Some of the world’s largest biotech companies have chosen the islands to develop their genetically engineered seed corn. As a result, agricultural lands remain productive, dozens of jobs are created, and millions of dollars are spent here. To many, Hawai`i’s supporting role in the booming world of genetically engineered crops is a source of pride.
Outside this island realm, however, the proliferation of transgenic corn crops has been viewed by many (even by supportive industry and government entities) as having the potential for far-reaching and potentially damaging ecological effects.
Local Giants
The seed corn industry in Hawai`i has been touted by the local media as one of the strongest, most promising crops to emerge in the post-sugar era of diversified agriculture. As of 1997, the state’s entire seed industry was valued at $22 million. Both natural and transgenic techniques are employed in the development of seed corn by companies that, in 1997, included Monsanto, Cargill (later bought by Monsanto for $1.6 billion), DeKalb (bought by Monsanto for $2.3 billion), Novartis, Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., and Garst Seed Company, a subsidiary of the Advanta Group, a Netherlands/UK consortium that is the fourth largest seed company in the world.
The most recent development in Hawai`i has been the start of construction of Iowa-based Pioneer Hi-Bred’s $8 million seed corn plant on 11.6 acres in Waialua. The facility is scheduled to be completed in August.
Last year, a mild furor arose among the North Shore’s Ranch Camp community when Pioneer Hi-Bred International first announced its plans to build the 30,000 square foot processing plant in Waialua, on the North Shore of O`ahu.
“It blows my mind that they’re getting as much strife as they’re getting,” Sue Sullivan was quoted as saying in a report carried by The Honolulu Advertiser. “You’d think these people in Waialua would be delighted to have jobs now that the sugar mill is gone,” said Sullivan, research and development manager for Garst Seed.
Residents were reported to be worried that the plant, which would be fewer than 200 feet from Ranch Camp, would increase noise, dust, and flooding in the area. Residents also complained that they were never consulted about plans to develop the facility.
After several meetings with Ranch Camp residents, Pioneer Hi-Bred agreed to add a 20-foot earthen berm to block the plant from sight; to build a warehouse between the two sites to reduce noise; and to pave the access road to the plant to reduce dust.
Ecological Effects
Many biotech critics argue that the environmental problems that transgenic crops pose are far more serious than noise or dust. The creation of “superbugs” is probably the best known concern, since most transgenic corn is engineered to kill insect pests.
The way that most, if not all, biotech companies create pest-resistance in their corn plants is by inserting into them the genes of a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt. Bt has been historically used in “integrated pest management (IPM) strategies because of their remarkably selective toxicity for the leaf-eating larvae of moth and butterfly species,” according to Against the Grain, a book on genetic engineering by Mark Lappe and Britt Bailey. The bacteria have insecticidal properties that are activated once they’re eaten by caterpillars.
Last year, Bt corn was planted on about 15 percent of U.S. corn acreage (roughly 12 million acres), and industry estimates say that figure could rise to 25 percent next year, according to a January 29 Reuters report.
The large-scale use of Bt threatens its ability to be useful in the long run. A study published in 1991 found that more than 500 insect species had developed resistance to at least one pesticide. The emergence of Bt-resistant insects not only renders the multi-million dollar technology useless, it also ruins forever one of organic farming’s major tools of insect control.
The development of Bt-resistance in insects would seem to be just a matter of time — and that time is at hand. A report carried in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of April 14, 1997, stated that “1.5 out of 1000 moths larvae carry the gene to overcome Bt toxin, literally a thousand times more than had previously been expected.”
Since then, the National Corn Growers Association has forged an agreement with Monsanto, DeKalb, Dow Chemical, Mycogen Seeds, Dow AgroSciences, Novartis, and Pioneer Hi-Bred International to plant 20 percent “traditional” corn (that is, corn without the Bt genes). In addition, growers would agree to plant up to 50 percent of cotton fields with non-Bt varieties, since some Lepidoptera (the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths) feed on both corn and cotton.
In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency restricts the use of Bt corn in Southern cotton growing areas to 100,000 acres, in an effort to prevent the development of Bt resistance in corn pests. The plantings of traditional corn are meant to serve as breeding grounds for insects that might otherwise develop Bt resistance.
For further reading on agricultural biotechnology, see Against the Grain, by Marc Lappe and Britt Bailey, Common Courage Press (1998).
— Teresa Dawson
Volume 9, Number 12 June 1999
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