Bt corn hybrids are varieties of genetically modified corn grown by corn farmers around the world, especially in the U.S. In other words, "GM corn." Bt corn has been around since 2003, and it has caused a huge controversy centered around genetic engineering in crops that are part of the human food supply, the needs of the corn growers and other subjects such as the control of the genetic engineering which is affecting the price of seed corn and, ultimately, the price of commercial corn and corn products.
Why did plant geneticists want to produce Bt corn? Number one, because they can make a lot of money on it. How does it work? It works by causing the corn plant to produce a toxin that kills western corn rootworms which has been an enormous pest problem causing most corn farmers to spend a lot of money on insecticides to control the rootworms. So, the farmers are saving a lot of money net net by using Bt corn, and they don't want to change at this point in time.
It's been said that two-thirds of U.S. corn acres now contain Bt corn varieties, and this corn can easily end up in consumer food products such as cereal, corn oil and corn sweeteners. Is Bt corn hurting the U.S. population? That is still being hotly debated, and will be for a long time unless Bt corn suddenly goes away.
Goes away? Why in the world would I say that? Because western corn rootworms are becoming resistant to the natural toxin produced by the corn plant. A lot of people are very concerned about this and are trying to do things to stop or slow down this progression toward resistant rootworms. Corn farmers themselves are being blamed in many cases because they are not following the normal crop rotation practices that help keep the rootworm populations in check in their fields. They have been greedy, and, in many cases, have abandoned their crop rotation practices in favor of planting corn in the same fields year after year because of high corn prices relative to other crops.
There is evidence that these farmers are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. The world needs higher yields and lower corn product prices. The U.S. needs as much corn as possible to export to offset some of its unreal balance of trade deficit. But, as usual, many farmers aren't interested in the big picture. Only what benefits them the most. This is understandable in a way to someone like myself who is familiar with benchmarking and commodity agriculture.
Variation is extreme in individual farm profitability, and the farmers in the Middle Third and Bottom Third of profitability are not only looking for a way to make more money, they are looking for ways to survive, period. Even Bt corn will not stop consolidation and liquidation in the corn growing community in the long run, but it may extend the life of some a little longer.
We need to stay on top of this corn rootworm resistance story as we go forward. I personally believe that it will, in the long run, prove to be more evidence that traditional agriculture such as corn breeding and corn growing is not going to be the answer to feeding the world. If it is not, what is the answer? In my opinion, high technology.
tags:
nutrigenomics human nutrition food safety food wars hunger malnutrition poverty genetics nanotechnology robotics kurzweil monsanto dupont pioneer corn genetically modified usda fda eggs beef poultry pork turkey fish shellfish fruits vegetables food borne illness wheat rice oats barley sorghum soybeans alfalfa protein vitamins minerals amino acids fats unidentified growth factors fatty acids genetic engineering climate change food security agribusiness fresh produce desertification
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