Monsanto USDA Study: Mixing Non-GMO Seed with GMOs Not Helping Pest ResistanceFailure of Refuge in a Bag Method of GM Crop Help Did you know that farmers who plant genetically engineered crops need to also plant some non-GE crops in the same field? It is supposed to delay pest resistance to Bt corn crops. Chemical and biotech companies like Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer et al. have a long history of blaming farmers for failures of genetically modified crops and herbicides. When crop yields dont provide, when corn rootworm takes over, and when farmers have to hire extra help to hack down superweeds when they were promised an easier season the companies will be the first to throw farmers under the tractor. They like to claim that farmers arent following proper pesticide management and planting refuges. For a long time that reason was truly considered a factor. Then came RIBs refuge-in-a-bag. That way, some non-Bt corn would be pre-included in the Bt seed mixture. GMWatch reports: According to them, the study, A challenge for the seed mixture refuge strategy in bt maize: impact of cross-pollination on an ear-feeding pest, corn earworm was actually funded in part by Monsanto and the USDA. This writer was unable to locate the full text. It was originally published in PLOS ONE, in November. Researchers write: GMWatch explains: This could mean that the lack of pest control was never the fault of farmers that refuges simply do not work, and in the end show more complications from cross-pollination. Back to the drawing board for them. Please also see: Thanks for the Super Genes Weeds Receive Transgenic Material From GMOs Recent posts byHeather Callaghan: 