According to the report:
Farmers planted 941 million acres of [genetically modified herbicide tolerant] corn, soybeans, and cotton from 1996 through 2008. [Herbicide tolerant] soybeans accounted for two-thirds of these acres. Bt corn and cotton were grown on 357 million acres, with corn accounting for 79% of these acres. Th us, about 1.3 billion trait acres of [herbicide tolerant] and Bt crops have been grown between 1996 and 2008.
Here's a question I have about the report. They say:
Bt corn and cotton have delivered consistent reductions in insecticide use totaling 64.2 million pounds over the 13 years. Bt corn reduced insecticide use by 32.6 million pounds, or by about 0.1 pound per acre. Bt cotton reduced insecticide use by 31.6 million pounds, or about 0.4 pounds per acre planted.
Is that a reduction of additional pesticides or total pesticides? Bt crops produce their own pesticide. You might be spraying nothing on them, or maybe you still spray but you spray less than you used to, but just because you aren't spraying as much doesn't mean you aren't using pesticides. You're using them because the plant is producing them. You just aren't spraying additional pesticides on your crops.
UPDATE: Apparently the amount of Bt produced by the corn and cotton were too difficult to measure. The decrease is just a decrease in additional pesticides sprayed - it does not include the amount of Bt produced by the crops.
Aside from that, here's a really interesting tidbit from the report:
GE crops reduced overall pesticide use in the first three years of commercial introduction (1996-1998) by 1.2%, 2.3%, and 2.3% per year, but increased pesticide use by 20% in 2007 and by 27% in 2008.
Uh, whoops... it was all working so well until the weeds evolved resistance to glyphosate (Roundup)! Here's what's happening:
GR [Glyphosate-resistant] weeds were practically unknown before the introduction of RR [Roundup Ready] crops in 1996. Today, nine or more GR weeds collectively infest millions of acres of U.S. cropland. Thousands of fields harbor two or more resistant weeds. The South is most heavily impacted, though resistant weeds are rapidly emerging in the Midwest, and as far north as Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. In general, farmers can respond to resistant weeds on acres planted to HT crops in five ways:
- Applying additional herbicide active ingredients,
- Increasing herbicide application rates,
- Making multiple applications of herbicides
previously sprayed only once,
- Through greater reliance on tillage for weed
control, and
- By manual weeding
In the period covered by this report, the first three of the above five responses have been by far the most common, and each increases the pounds of herbicides applied on HT [herbicide tolerant] crop acres.
GR pigweed (Palmer amaranth) has spread dramatically across the South since the first resistant populations were confirmed in 2005, and already poses a major threat to U.S. cotton production. Some infestations are so severe
that cotton farmers have been forced to abandon cropland, or resort to the preindustrial practice of "chopping cotton" (hoeing weeds by hand).
Resistant horseweed (marestail) is the most widely spread and extensive glyphosate-resistant weed. It emerged first in Delaware in the year 2000, and now infests several million acres in at least 16 states of the South and Midwest, notably Illinois. GR horseweed, giant ragweed, common
waterhemp, and six other weeds are not only driving substantial increases in the use of glyphosate, but also the increased use of more toxic herbicides, including paraquat and 2,4-D, one component of the Vietnam War defoliant, Agent Orange.
Want some more good news?
One major biotech company has applied for and received a patent covering HT crops that can be directly sprayed with herbicide products falling within seven or more different herbicide families of chemistry. These next-generation HT crops will likely be sprayed with two or three times the number of herbicides typically applied today on fields planted with HT seeds, and the total pounds of herbicides applied on HT crops, and the cost of herbicides, will keep rising as a result.
Can you say "oy vey"? |
