In addition to allowing agricultural land to be diverted to other uses modern technology has had a beneficial impact on the environment. With the introduction of transgenic varieties, proliferation in the use of integrated pest management (IPM) practices and implementation of area-wide pest management programs the number of pesticide applications has been reduced by 50%.
Reduction in Insecticide Applications
From: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference Cotton Insect Losses
Although the number of insecticide applications shows trends in pesticide usage it does not address the amount of pesticide applied nor does it address the toxicity of the material or its environmental impact. These are components that make up the environmental footprint. This is best demonstrated in a complex equation - An Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) - derived by scientists at Cornell University for all crops and most chemical pesticides used in agriculture [Kovachs, j, C. Petzoldt, J. Degni, J. Tetti (1992) A method to measure the environmental impact of pesticides. New York’s Food and Life Sciences Bulletin. Geneva, NY: NYS Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, (http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/publications/eiq/ )]. It is a robust measure of the environmental impact of that technology and incorporates toxicity and environmental exposure data to determine the environmental footprint of a particular practice.
From 1996 to 2006 there has been a decrease of more than 123 million kilograms (271 million pounds) of pesticide active ingredient used in cotton with a decrease of more than 23% in the environmental impact in countries employing biotechnology.
Changes in the Environmental Impact of Cotton Production Attributed to Biotechnology
| Trait |
Change in Volume of AI used (million kg)
|
% Change in AI in Countries Planting Transgenic Cotton |
% change in Environmental Impact in Countries Planting Transgenic Cotton
|
| Herbicide tolerant cotton |
- 28.6 |
- 15.1 |
- 22.7 |
| Insect resistant cotton |
- 94.5 |
- 19.4 |
- 24.3 |
| |
- 123.1 |
- 17.3 |
- 23.5 |
From: Brooks,G. and P.Barfoot.2006.GM Crops: The First Ten Years - Global Socio-Economic and Environmental Impacts. ISAA Brief No. 36. ISAAA: Ithaca,NY.
The greatest environmental benefit has been realized in developing countries as a result of insect resistant cotton whereas developed countries have benefited more from the herbicide tolerance technology.
Environmental gains from the herbicide tolerance traits have come from the facilitation of changes in farming systems. Herbicide tolerance technology has played an important role in the move away from conventional tillage to conservation tillage production systems. This change in production system has reduced levels of greenhouse gas emissions from reduced tractor fuel use and facilitated soil carbon sequestration. In addition conservation tillage conserves top soil, preserves soil moisture and reduces runoff. Another benefit of herbicide tolerant technology is an improvement in water quality through the use of more benign herbicides that rapidly dissipate (Carpenter, J., A. Felsot, T. Goode, M. Hammig, D. Onstad, and S. Sankula. 2002. Comparative
Environmental Impacts of Biotechnology-derived and Traditional Soybean, Corn, and Cotton Crops. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa. www.cast-science.org).
