PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #63: Late Breaking and Newsworthy Papers.
Friday, August 9. Presentation from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC
1
Environmental impacts of biotechnology-derived cotton, corn and soybean.
ONSTAD, DAVID*,1, 1 University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
ABSTRACT- At the request of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), a team of six scientists used the scientific literature to conduct a comprehensive and critical analysis of the environmental impacts of biotechnology-derived cultivars of corn, soybean, and cotton. The results of the analysis were scheduled for release during June 2002. Rather than address potential impacts in isolation, the information was presented in the context of current agricultural options. Thus, environmental impacts of biotechnology-derived and conventionally bred crops were compared with regard to pest management and cropping practices. This is the first in-depth, comprehensive evaluation of these crops. The major environmental factors addressed are those that have been raised repeatedly in the peer-reviewed literature, in regulatory environmental assessments, and in the popular press. The nine major environmental factors identified for the comparative analysis included, (1) changes in pesticide use patterns; (2) soil management and conservation tillage; (3) crop weediness; (4) gene flow and outcrossing; (5) pest resistance; (6) pest population shifts; (7) non-target and beneficial organisms; (8) land and energy use efficiency; and (9) human exposure. This poster presentation by one of the report authors will present the general and crop-specific conclusions that were developed from the analysis of the literature and ten recommendations for future research activities.
KEY WORDS: population genetics, soil conservation, non-target organisms, Bt corn