EPA places restrictions on biotech corn plantingsWASHINGTON (AP) -- Environmentalists and farmers alike are praising the planting restrictions that the government is placing on genetically altered corn to prevent insects from becoming resistant to its toxin. About 30 percent of the corn grown last year was Bt corn, named for the bacteria it contains to kill the European corn borer. The new restrictions, which the Environmental Protection Agency worked out with industry, will require farmers to plant at least 20 percent conventional corn in most regions, and 50 percent in areas where cotton is grown. MESSAGE BOARD Genetically modified food Seed companies also will be required to expand field monitoring for signs of where insect resistance may be occurring. The planting limits are in line with recommendations made by the National Corn Growers Association. "I dont see this to be anything major. Its right in line with what (farmers) are already doing," Lynn Jensen, president of the growers group, said Sunday. Corn pollen and butterfliesThe new EPA policy means "there will be more emphasis on making sure everyone ... plants 20 percent non-Bt" corn, said Leon Corzine, an Illinois producer. Seed supplier Monsanto Co. said the EPA measures "are nothing new for us or our customers since most all of them were already in place." It said it has required farmers "growing our Bt corn and Bt cotton to plant refuge areas since we first commercialized these products in 1996 and 1997." Rebecca Goldburg, senior scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the new restrictions "confirm the fact that Bt corn can pose both an environmental and resistance management risk." The EPA also requiring the seed companies to tell farmers about voluntary measures they can take to protect Monarch butterflies from being hurt by the corns pollen. The agency posted a brief notice about the new restrictions Friday on its Web site. The butterfly larvae feed on milkweed, which sometimes is found around corn fields. A study released last May by Cornell University said Monarch larvae died when they ate pollen from the Bt corn. "We are really happy to see that the agency is taking the resistance issues and the Monarch issue seriously," said Margaret Mellon, director of the agricultural and biotechnology program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "We think the agency has done a good job of jawboning the industry and getting them to agree to the restrictions in an environment where strictly speaking they dont have to. Were concerned that they didnt go far enough." Decline in Bt corn plantingsThe EPAs planting restrictions will be higher in cotton-growing areas because of the widespread use of a Bt version of cotton. Surveys by seed companies indicate farmers in Illinois and other areas that grow much of their corn for export markets are expected to cut back production of Bt corn this year due to consumer resistance to biotech food overseas, said growers president Jensen, a South Dakota producer. Growers in other regions whose crops are used primarily for livestock feed may plant as much or more Bt corn then they did last year, he said. A smaller, rival group that has been critical of biotechnology, the American Corn Growers Association, has been predicting a sharp decline in Bt corn plantings. Another factor figuring into growers considerations is that corn borer infestations have been low throughout much of the Midwest for the past two years. Biotech corn is more expensive than conventional varieties because of a special fee charged by the seed companies. The European Commission, which enforces rules for the 15-member European Union, cited the Cornell study last summer in delaying approval of pending requests to sell the corn variety. Mexican environmentalists urged their government to ban its import and use. In response to the study, EPA scientists said last year that they knew the pollen could kill insects but did not believe the butterflies would be exposed to the toxin outside the laboratory.
