November 25, 2003
A report by
Dr. Charles M. Benbrook
Northwest Science and Environmental Policy Center
Sandpoint
Idaho
About This
Report
This report is
the sixth in a series of Technical Papers prepared by Benbrook
Consulting Services on the development, costs and benefits, and
environmental impacts of genetically engineered (GE) crops in
the United States. The full series of Technical Papers has been
posted on the website Ag BioTech InfoNet and are accessible at
http:/www.biotech-info.net/highlights.html#technical_papers.
The following organizations and institutions have provided
funding or in-kind services for the preparation of this report
and the analytical work required to calculate the impacts of
genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the United
States since 1996:
-
Union of Concerned Scientists
-
Leopold
Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University
-
Center for
Food Safety
-
Consumer
Policy Institute, Consumers
Union
-
Institute
for Agriculture and Trade Policy
-
Organic
Farming Research Foundation
Karen Lutz
Benbrook developed the database used in this analysis and
designed the layout of the report. Thanks to the individuals who
reviewed earlier drafts for the many helpful comments and
suggestions.
Press Release
from the Northwest Science and Environmental
Policy
Center
The planting of 550 million acres of genetically engineered (GE)
corn,
soybeans and cotton in the United States since 1996 has
increased pesticide use
by about 50 million pounds, according to a report released today
by the
Northwest Science and Environmental Policy Center.
The report is the first comprehensive study of the impacts of
all major
commercial GE crops on pesticide use in the United States over
the first eight
years of commercial use, 1996-2003. It draws on official U.S.
Department of
Agriculture data on pesticide use by crop and state. The report
is entitled
“Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the
United States:
The First Eight Years,” and is the sixth in a series of
“Technical Papers” prepared
for Ag BioTech InfoNet. It is being published today via the
Internet (hard copies
will not be provided, but can be printed for free from the
website).
The report calculates the difference between the average pounds
of
pesticides applied on acres planted to GE crops compared to the
pounds applied
to otherwise similar conventional crops. In their first three
years of commercial
sales (1996-1998), GE crops reduced pesticide use by about 25.4
million pounds,
but in the last three years (2001-2003), over 73 million more
pounds of
pesticides were applied on GE acres.
Substantial increases in herbicide use on “Herbicide Tolerant”
(HT) crops,
especially soybeans, accounted for
the
increase in pesticide use on GE
acres
compared to acres planted to conventional plant varieties. Many
farmers
have had to spray incrementally more herbicides on GE acres in
order to keep up
with shifts in weeds toward tougher-to-control species, coupled
with the
emergence of genetic resistance in certain weed populations.
“For years weed scientists have warned that heavy reliance on
herbicide
tolerant crops would trigger ecological changes in farm fields
that would
incrementally erode the technology’s effectiveness. It now
appears that this
process began in 2001 in the United States in the case of
herbicide tolerant
crops,” according to Benbrook.
The report concludes that the other major category of GE crops,
corn and
cotton engineered to produce the natural insecticide Bacillus
thuringiensis
( Bt) in
plant cells, continues to reduce insecticide use by 2 million to
2.5 million pounds
annually. The increase in herbicide use on HT crop acres,
however, far exceeds
the modest reductions in insecticide use on acres planted to Bt
crops, especially
since 2001.
The 46-page report is posted on Ag BioTech InfoNet at
http://wwww.biotech-info.net/technicalpaper6.html
Dr. Benbrook has a PhD. in agricultural economics and has
carried out
several studies on the impacts of genetically engineered crops
on farming systems and costs and the environment. He directs the
Northwest Science and Environmental Policy Center, which is
based in Sandpoint, Idaho. From 1984
through 1990, he served as the Executive Director of the
National Academy of Sciences Board on Agriculture.
Financial and in-kind support for this study was provided by:
The Union of Concerned Scientists;
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State
University;
Consumer Policy Institute, Consumers Union;
The Center for Food Safety;
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; and
The Organic Farming Research Foundation.
Title Page, TOC and Full Report |