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Genetically engineered maize produces insect-poisonous invasive wild plant
Danger of the spread of transgenic wild plants
While the cultivation of MON810 has been banned in Germany for around 15 years, the GMO maize can still be cultivated in Spain due to a multiple extension of the EU cultivation authorisation. Its transgenic protein, which is toxic to insects, is intended to protect the plants against the European corn borer pest.
Scientists at the Spanish state research institute INIA-CSIC (Centro Nacional Instituto de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria) have now shown in field trials that the genetically engineered maize is highly likely to cross with the original maize teosinte, which came to Spain from Mexico, and transfer the transgene for the insecticide to the wild plants. The resulting hybrids grow taller and bloom earlier, which favours their spread and leads to harvest losses in regular maize crops.
End to genetically engineered maize cultivation called for at Bayer Annual General Meeting
Based on these new findings from Spain, Christoph Then from the Institute for Independent Impact Assessment in Biotechnology Testbiotech called for the cultivation of MON810 to be stopped in the EU at the Bayer Annual General Meeting 2024. If cultivation is not stopped in Spain, there is a risk that invasive populations of insecticidal, transgenic, hybrid wild forms will emerge, with negative effects on the ecosystem.
Teosinte was first discovered in Spain in 2014. As early as 2016, Testbiotech called on the EU Commission to stop the cultivation of MON810 due to the risk of uncontrolled spread of the transgenes. This has not happened; in fact, the provisional extension of the cultivation authorisation has now been in place for 17 years.
End of cultivation permit overdue
However, MON810 has not been able to establish itself in Spain. The area under cultivation shrank from 140,000 hectares to less than 50,000 hectares. Overall, the GMO maize was unsuccessful in Europe. An end to the EU cultivation permit is therefore overdue, especially as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has further concerns about the development of resistance to the transgenic protein in the European corn borer.
Testbiotech is calling for an end to the cultivation of GE maize MON810