1. Environmental Defense Organization on Bt Corn
Presented by
Jeremy Archer
&
Rebecca Echols
November 12, 2002

2. Environmental Defense Organization
We are a privately founded operation that is determined to make environmental policies fairly and properly regulated by the federal government
We are guided by the sciences, meaning that we care about the scientific research and not how policies will effect political parties

3. Bt Corn: Problems and Concerns
Ecological problems
Benefit analysis concerns
Resistance management concerns
Human Safety concerns
Recommendations

4. Ecological concerns Bt toxins: exposure pathways and impacts
interaction between introduced gene & genome
physiological interactions
Impact on non-target organisms, including monarch butterflies
Lethal levels of Bt have been found to be similar to the concentration of pollen found in Bt corn fields
Impacts on bees, ground beetle

5. Benefit Analysis Concerns
EPA estimated annual benefit to be $38-$219 million
Actual benefit much less because of EPA’s inflated estimate
Estimates for reduction in corn pesticides low
Originally 30% reduction, moved to a 5-8% reduction
Inappropriate and inaccurate data
Not on real farms
Short term data, no long term data
Lack of follow up studies

6. Monarch Butterflies Bt corn “ might present a risk”
Poor experimental design
Small test samples
5 larvae with 5 replications
Inadequate and vague critique/presentation of results
“potential”
“seems to be due to the effect of Bt toxin”
(Losey & Raynor, 1999)

7. EPA
“We are confident that Bt corn does not pose risks to human health and the environment” ~ Stephen Johnson
Poor research
Dated research in reports
Tested aquatic animals instead of animals effected by corn pollen
Estimated inflated earnings
Price premium has yet to exceed gain in yield

8. Resistance Cross-resistance (Griffitts et al. 2001)
Animals already demonstrate a homozygous dominant resistance
Tobacco bugworm ( Gahan, Gould & Heckel)
Insect resistance could create a more aggressive weed

9. Human Safety Concerns Allergenicity Immunological effects
Cry9C and Starlink
Inadequate testing methods
Protein breakdown is not reliable
No predictive methodology for allergen testing
Immunological effects
Incomplete data- no antibody levels

10. Recommendations Restrictions should be conditional
Dependent upon region and animal life in the area
Refuges do not need to be more that 1/10 of a mile from the planted regions, instead of ¼ of a mile
Scientifically appropriate methodology for evaluating transgenic crops
Specifically the hazard-only approach
More effective plans for resistance management