GM crops may multiply pesticide use in Brazil, warn the Researchers

The request for the release of transgenic soybean and corn, resistant to the herbicide 2.4-D heated up the debate on the regulation of genetically modified crops and pesticides in Brazilian agriculture.

In December, researchers and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) asked the National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CTNBio), responsible for analyzing GMO sales orders, to suspend the proceedings for the release of 2.4-D-tolerant seeds, a herbicide used against weeds considered harmful to health.

They said the release of these GMOs could multiply alarmingly the use of 2.4-D in Brazil. On the other hand, they asked for a more rigid posture from the regulation department in releasing as many pesticides as transgenic and they warned the possible combination of these two products.

According to the Ministry of Environment, Brazil is now the largest global consumer of pesticides. The Brazilian market for GMO is also one of the largest in the world. Celeres consultancy said that almost all corn and soybean planted in the country today is genetically modified.

Experts interviewed by BBC Brazil said the expansion of transgenic stimulated the market of pesticides in the country, since most of the genetically modified seeds main characteristic is resistance to agricultural poisons. If this feature allowed greater control of pests on one hand, on the other it imposed risks to consumers, according to the researchers.

2.4-D herbicide

The 2.4-D herbicide is now freely sold in Brazil and it is used to clear land before planting.

Researchers said studies have linked the product to genetic mutations, hormonal disorders and cancer, among other environmental and health problems. 2.4-D is a component of Agent Orange used as a defoliant by the United States in the Vietnam War.

The MPF asked ANVISA (The National Health Surveillance Agency) to accelerate the revaluation of the business license of 2.4-D. The Ministry wants the result of ANVISA’s revaluation, started in 2006, to help CTNBio’s decision on transgenic resistant to the product.

On the other hand Dow AgroSciences, who manufactures the pesticide and is one of the companies seeking the release of GMOs associated with it, said the products are safe. In a statement to the BBC Brazil, the company said that "2.4-D is a herbicide that is on the market for over 60 years, approved in more than 70 countries."

The herbicide has approved use in recent revaluations in Canada and the United States. According to Dow, it is one of the most studied molecules of all time, generated after more than a decade of research and based on international standards for food and environmental safety.

Combined pesticides

The request for the release of 2.4-D resistant seeds reflects a common practice in the market of GMOs: the production of varieties tolerant to pesticides. Generally, as Dow, companies that sell these transgenic seeds also market products that they are resistant to.

"It is a misconception to say that GM crops reduce pesticide use," said Karen Friedrich, researcher and toxicologist at Fiocruz.

Friedrich quoted the release of transgenic soybean resistant to glyphosate pesticide as an example, which would have been accompanied by an exponential increase in the use of the product in crops.

Supposing the seeds resistant to 2.4-D are released, she estimated that there will be an increase of 30 times the consumption of the product.

According to the researcher, the 2.4-D can cause two types of adverse effects:  acute, which generally affect workers or people directly exposed to the substance, causing dizziness, headache or even death; and chronic, which may occur between consumers many years after exposure to small doses of the product by means of hormonal changes or cancers.

The doctor and professor at the Federal University of MatoGrosso (UFMT) Wanderlei Pignati, who has been researching the effects of pesticides for the past ten years, quoted another concern for the products: the associated use of different substances in the same plantation.

He said that although the registration of a pesticide is based on the effects of their use alone, many farmers apply various pesticides in the same plantation, increasing the risks.

Pignati participated in a study that monitored the exposure of the population of Lucas do Rio Verde in MatoGrosso, to pesticides, a city with one of the largest agricultural production in Brazil.

The research, according to the professor, found a number of problems including: the minimum distance limits for application of the pesticides near water sources, animals and residences is not met; contamination with pesticide residues in all 62 samples of breast milk in the city, and 50% higher incidence of accidents, poisoning, cancers, respiratory diseases and malformations in the county compared to the state average in the last ten years.

The researcher argued that the Federal Government invests more in the development of technologies that can replace pesticides - such as pest control by birds and rodents in agroforestry systems that combine agriculture with forest preservation.

CNA, the National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock, said pesticides (which they calls phytossanitary products) are essential to protect tropical agriculture from pests and weeds, as well as to increase crop yields.

Tug of war

Researchers and MPF also want a tighter from the departments responsible for analyzing the requests for release of pesticides and GMOs.

The release of pesticides requires approval from ANVISA (which analyzes the effects of the product on health), IBAMA (which measures damage to the environment) and the Department of Agriculture (which evaluates the efficiency of these substances).

On one side ANVISA is pressured by researchers and doctors, on the other side by politicians and pesticide manufacturers, who want greater flexibility in the analysis.

Ana Maria Vekic, General Manager of Toxicology at ANVISA, said there are several companies, including Chinese and Indian ones, waiting to enter the Brazilian pesticides market.

She said the lack of professional in ANVISA makes the tasks of the agency even harder. But the large farmers and politicians have another reason to be angry: the decision to reassess the licenses of some products.

According to Vekic, revaluations occur when new studies indicate risks related to pesticides - some of which are sold in Brazil decades ago, before ANVISA was found in 1999.

“When we started to re-discuss the products, we became a callus for large farmers," she told BBC Brazil. Unhappy, agribusiness representatives have tried to pass laws that reduce the powers of ANVISA in the regulation of pesticides.

"We do our best to protect us, but the pressure is violent," said Vekic.

When questioned about the controversy of the 2.4-D, CTNBio said in a statement that it would return to discuss the matter in February.

According to the commission, the planting of GM crops does not prevent the production of organic or other plant varieties.

CTNBio said that it is not designed to assess the risks of pesticides associated with GM, but to the safety of Genetically Modified Organisms.