Superbug vs. Monsanto: Nature rebels against biotech titan

[1monster]

http://rt.com/usa/news/superbug-monsanto-corn-resistance-628/

A growing number of rootworms are now able to devour genetically modified corn specifically designed by Monsanto to kill those same pests. A new study shows that while the biotech giant may triumph in Congress, it will never be able to outsmart nature.

Western corn rootworms have been able to harmlessly consume the genetically modified maize, a research paper published in the latest issue of the journal GM Crops & Food reveals. A 2010 sample of the rootworm population had an elevenfold survival rate on the genetically modified corn compared to a control population. That’s eight times more than the year before, when the resistant population was first identified.


Experts are also noting that this year’s resistant rootworm populations are maturing earlier than expected. In fact, the time the bug’s larvae hatched was the earliest in decades.

Farmers and food companies have increasingly been dependent on GM crops, and many have abandoned crop rotation, a practice that has been used to stave off pest infestations for centuries. Some have even gone as far as to ignore federal regulation, which require the GM corn plantations be accompanied by a small “refuge” of non-GM maize.

[Warpy]

1. That's not all they've done

They've created a grass that produces cyanide gas under certain conditions, enough to kill cattle feeding on it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57459357/gm-grass-linked-to-texas-cattle-deaths/

[HopeHoops]

2. It matters not what you devise. The countering agent will adapt.

[nanabugg]

3. This is what happens when proven science is ignored and proven agriculture techniques are

ignored in favor of corporate greed and profit motives.