Pests Are Developing Resistance to Monsanto's Engineered Supercorn

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 - 12:30 in Biology & Nature

Some consumers may have a problem with genetically modified food crops, but in at least one case described in an Iowa State University researcher's paper there's one customer that's happy to consume Monsanto's GM corn: rootworms, the very pest the corn is modified to thwart. According to the paper, western corn rootworms in at least four northeast Iowa corn fields have developed a resistance to the natural pesticide in corn seed produced by Monsanto, marking the first time a major Midwest pest has developed a resistance to GM crops. That could spell all kinds of trouble for food crops, farmers, Monsanto, and pretty much everyone who isn't a western corn rootworm. Though based on isolated cases thus far, the problem could be more widespread, and the paper is bound to rouse another debate on the benefits and demerits of GM crop cultivation and current farm management practices. Related ArticlesLower Yields from GM...

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