EPA Wants To Regulate Genetically Modified Corn Because It's Breeding Stronger Bugs

The Environmental Protection Agency wants to regulate genetically modified corn, saying it's breeding stronger bugs. "The plan is aimed at widely grown corn varieties sold by Monsanto Co. , the first to sell rootworm-resistant corn, and rival seed makers including DuPont Co. and Dow Chemical Co. Such corn seeds have been genetically modified to secrete proteins that are toxic to destructive insects, but safe for human consumption, helping to reduce farmers’ reliance on synthetic pesticides. ... Midwestern farmers’ embrace of pest-resistant corn since the first varieties’ launch in 1996 has diminished its power over some bugs like the corn rootworm, however. Repeated exposure to the corn’s bug-killing proteins means that the small number of rootworms that are able to consume the BT toxin and live can reproduce by the thousands and spread across fields that are used to grow corn year after year." Jacob Bunge in The Wall Street Journal