Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research - NYTimes.com

Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research - NYTimes.com:

"Biotechnology companies are keeping university scientists from fully researching the effectiveness and environmental impact of the industry’s genetically modified crops, according to an unusual complaint issued by a group of those scientists. Insect-resistant corn varieties are bred to repel rootworms. Enlarge This Image Craig Lassig for The New York Times Ken Ostlie, an entomologist, said Syngenta had withdrawn its permission and a study about corn and rootworms had to stop. ‘No truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions,’ the scientists wrote in a statement submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency. The E.P.A. is seeking public comments for scientific meetings it will hold next week on biotech crops. The statement will probably give support to critics of biotech crops, like environmental groups, who have long complained that the crops have not been studied thoroughly enough and could have unintended health and environmental consequences."