The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published a new report on the monitoring of MON810 maize cultivation in Spain. EFSA criticises Bayer for not fulfilling its obligations to monitor the fields where the insecticidal maize is grown. There have been concerns for several years that the transgenic maize may outcross and hybridise with teosinte. This latter species is considered to be a noxious weed in the Spanish maize fields. Nevertheless, Bayer failed to officially report these risks to the EU institutions as required.
Recently published data from a Spanish state research institute show that the risks of such hybridisation occurring have been underestimated. The scientists found that the likelihood of transgenic maize passing its gene constructs to teosinte was much higher than previously thought.
The transgenic offspring of the GE maize grew taller and flowered earlier in comparison to the natural teosinte, thus increasing the probability of spread in the environment. The offspring also produced the same amount of the insecticide as MON810. If these hybrid plants grow in the fields, they may spread rapidly and endanger maize production as well as ecosystems. Unlike maize, both teosinte and their hybrids can persist permanently in the environment and produce offspring spontaneously. As a result, the transgenes can also persist and spread without control.
EU GMO regulation requires the monitoring of environmental risks if genetically engineered (GE) plants are cultivated commercially. However, in its annual monitoring reports, Bayer did not mention the teosinte problem. Instead, Testbiotech was the first to alert the EU Commission, who subsequently requested an EFSA opinion.
EFSA has now confirmed that “the evidence indicates that the hybridisation potential between maize MON 810 and teosinte found in Spain can be greater than assumed previously”, that the hybrid offspring “may be more vigorous (e.g. taller, thicker stem, more leaves) than teosinte” and “that teosinte/maize hybrids express the Cry1Ab protein at similar levels than maize MON 810.”
EFSA has further requested data to assess the invasiveness and hybridisation potential between maize MON 810 and teosinte in field conditions. EFSA also criticises Bayer for not establishing appropriate distances between areas where transgenic maize is grown and protected areas. Furthermore, the data now published show a slight increase in the resistance of some the target pest insects, and a strong decrease in the number of hectares of GE maize cultivation.
The appearance of teosinte was first observed in Spain in 2014. It originated in Mexico and is considered to be a wild relative of maize. The spread of teosinte in Spain has already led to crop losses, as the teosinte plants are often only detected in the fields at harvest time. Testbiotech called on the EU Commission as early as 2016 to stop the cultivation of the GE maize in the affected regions, and thus prevent the uncontrolled spread of the transgenes. There are reports that teosinte has already acquired herbicide resistance from previous crossings with maize in other regions.
The authorisation for the cultivation of MON810 was issued to Monsanto in 1998 and it expired after ten years. The authorisation has never been renewed. This means that even though the official authorisation for the cultivation of GE maize was only granted for 10 years, it has been grown for the past 17 years with no further EU decision. Testbiotech believes this to be a serious case of maladministration on the part of the EU Commission.
Testbiotech wrote a letter to the EU Commission in April 2024, informing them about the new evidence and with a demand to stop cultivation. However, the EU Commission, which is known for its pro-GE position, rejected this demand.
Contact:
Christoph Then, info@testbiotech.org, Tel + 49 151 54638040
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