EPA Lifts Some Restrictions on Genetically Engineered Crops
Jan. 30 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch/KRTBN)--WASHINGTON--Since genetically engineered crops became popular, corn growers in the Missouri Bootheel have been able to plant only about 5 percent of their fields with corn engineered to provide insect resistance.
Nearby, corn farmers might not face such limits, which were set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Many growers felt they should have the right to grow what they wish.
On Friday, responding to Monsanto Co., the EPA lifted some of its restrictions, saying that farmers in cotton-growing regions across the country could plant 50 percent of their crop in Bt corn, which is genetically modified to produce insect resistance.
Monsanto had petitioned the EPA to raise the allowable percentage to 80 percent in Northern cotton-growing states; until now, farmers growing corn near cotton fields were limited to about 5 percent. Monsantos request for 50 percent of fields in Southern states to be planted in bioengineered corn was approved.
Randy Krotz, a Monsanto spokesman, said the ruling is a big deal to the growers who have had restricted use to the point of making them non-competitive.
Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists said she welcomes requirements that half offields be retained in refuges of non-engineered crops. But Mellon said the EPA ought to make broad policies rather than taking piecemeal actions.
The EPA restrictions are based on the desire to protect the Bt technology. Bt, short for Bacillus thuringiensis, is a naturally occurring soil bacterium that kills pests. Now that companies are engineering Bt traits into crops, there is a fear that it will be overused, causing pests to develop resistance.
By Bill Lambrecht
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