EPA Approves Biotech Cotton
Philip Brasher / AP 1oct01

WASHINGTON - The government has decided against requiring farmers to cut back on planting cotton that is genetically engineered to produce its own pesticide.

Environmentalists are worried that insects are going to become resistant to the crop's pesticide, which also is an ingredient in sprays used by organic farmers.

But the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday there is no evidence that such resistance is developing. Requiring farmers to reduce their use of the crop ``would result in unacceptable economic losses'' and lead to more use of chemical insecticides, the agency said.

EPA gave approval for the biotech crop to be grown for another five years, renewing a registration that was to have expired on Monday. The crop is known as Bt cotton for a bacterium gene that is inserted into the plant to produce the insect toxin.

To prevent resistant insects from developing, EPA requires farmers to plant sections of conventional cotton along with the Bt varieties. Insects in the conventional fields will mate with insects from the biotech fields and ensure that successive generations of bugs are still susceptible to the Bt poison.

The biotech crop, which was developed by the Monsanto Corp., has become very popular in parts of the South and in Arizona because it prevents damage by several cotton pests, including the budworm.

``This renewed registration assures that cotton growers can continue to use this valuable technology to protect against insect pests while reducing the use of chemical pesticides,'' said Randy Deaton, a spokesman for Monsanto.

But Jane Rissler, a biotechnology critic with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said EPA should have increased the size of the conventional cotton fields, known as ``refuges.'' Under EPA's rules, farmers can plant as little as 5 percent of their acreage in conventional cotton as long as they don't spray it with an insecticide.

``I don't see how we are going to significantly delay resistance with these small refuges,'' she said.

EPA will require an independent firm to monitor farmers' compliance with the refuge limits.

The popularity of Bt cotton has led to a two-thirds reduction in the spraying of insecticides that are most toxic to birds and fish, and a one-third cut in the use of chemicals most dangerous to people, EPA said.

• EPA: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/reds/brad_bt_pip.htm