Landclearing

Genetically modified (GM) cotton is again being proposed for widespread cultivation across northern Australia .  Multi-national chemical companies Monsanto and Bayer want approval for 'unrestricted commercial release' of their GM cotton lines. Many of the major tropical river systems of northern Australia are at serious risk if this was to be approved, including the Daly River in the NT.  One of the main arguments industry uses to promote GM crops, such as GM cotton, is that they are 'good for the environment' because they 'reduce the amount of chemical pesticide that would otherwise be used on non-GM crops'.  One fallacy of this argument is that they are talking about introducing a crop into northern Australia that is not already grown here - so there will in fact be a marked increase in chemical use!

Even more damaging though is the recent findings of research into GM cotton growing in China conducted by Cornell University showing that after a few years GM cotton ends up requiring just as much spraying as non-GM cotton - around 18 sprays per season! The small article below from New Scientist magazine (July 2006) highlights further serious flaws. Read on...

Agricultural pests are wreaking havoc with China 's great experiment in pest-resistant genetically modified crops. Plagues of mirids are infesting the cotton fields of 5 million Chinese farmers whose crops are modified to resist the bollworm larvae. The farmers are being forced to use vast amounts of expensive insecticide to eradicate them, all but removing the economic benefits of growing GM cotton in the first place.

When GM cotton was first grown in China in the late 1990s, the yields produced were hailed as evidence that the technology could benefit poor farmers. A few years down the line, things look a little different. "The farmers are very upset about it, because GM cotton was such a wonderful thing, and they don't understand why it won't work now," says Shenghui Wang of Cornell University in Ithaca , New York , who interviewed 481 Chinese farmers in 2004 about their experiences with GM cotton.

While the GM cotton still protects against bollworm, in the long term China may need to introduce natural predators of mirids, or modify the cotton further to produce toxins that kill these pests as well, says Wang, who presented her results on 25 July at a meeting of the American Agricultural Economics Association in Long Beach, California. What's more, other countries that have adopted GM cotton, such as India and Argentina , may also need to take action to halt the spread of mirids.

29 July 2006
From New Scientist Print Edition.

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