For twenty years biotech companies have been promising higher crop yields and lower costs if farmers would plant their genetically modified (GMO) seeds; however, studies are showing that GMO crops don’t produce higher yields and lowered costs.  Monsanto has already admitted that in India the bollworm has become resistant to the Bt cotton that was engineered to kill it.  In 2009, the Bt cotton variety used in four districts in India was found to attract the pink bollworm, a major cotton plantation pest. Not only are insect pests becoming resistant to the engineered pesticides, but crops engineered to resist herbicides have produced “superweeds” that are highly resistant to the GM herbicides.  Farmers in South America are using twice as much herbicide on their GM crops as they do on conventional crops.  Genetic engineering has failed to increase the yield of any food crop but has greatly increased the cost through use of additional chemicals and crop damage.

Now even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) admits that the GMO corn engineered to resist the corn rootworm may be failing.   A recent EPA memo said that “resistance is suspected in at least some portions of four states in which ‘unexpected damage’ reports originated.”  The EPA is reviewing documented cases of severe crop damage.  The rootworms have apparently developed a tolerance for the insecticide engineered into the Bt corn.  Rootworms can be very destructive and cost U.S. farmers about $1 billion each year in damages and costs of chemical pesticides.

In July, an Iowa State University study found that corn rootworms had evolved resistance to the rootworm-killing Bt protein engineered ito the Monsanto corn.  Entomologists in other states are studying the possible rootworm resistance.

Monsanto’s response to the potential problem is first to deny any scientific confirmation of resistance.  It recommends rotating corn crops with soybeans or switching to another Monsanto GM corn called SmartStax, which has two types of Bt proteins engineered into it.  Monsanto does admit one problem with SmartStax–if the double Bt corn is planted in fields where rootworms have already developed resistance, it probably won’t work.  There are other problems with SmartStax–early harvests are showing less yield than lower priced seed.

The EPA recommendation to combat the rootworm resistance is to use conventional pesticide.  So, in addition to the farmers’ costs of planting the GMO seeds, which now don’t work as promised, they must pay for additional chemicals to kill the rootworms in order to save their crops.  Paying twice for rootworm protection doesn’t lower the cost!  How can higher crop yields be expected if the engineered protection doesn’t work?