NOTE: This recent article, originally published in Danish, although hard to follow in places, seems to be about a quantitative analysis of the impacts of GM crops on non-target (beneficial) insects, as detailed in the peer reviewed literature.
The study was carried out by Gabor Lovei, a Senior scientist in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University in Denmark, and his colleagues. Their analysis seems to have revealed impacts not always apparent to the authors of the papers whose data they analysed.
Among the conclusions Lovei et al arrived at:
*Studies have only looked at the impact of GM crops on a relatively very small number of beneficial insects, despite claims to the contrary;
*This new analysis reveals more negative than positive impacts on beneficial insects from GM crops.
If anybody knows more about this study, please let us know.
The original Danish text was by Janne Hansen of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University. The text has been translated from Danish to English by the agricultural journalist, David Ashton.
We've tried to address the lack of clarity in places by making a few minor changes to the text - mostly indicated by [], where we felt the intended sense was possible to work out. For the unsullied translation: http://bit.ly/VzhYw
The original Danish text can be found below.
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Some GM crops are designed to kill harmful insects. Results show that the enemies of these pests may also be affected
Published: 24 October 2009
Plants that are genetically modified to kill the herbivorous insects may also affect these insects’ natural enemies.
[image caption: Some GM crops are designed to kill harmful insects. Results show that the enemies of these pests may also be affected.]
It's all out war out there in the farmer's field. Crops can either be lucky and grow in peace until harvest, or they may be unlucky and succumb to an attack by harmful insects. These insects have their own enemies such as predators or parasites. It is a rugged but natural order.
We humans love the crops in this perpetual struggle for survival, because we need feed crops and food. We therefore help the plants in various ways such as by breeding resistant crops, spraying crops with pesticides or, as in recent years, modifying the genetic composition of crops.
The advantages are many and well known, but what are not so well documented are the potential effects of GM crops on the order of nature. Have plants that are genetically modified to kill the herbivorous insects, effects on the predators that normally eat the herbivorous insects?
Senior scientist Gabor Lovei from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University and his colleagues set out to find some answers by using a new approach. They undertook a review of the literature by using a databased quantitative method to summarize the peer-reviewed literature dealing with the importance of genetically modified plants on insect natural enemies in laboratory studies.
Revealing study
The literature review revealed surprising results - results that had not been discovered or written about in the [original] articles themselves
Firstly, there are many people who claim that "these issues have been studied ad nauseam", but only 55 species of natural enemies has ever been studied in the laboratory and most of them [involved] just one experiment. There are many beneficial insects. Even in Danish fields, there may be 6,000 species, or even more.
Secondly, there is an inclination towards a small number of predator species, especially common [is] Golden Eye (Chrysoperla carnea), which appears to be more sensitive to plants genetically modified to kill the herbivorous insects than predators are generally, says Gabor Lovei and continues:
- In contrast to a simple count of votes [method], which is a method used in several previous literature reports, [] this [new] method gives us an objective data-based summary of current knowledge on these effects. We found that there are both positive and negative effects of GMOs on these pest natural enemies, with the most [inclining] to negative effects. The additional results that this different way of making literature at the statement revealed, was not anything that came to light. The authors of the article showed - although not intentionally - the very act of writing about the potential negative effects of GMOs [is] like [jigging] a hornets' nest.
Indeed, express[ing an] opinion on the environmental impacts of GM crops, whether the intention is positive or negative, conservative or biased, [is] so [surrounded] with problems that the prestigious journal Nature covered the topic in a long news article recently, where reactions to Gabor Lövei and his co-authors article is pulled up as an example [of attacks on researchers???].
Translated by David Ashton, Agricultural Journalist, from Danish to English
Above Text by: Janne Hansen
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
Aarhus University
Blichers Allé 20
8830 Tjele
Denmark
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
djf (a)agrsci.dk
Tel : Tel: +00 45 8999 1900
Original Danish Text Below
Publiceret: 24. oktober 2009
Planter, der er genetisk modificerede til at dræbe planteædende insekter, kan også påvirke disse insekters naturlige fjender.
Nogle GM-afgrøder er designet til at dræbe skadelige insekter. Resultater viser, at fjender af disse skadedyr også kan påvirkes. Foto: Philip Shirk Det er alles kamp mod alle derude i landmandens mark. Afgrøder kan enten være heldige og gro i fred og ro indtil høst, eller de kan være uheldige og bukke under for et angreb af skadelige insekter. Disse insekter har deres egne fjender, såsom rovdyr eller parasitter. Det er den barske men naturlige orden.
Vi mennesker holder med afgrøderne i denne evindelige overlevelseskamp, fordi vi har brug for afgrøderne til foder og fødevarer. Vi hjælper derfor planterne på forskellige måder, såsom ved at avle resistente afgrøder, sprøjte afgrøderne med pesticider eller, som i de senere år, modificere afgrødernes genetiske sammensætning.
Fordelene er mange og velkendte, men hvad der ikke er så veldokumenteret er de potentielle effekter af GM-afgrøder på naturens orden. Har planter, der er genmodificerede til at dræbe planteædende insekter, effekt på de rovdyr, der normalt æder de planteædende insekter?
Seniorforsker Gabor Lövei fra Det
Jordbrugsvidenskabelige Fakultet ved Aarhus Universitet og hans kollegaer satte sig for at finde nogle svar ved at anvende en ny indgangsvinkel. De foretog en gennemgang af litteraturen ved at anvende en databaseret kvantitativ metode til at opsummere den peer-reviewed litteratur omhandlende betydningen af genetiske modificerede planter på insekters naturlige fjender i laboratorieundersøgelser.
Afslørende undersøgelse
Litteraturgennemgangen afslørede overraskende resultater resultater, som de enkelte artikler i sig selv ikke havde afsløret eller skrevet om.
- For det første er der mange mennesker, som pÃ¥stÃ¥r, at "disse aspekter har været undersøgt til bevidstløshed", men kun 55 arter af naturlige fjender har nogensinde været undersøgt i laboratoriet og de fleste af dem i blot et enkelt eksperiment. Der er talrige nyttige insekter. Selv i danske marker kan der være 6.000 arter eller endda flere. For det andet er der en hældning mod et lille antal af rovdyrarter, især almindelig guldøje (Chrysoperla carnea ), som synes at være mere følsom over for planter, der er genmodificeret til at dræbe planteædende insekter end rovdyr er generelt, siger Gabor Lövei og fortsætter:
- I modsætning til en simpel optælling af forfatterstemmer, hvilket er en metode, der er anvendt i flere tidligere litteraturopgørelser, så giver denne metode os en objektiv databaseret opsummering af den eksisterende viden om disse effekter. Vi fandt, at der er både negative og positive effekter af GMO på disse skadedyrs naturlige fjender, med mest hældning til negative effekter.
De ekstra resultater, som denne anderledes måde at lave litteraturopgørelsen på afslørede, var ikke alt, der kom frem i lyset. Forfatterne til artiklen viste om end ikke med vilje at selve det at skrive om potentielle negative bivirkninger af GMO er som at pirke til en hvepserede.
Faktisk kan det at udtrykke sin mening om de miljømæssige pÃ¥virkninger af GM-afgrøder, hvad enten meningen er positiv eller negativ, forsigtig eller partisk, være sÃ¥ belagt med problemer, at det ansete fagtidsskrift Nature dækkede emnet i en længere nyhedsartikel for nylig, hvor reaktioner til Gabor Löveis og hans medforfatteres artikel er trukket frem som et eksempel.
Tekst: Janne Hansen