U.S. farmers planting cotton modified to make Bt toxin used one million pounds less pesticide in 1998 than in previous years. Plants have also been modified to resist a weed-killing chemical that is much less harmful to the environment than older herbicides. For some crops the amount of herbicide can be reduced. More than 100 weeds have already emerged that can survive the herbicides used liberally around traditional crops since the 1950s. To slow the evolution of bugs resistant to the Bt toxin pesticide, the EPA now requires farmers to plant a certain percentage of traditional crops alongside the biotech variety.
Researchers continue searching for new ways to manage pests.
Our traditional staple crops, such as corn, wheat, rice and soybeans, have been bred for greater quantity and quality for thousands of years. Today we continue this tradition of genetic modification using both conventional breeding practices and biotechnology techniques to insert specific genes for crop improvement. No food is completely natural except for wild berries, nuts, fish and game harvested from the wild.