is with crops engineered to tolerate its Roundup herbicide. Weeds that are no longer killed by Roundup have invaded 14 million acres of U.S. cotton, soybean and corn, according to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=SYNN:VX" title="Get Quote" class="web_ticker" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">Syngenta AG (SYNN)</a>, a Swiss chemical maker. A Dow Chemical Co. study this year found as many as 20 million acres of corn and soybeans may be infested.</p>
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To contact the reporter on this story: Jack Kaskey in Houston at <a href="mailto:jkaskey@bloomberg.net" title="Send E-mail" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">jkaskey@bloomberg.net</a></p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:15px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;font-family:Arial;line-height:1.6em">
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Simon Casey at <a href="mailto:scasey4@bloomberg.net" title="Send E-mail" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;color:rgb(0,51,204);text-decoration:none;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">scasey4@bloomberg.net</a></p>
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Aanvullend:</p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial">
</p><h3 class="posttitle" style="margin-top:5px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:6px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:5px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:3px;font-size:14px;text-align:left;border-bottom-width:8px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(240,248,255);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Calibri;line-height:normal;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<a href="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=6408" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: EPA Seeks Information on Resistance in Genetically Engineered Plants" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,129,255);text-decoration:none;font-size:20px">EPA Seeks Information on Resistance in Genetically Engineered Plants</a></h3>
<div class="entry" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:5px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;text-align:left;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><p style="font-family:Calibri;line-height:normal;font-size:12px;color:rgb(51,51,51);margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">
<font size="2" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px">(<em style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px">Beyond Pesticides</em>, December 2, 2011) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has opened a pesticide docket for information and reviews relevant to insect resistance management for plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs) -plants engineered through biotechnology to express pesticidal properties. The agency intends to collect public information on insect resistance management and monitoring for genetically engineered (GE) PIPs after expressing concern that efforts to tackle resistance issues need to be “more proactive” and effective in light of “severe” and rapidly growing insect resistance to GE crops.<img alt="" src="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/gmos/images/corn.jpg" title="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/gmos/images/corn.jpg" class="alignright" align="right" width="200" height="298" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></font></p>
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According to EPA’s Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, the agency is reviewing insect resistance management assessments submitted by registrants in accordance with the ongoing terms and conditions of their registered PIP products. PIPs are genetically engineered to incorporate pesticidal properties in plant genes in order to ward off insects that prey on the plants. PIPs are registered as a pesticidal product under the <em style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px">Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act </em>(FIFRA). Many GE plants such as corn, cotton and others include <a href="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/gateway/pesticide/Bt.htm" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">Bacillus thuringiensis</a> (Bt), a bacterium with insecticidal properties whose genes have been incorporated into the plant’s own genetic material. However, recent reports have shown that these PIPs are spawning “superbugs” that have become resistant to this technology. Monsanto, the lead manufacturer of PIPs, has created several Bt genes including one called Cry3Bb1 which has been responsible for <a href="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=5876" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">resistant populations</a> of western corn rootworm no longer susceptible to Bt.</p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">According to documents in the newly opened docket, (<a href="http://www.regulations.gov/#!searchResults;rpp=10;po=0;s=EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0922" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">Docket No: EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0922</a>) EPA reviewed Monsanto’s resistance monitoring data from 2009 for the western rootworm which was submitted for registrations on Bt corn containing the Cry3Bb1 gene. The agency concludes that based on multiple documented cases of unexpected “severe” corn rootworm damage to Cry3Bb1 fields and other undocumented reports from corn entomologists, “Cry3Bb1 resistance is suspected in at least some portions of four states in which “unexpected damage” reports originated and recommends that the Cry3Bb1 remedial action plan be implemented for “suspected resistance.” Further, EPA states that the registrant’s (Monsanto) current resistance monitoring program is inadequate and likely to miss early resistance events, stating for efforts to be meaningful “a more proactive, effective approach needs to be adopted.”</p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">Roughly one-third of the corn grown in the U.S. carries Monsanto’s Cry3Bb1 gene, which means that, should populations of this rootworm spread, corn farmers across the U.S. will be faced with heavy losses. Researchers from Iowa State University discovered western corn rootworms in four Iowa fields that have evolved and can resist the pesticide built into Bt corn seeds. So far the cases are isolated, but can spread to neighboring regions. Farmers in Illinois, for example, have been seeing severe rootworm damage in fields planted in Monsanto’s Bt corn.</p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">This past year EPA has been in touch with scientists in academia and at USDA-ARS regarding Bt cron resistance issues in the Mid-west, notably Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and Minnesota. In Nebraska, the 2011 growing season marked the fourth year where moderate to severe rootworm damage in Monsanto’s Cry3Bb1 corn was apparent. Resistance monitoring data for Cry3Bb1 show that field-collected populations are generally less susceptible to the toxin.</p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">In 2009, every field-collected populations of rootworm had higher LC50 (concentration needed to kill 50 percent of the population) than laboratory controls, in some cases by an order of magnitude. Monitoring data collected from 2005 to 2009 appeared to show a large decrease in susceptibility over the time period. One county in Illinois showed a six-fold increase in mean LC50 from 2007 to 2008 (50.2μg/cm2 in 2007 to 300.9μg/cm2 in 2008). Contributing to the growing resistance is the domination of monoculture crops in this region. Records show that affected fields have been growing Monsanto’s Cry3Bb1 corn for many successive years without crop rotation. In fact, according to the data collected, a significant positive correlation was detected between the number of years growers chose to plant Cry3Bb1 and the survival on Cry3Bb1corn of insects from problem fields. Unfortunately, many growers still plant the Bt corn despite the incidences of rootworm damage and fall back on pesticide applications to control the adult corn rootworm.</p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">Resistance to GE crops is not new. “Roundup Ready” crops engineered to survive exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, a glyphosate-based chemical, has also spawned a new generation of Round-up resistance weeds dubbed “<a href="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=5751" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">superweeds</a>.” These weeds, immune to Roundup, have spread to millions of acres in more than 20 states in the South and Midwest. In addition to resistant weeds, heavy use of Roundup sprayed on “Roundup Ready” crops appear to be causing harmful changes in soil and potentially hindering yields of crops that farmers are cultivating according to scientists at the <a href="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=5817" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">USDA’s Agricultural Research Service</a>. Growing previous Roundup Ready crops, such as soy, cotton, and corn, have also led to greater use of herbicides, especially when these crops fail to control the pests they are marketed to thwart.</p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">There has long been a concern that EPA’s allowance of PIPs with Bt would lead to the failure of a biological tool used in organic farming systems as an alternative to highly toxic synthetic inputs. <a href="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/news/daily_news_archive/2003/2_28_03.htm" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">Organic farmers have expressed concern since the introduction of PIPs in 2003</a>that the overuse of Bt, which is inevitable when Bt is genetically engineered into every cell of a plant, will lead to insect resistance and leave many farmers without an important tool of organic agriculture. For more on genetically engineered agriculture read Beyond Pesticides’ article “<a href="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidesandyou/Spring2011/ge-explosion.pdf" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">Ready or Not, Genetically Engineered Crops Explode on Market</a>.”</p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">Fortunately, GE crops are not permitted in organic food production. For more information about why organic is the right choice see our<a href="http://www.beyondpesticides.org/organicfood/conscience/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">Organic Food: Eating with a Conscience Guide</a>.</p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">To access the docket, visit: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov/" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">www.regulations.gov</a> and go to docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0922.</p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px"><em style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px">Source: <a href="http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/csb_page/updates/2011/pips.html" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,102);text-decoration:none">EPA Pesticide News</a></em></p>
<em style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"></em></font><p style="font-family:Calibri;line-height:normal;font-size:12px;color:rgb(51,51,51);margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">
<font size="2" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><em style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px">All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides. </em></font></p>
<p style="font-family:Calibri;line-height:normal;font-size:12px;color:rgb(51,51,51);margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px">
<font size="2" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><em style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px">"</em></font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px"><font size="2" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><font face="Calibri">Voedsel wordt nu het volgende probleem in onze toch al fragiele situatie (dit nog los van de financiële manipulaties mbt voedsel) ?</font></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px"><font size="2" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><font face="Calibri">Henk Elegeert</font></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px"><font size="2" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><font face="Calibri"><br>
</font></span></font></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:12px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:10px"><font size="2" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px"><font face="Calibri"> </font></span></font></p>
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