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The impact of GM corn in Spain











The impact of GM corn in Spain




A report by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth

August 2003










2

The impact of GM corn in Spain




A report by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth

August 2003





The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions provided by Hellen Groome, Isabel
Bermejo, Mar�a Ramos, Marta Piqueras, Jos� Manuel Delgado, Luis Ferreirim, Mario
Rodr�guez, Mamen Ill�n, Romeu, Teresa P�rez, M� Luisa Toribio, Isabelle Meister, Geert
Ritsema, Adrian Bebb, Emily Diamand, Marta Iba�ez, Ana Rosa Mart�nez, Andrea Rodr�guez
and all the persons that helped but prefer, for various reasons, not to be mentioned in this
document.


AUTHORS:
Liliane Spendeler, Friends of the Earth
Juan-Felipe Carrasco, Greenpeace


Original title: AL GRANO: IMPACTO DEL MA�Z TRANSG�NICO EN ESPA�A
This report is the translation of the original in Spanish that contains graphic information, pictures
of Spanish corn, statements by Spanish farmers unions, background information of GM dangers
for nature, health, agriculture and socio-economy, and a collection of articles about green
revolution and genetic basics.










Avda. de Canillejas a Vic�lvaro, 84 4�
28022 Madrid
Tel: 91 306 99 00
Email information: tierra@tierra.org
Email GMOs: transgenicos@tierra.org

www.tierra.org


Friends of the Earth Europe:
www.foeurope.org



San Bernardo, 107 1�
28015 Madrid
Tel : 91 444 14 00
Email information: informacion@greenpeace.es
Email GMOs: transgenicos@greenpeace.org

www.greenpeace.org/espana_es


Greenpeace International:
www.greenpeace.org


3

Contents




Introduction
4



Bt 176 corn: a controversial crop
6

since its approval in the EU and the USA


While more and more countries become cautious 10
Spain is the only one in the UE growing GMOs


While we keep discussing about the possible effects 16
problems from GM corn are already here


Bt corn in our fields
24
Who says we need it?


Conclusion
27



Books and documents 29


References 30



4
Introduction


Spain is presently the only country in the EU that tolerates the commercial release of GM crops,
although the acreage grown is relatively small (20.000-25.000 hectares according to unofficial
data). Since 1998, one variety of insect resistant corn, commercially known as Compa CB and
sold by Syngenta Seeds
a
, is planted in Spain.

This corn contains a genetic construct called Bt 176, consisting of a gene from the soil bacteria
Bacillus thuringiensis that encodes an insecticidal toxin able to kill Corn Borers and other
leptitoptera insects (moths & butterflies)
b
. It also has a gene that confers increased tolerance to
the herbicide glufosinate-ammonium and a gene conferring resistance to the antibiotic
ampicillin
c
.

Bt 176 varieties were amongst the first to be registered for commercial growing in the USA in
1995 (the authorization was not re-granted in 2001) and the first GM corn granted marketing
authorization for commercial growing and use in food and feed in the EU, where the approval
was politically very controversial.

Bt 176 was approved in the EU in February 1997, before the de facto moratorium on GMOs was
adopted by the EU council in 1999. It must be underlined that this moratorium is still in place,
given that several countries consider that legislation concerning GMOs needs improvement.

Over the last years many Member States became more cautious. Although France was the first
EU country to allow the commercial growing of Bt 176 corn, no more Bt corn is grown since
2000. France also banned the growing of GM oilseed rape. Germany banned the growing of Bt
maize and other countries (like Luxembourg and Austria) refused to give the green light to GM
crops.

Contrary to the precautionary position prevailing in the EU, in February 2003 the Spanish
Government took a step forward in its pro-GMO unilateral policy, approving 5 new insect
resistant corn varieties (with Bt 176 and MON 810 genetic modifications) for cultivation in Spain.

Unfortunately the only studies on GM crops available in Spain since 1998 have been produced
by industry, while the Government has failed to monitor commercial plantings in order to provide
an objective assessment of the impact of GM corn on farming, health and the environment.
Documents and reports issued in Spain by industry-funded bodies state that farmers are very
satisfied with results of Bt crops, but they fail to address the real issues of GMOs in agriculture
and are often based on non scientific approaches (see the paper written by Graham Brookes
consultancy
1,d
and presented in September 2002 by EuropaBio).


a
Syngenta is the result of the merger in November 2000 of the agribusiness parts of AstraZeneca, a UK
company, and Novartis, the Swiss giant. It is the worlds largest agribusiness firm, number 3 in seeds and
number 1 in agro-chemicals sales worldwide.
b
For example Ostrinia nubilalis, the European Corn Borer ECB and Sesamia nonagrioides, the other
corn borer present in Spain.
c
Commission Decision 97/98/EC: The product consists of inbred lines and hybrids derived from a corn
line which has been transformed using plasmids containing: (i) one copy of the bar gene, from
Streptomyces hygroscopicus, (ii) two copies of a synthetic truncated gene encoding an insect control
protein representing the active portion of the Cry1A(b) �-endotoxin, from Bacillus thuringiensis, (iii) the
prokaryotic gene bla (coding for a �-lactamase conferring resistance to ampicillin)...
d
The research funding for this study came from Agricultural Biotechnology in Europe
(
http://www.abeurope.info
) which counts among its members the following companies: BASF, Bayer Crop
Science, DowAgroSciences, DuPont, Monsanto and Syngenta, the six biggest agribusiness transnational
companies.
5
This report aims to provide some independent data on the most controversial GM crop in the
European Union, based on the Spanish experience with Bt 176 in the fields during 5 years.


Corn borer is a lepidopteran insect that can cause damage to corn crops in certain regions, as it can drill
the stems of some plants. However, the presence of this pest is not significant in Spain.

Genetically modified crops: What, where, who, how much
In 2002, the estimated global area of GM crops was 58.7 million hectares. The prevailing traits in
these crops were herbicide tolerance, insect resistance (Bt plants) or both, according to the last
report of ISAAA (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
2
.

Only four countries grew 99% of the total area (USA 66%, Argentina 23%, Canada 6% and
China 4%). Very few countries have adopted this technology in the rest of the world until now,
and GM areas in these countries are small.

Four companies control GM seed markets: Monsanto (who controls more than 90%), Syngenta,
Bayer and Dupont.

GMOs in our food: growing rejection

Genetic engineering enables scientists to create plants, animals and micro-organisms by
manipulating genes in a way that does not occur naturally. These genetically modified (GM)
organisms can reproduce and interbreed with natural organisms, thereby spreading to new
environments and future generations in an unforeseeable and uncontrollable way. Current
understanding of genetics is extremely limited and scientists do not know the long-term effects
of releasing these unpredictable organisms into the environment and of introducing them in
people's diets.

GM ingredients from GM crops are freely entering our fields and our food supply without
appropriate testing, without adequate safeguards in place and without explicit farmer and
consumer consent and knowledge. People should have the right to know about ingredients
derived from GM plants in their food and should have the right to avoid it in all countries.

Despite some governments and industry attempts to hide increasing evidence of risks and to
'educate' the public, opposition to genetic engineering continues to grow. Although transnational
companies and their political supporters want us to believe that GM food is safe and thoroughly
tested
e
, growing awareness about its threats has sparked a global wave of rejection (for
instance, surveys show that more than 70% of EU consumers are opposed to GM food). BSE
(mad cows d