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Bt cotton



Dear collegues,
Please forgive if this information is redundant. I thinks its importance
merits sending it anyway.

ACTION ALERT: URGE US EPA TO ISSUE BIOTECHNOLOGY REGULATIONS

The Union of Concerned Scientists has requested letters to the Environmental
Protection Agency concerning publication of rules about the use of plants
genetically engineered to contain pesticides under the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). These rules, which are part of the
crucial regulatory framework for biotechnology, are stuck in the EPA review
process. In addition, the EPA may be facing pressure from a coalition of
food and agriculture scientists which issued a report and held a
Congressional briefing to denounce the FIFRA biotechnology rule. The
coalition asserts that the EPA rule unfairly singles out genetic engineering
for regulatory oversight and will slow the development of agricultural
biotechnology.  Without the plant pesticide rule, the EPA will not have
authority in the future to oversee Bt crops and require resistance
management plans as a condition of commercialization.
	According to information released through the Pesticide Action Network of
North America, thousand of acres of Bt cotton were damaged by cotton
bollworms, one of the three insects the genetically engineered cotton was
supposed to control. That great numbers of bollworms escaped the lethal
effects of Bt cotton means that the plan to delay the development of
resistance in the bollworm is failing. If an insect develops resistance to
Bt in engineered crops, it will also be resistant to Bt sprays, thereby
threatening the effectiveness of sprayed Bt.  To gain registration of Bt
cotton, Monsanto agreed to implement a resistance management plan which
relied on the crops ability to produce high doses of Bt that would kill
virtually all cotton bollworms. The damage reports from the Cotton Belt
create serious doubts that the resistance management plant will work. EPA
must evaluate the situation and decide whether to suspend Bt cotton sales to
keep the cotton bollworm from developing resistance. If the FIFRA
biotechnology rule is not finalized, EPA will not have the power to require
resistance management plans or to intervene in future uses of Bt crops.
	Send your comments about these regulations to:

Carol Browner, Administrator
Envrionmental Protection Agency
(Mail Code 1101)
401 M Street SW
Washington, DC 20460
FAX: 202/260-0279
Letters should refer to OPPTS, docket control numbers OPP 300369 and OPP 300370.

Source: The Organic Report. The Organic Trade Association e-mail:
ota@igc.apc.org

	

Ronald Nigh
Dana Association
Mexico
danamex@mail.internet.com.mx
Tel & FAX: 529/678-7215