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Monsanto develops soy product for Brazil
Posted: Friday, June 26, 2009 2:41 pm
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Consistently, Monsanto has focused on developing products addressing the needs of farmers in North America, albeit products which later prove to be useful for famers elsewhere around the world. Monsanto has departed from this pattern with the development of insect-resistant soy -- something needed by farmers in Brazil. After that, it's back to business as usual, which is getting import permissions from Brazil's international trade partners. This is, truly, a notable event in the internationalization of agricultural science.

The product will offer farmers latest yield enhancing technology with Roundup Ready 2 Yield along with an in-seed option to further combat the yield robbing lepidopteran insects that infest Brazilian farms. Tolerance to Roundup agricultural herbicides will also be included in a "stacked" product.

"We expect this product to provide a step change for Brazilian soybean farmers by protecting against insects that cause significant economic loss combined with the increased yield provided by the Roundup Ready 2 Yield trait, which was introduced commercially this year in the United States," said Roy Fuchs, oilseed technology lead for Monsanto. "Better insect control can help reduce pesticide applications and offer farmers yield protection, thus helping agriculture meet the food, fuel and fiber needs of a growing population."

The company expects to commercialize Bt Roundup Ready 2 Yield (TM) soybeans in Brazil in the early to middle part of the next decade pending global regulatory approvals. Submissions to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have also been completed. Submissions to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and key import markets will occur over the next several months.

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Monsanto anticipates the product's value will be between $300 million and $500 million in 2020.

But, what is the science behind the insect-resistant feature? And which insects are involved? Already, some activists are latching on to the "lepidopteran" designation, and concluding that the soy "kills butterflies". For the activists, resurrecting the failed Losey/Monarch butterfly studies would not be out of the question

On March 21, 2007, Monsanto applied for an Experimental Use Permit to grow an insect-protected soybean, MON 87701, that produces the Cry1Ac protein to provide protection from feeding damage from certain lepidopteran pests.

According to the application:
This insect-protected soybean product has a limited fit in the United States since only a small portion of the United States soybean production acres are significantly and consistently affected by the target lepidopteran pests. The purpose of growing MON 87701 in the United States is to evaluate and further develop the product in support of a planned commercialization in South America.
This is probably the product Monsanto is talking about in its press release.

It appears that the Cry1Ac protein has little effect on Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), but they are Brazilian cotton pests.

On the other hand, field trials of soybean with Cry1Ac showed effective resistance to Corn Earworm, Soybean Looper, Velvetbean Caterpillar (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and Lesser Cornstalk Borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

So, it looks like these are the target insect pests of MON 87701, and that none of them are butterflies.
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