Use of genetically modified crops and pesticides in Brazil: growing hazards

Almeida, Vicente Eduardo Soares de; Friedrich, Karen; Tygel, Alan Freihof; Melgarejo, Luz Marina; Carneiro, Fernando Ferreira

doi:10.1590/1413-812320172210.17112017

Cited by 36 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…[50]. Almeida et al [51] analysed herbicide use in Brazil between 2000 and 2012 and reported an increase to more than 9 kg/ha of glyphosate (a.i.) for soybeans.…”

Section: Application Rates Of Glyphosate On Herbicide Tolerant Soybeamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Introduction of Thousands of Tonnes of Glyphosate in the food Chain—An Evaluation of Glyphosate Tolerant Soybeans

Bøhn

Millstone

2019

Foods

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Glyphosate-tolerant (GT) soybeans dominate the world soybean market. These plants have triggered increased use of, as well as increased residues of, glyphosate in soybean products. We present data that show farmers have doubled their glyphosate applications per season (from two to four) and that residues of late season spraying of glyphosate (at full bloom of the plant) result in much higher residues in the harvested plants and products. GT soybeans produced on commercial farms in the USA, Brazil and Argentina accumulate in total an estimated 2500–10,000 metric tonnes of glyphosate per year, which enter global food chains. We also review studies that have compared the quality of GT soybeans with conventional and organic soybeans. Feeding studies in Daphnia magna have shown dose-related adverse effects (mortality, reduced fecundity and delayed reproduction) of glyphosate residues in soybeans, even at glyphosate concentrations below allowed residue levels. We argue that GT soybeans need to be tested in fully representative and realistic contexts. However, the current risk assessment system has only required and received data from field trials with beans that were sprayed with much lower doses of glyphosate as compared to contemporary commercial farms. This has left knowledge gaps and a potentially serious underestimation of health risks to consumers.

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“…[50]. Almeida et al [51] analysed herbicide use in Brazil between 2000 and 2012 and reported an increase to more than 9 kg/ha of glyphosate (a.i.) for soybeans.…”

Section: Application Rates Of Glyphosate On Herbicide Tolerant Soybeamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Introduction of Thousands of Tonnes of Glyphosate in the food Chain—An Evaluation of Glyphosate Tolerant Soybeans

Bøhn

Millstone

2019

Foods

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“…Though the use of pesticide on soy is intensifying, soy shows extremely low gains in productivity from its use, displaying a 1:13 percentage point (pp) ratio. In comparison, two other GM crops that account for Brazil's major pesticide consumption-corn and cotton-show an approximate 1:1 pp productivity ratio [149]. This demonstrates that soy production is not effectively enhanced from increased pesticide use but rather it contributes to the cumulative growth of nation-wide agrotoxin consumption, which is increasing at a rate higher than overall crop productivity [149].…”

Section: The Overuse Of Agrotoxinsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Socio-Ecological Implications of Soy in the Brazilian Cerrado

Rekow

2019

CIS

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This paper summarizes the critical importance of the Cerrado savannah biome in Brazil and examines key ways in which large-scale agriculture, in particular large-scale soy farming, threatens water security and increases socio-ecological stress. It connects agribusiness expansion to the globalized meat industry by defining how complex economic relationships result in deforestation on a massive scale. It describes how this radical change in land cover has led to changes in rainfall patterns that are associated with extended drought periods and analyzes how these critical water shortages jeopardize socioeconomic health beyond the immediate region. Further, it explicates how intensified transgenic soy farming and other pesticide-heavy crop production contributes to rising public health crises associated with carcinogen-contaminated water and food sources. Lastly, it identifies emerging trends that suggest how agribusiness corporations and governments may be legally ascribed moral responsibilities for maintaining socio-ecological health of the biome. The paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the human dimensions of environmental issues and their impacts and reframe conservation social science discourse in regard to protection of land and water resources in the region.

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“…However, this does not alter the overall trend of sharply increased use of herbicides on HT GE soybeans in North and South America. Almeida et al [26] analysed pesticide use in Brazil between 2000 and 2012 and reported an increase of more than 120% per hectare for soybeans. A similar trend can also be observed in the USDA data [14] which is illustrated in Fig.…”

Section: Current Practice In the Cultivation Of Ht Ge Soybeans In Termentioning

confidence: 99%

Insufficient risk assessment of herbicide-tolerant genetically engineered soybeans intended for import into the EU

Miyazaki¹,

Bauer-Panskus²,

Bøhn

et al. 2019

Environ Sci Eur

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The introduction of herbicide-tolerant (HT) genetically engineered (GE) soybeans has raised new challenges for the European risk assessment of imported food and feed. Food and feed products derived from these plants may show specific patterns of chemical residues and altered nutritional composition. Furthermore, there has been a substantial increase in the usage of herbicides in soybean production due to the emergence of resistant weeds. This concerns particular glyphosate-based herbicides and also other herbicides. In this review, we give an overview of available data regarding glyphosate application on HT GE soybeans in North and South America. We have further compared this data with herbicide applications in experimental field trials conducted by the industry. We conclude that field trials carried out for risk assessment purposes do not generally represent the real agronomic conditions in commercial HT GE plant cultivation. In most cases, neither the applied dose nor the number of applications match real conditions. This finding is especially relevant for risk assessment since a review of relevant publications shows that the amount and timing of spraying glyphosate as a complementary herbicide onto HT GE plants can impact their composition; this is relevant to EFSA comparative risk assessment of GMOs. Further, closely related issues were identified that overlap with EU GMO and pesticide regulation, but are not currently considered. These issues concern indirect, cumulative and combinatorial effects as well as the assessment of mixed toxicity. Consequently, current risk assessment practice for HT GE plants cannot be considered to fulfil EU regulatory standards which require the safety of food and feed to be demonstrated. It is much more likely that concerns about the health risks of HT GE plant material used for food and feed have been underestimated. We therefore conclude that the EU risk assessment of food and feed derived from HT GE plants needs substantial improvement.

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Use of genetically modified crops and pesticides in Brazil: growing hazards

Abstract: Use of genetically modified crops and pesticides in

Cited by 36 publications

References 28 publications

The Introduction of Thousands of Tonnes of Glyphosate in the food Chain—An Evaluation of Glyphosate Tolerant Soybeans

The Introduction of Thousands of Tonnes of Glyphosate in the food Chain—An Evaluation of Glyphosate Tolerant Soybeans

Socio-Ecological Implications of Soy in the Brazilian Cerrado

Insufficient risk assessment of herbicide-tolerant genetically engineered soybeans intended for import into the EU

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