New Report Shreds Claims that GE Crops Reduce Pesticide Use

'A late-breaking study shows that genetically engineered (GE) crops have led to a 404 million pound increase in overall pesticide use from the time they were introduced in 1996 through 2011. This equates to an increase of about seven percent over the last 16 years.

The report, published in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe,1 effectively undermines the declared value of crops genetically engineered to be protected against herbicides and insects. The whole premise for GE crops was to make it easier to kill weeds and diminish crop loss to harmful pests.

But instead, these modified crops have led to resistance, both in weeds and pests, leaving farmers to struggle with an increasingly difficult situation. More than two dozen weed species are now resistant to glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Monsanto's broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup.'

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