11/1 Hey, guess what! The EPA, you know those environmental folks over there in D.C., just might have done something to give farmers a hand.
Back in August, the agency announced that it would extend registrations of certain biotech, insect-resistant varieties of corn and cotton through the 2001 growing season.
Registrations for the crops, which contain an insect-resistant gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a common soil bacterium, were originally scheduled to expire in early to mid-2001. The agency also announced the procedures it would use in the future to extend the registration of these crops.
The decision appeared to reaffirm EPA’s confidence in the environmental safety of Bt crops. Last April, EPA denied a petition by Greenpeace and others to cancel the registrations of the crops, stating, “EPA is aware of no data indicating that unreasonable adverse effects on the environment have occurred during the period that Bt crops have been registered and used (since 1995)”
In a comprehensive 107-page report on Bt technology released, EPA found, among other things, that pollen transfer to wild plants from Bt plants is not likely; non-target beneficial organisms are maintained or enhanced in fields where Bt plant pesticides are used; decomposing Bt crops are not a threat to soil organisms, and programs are in place to protect against insect resistance.
The EPA’s decision was hailed by the American Crop Protection Association which represents the major manufacturers, formulators and distributors of crop protection and pest control products.
ACPA said it demonstrates how critically important publicly accessible, science-based processes are to public acceptance of new, agricultural technology.
The agricultural industry has been trying, for a deperately long time, to impress upon the environmental community the importance of science-based decision-making. Too often, science surrenders to political expediency and opportunity. Good public policy flows from open, sound scientific procedures. When our lawmakers and bureaucratic administrators, at whatever governmental level, learn that, and hold to it, the vast chasm between the environmental and agricultural communities may begin to close.