EPA Defends Transgenic Bt Crops
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has unequivocally rejected an effort by Greenpeace and a coalition of organic agriculture organizations that sought to revoke approvals for genetically engineered plants that express Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
In a detailed 113-page document, EPA defended the scientific and legal foundation for its current regulatory approach and rejected Greenpeace's assertions. The agency said that the insect resistance management practices required for Bt crops are supported by scientists, growers and biotechnology companies. EPA noted that "it is significant that, after four years of full-scale commercialization of Bt crops for which the agency currently has data (1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999) with approximately 17 million total acres of Bt corn, Bt potato, and Bt cotton planted in 1998, EPA has received no confirmed evidence that field resistance to any Bt endotoxin expressed in these crops has occurred in any insect species. ...