Monsanto corn under attack by superbugs

[Lady Henevere]

According to the news today, a "superbug" resistant to genetically engineered corn is attacking crops in Iowa.

Widely grown corn plants that Monsanto Co. genetically modified to thwart a voracious bug are falling prey to that very pest in a few Iowa fields, the first time a major Midwest scourge has developed resistance to a genetically modified crop.

Resistance in weeds is already a problem:

Superweeds immune to Roundup have spread to millions of acres in more than 20 states in the South and Midwest.

And...

Scientists at Monsanto and Syngenta AG of Basel, Switzerland, are already researching how to use a medical breakthrough called RNA interference to, among other things, make crops deadly for insects to eat. If this works, a bug munching on such a plant could ingest genetic code that turns off one of its essential genes.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904009304576532742267732046.html

Shares of farm chemical and seed maker Monsanto Co. tumbled nearly 4 percent early Monday on a published report about rootworms that are developing resistance to a natural pesticide the company makes.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011...mp-wholesalers-us-monsanto-mover_8648396.html

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

According to the news today, a "superbug" resistant to genetically engineered corn is attacking crops in Iowa.

Widely grown corn plants that Monsanto Co. genetically modified to thwart a voracious bug are falling prey to that very pest in a few Iowa fields, the first time a major Midwest scourge has developed resistance to a genetically modified crop.

Resistance in weeds is already a problem:

Superweeds immune to Roundup have spread to millions of acres in more than 20 states in the South and Midwest.

And...

Scientists at Monsanto and Syngenta AG of Basel, Switzerland, are already researching how to use a medical breakthrough called RNA interference to, among other things, make crops deadly for insects to eat. If this works, a bug munching on such a plant could ingest genetic code that turns off one of its essential genes.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904009304576532742267732046.html

Shares of farm chemical and seed maker Monsanto Co. tumbled nearly 4 percent early Monday on a published report about rootworms that are developing resistance to a natural pesticide the company makes.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011...mp-wholesalers-us-monsanto-mover_8648396.html

 

[CrimsonRose]

GMO is some scary stuff!

 

[k15n1]

There's no defense like genetic diversity.

http://www.seedsavers.org/

 

[Augustmomx2]

Shocker! Thanks for sharing...time for some reading

 

[Neko-chan]

...

 

[valmom]

Now, who would have thought! <insert sarcasm here>

 

[2dream]

Actually this is very scary. It was bad enough. There previous GM crops have now created a super bug. So now they are working on a new GM crop to kill the super bug because they think they are smarter than the bug. Never once thinking - oops - well darn, if the bugs developed a resistance to this GM engineered crop we better stop because we may end up creating the Worm that Eats Iowa.

 

[Wifezilla]

Great fodder for the next generation of horror movies.

 

[OrganicKale]

Great fodder for the next generation of horror movies.

I could not have said it better.