Seven hundred and fifty million genetically engineered mosquitoes will soon be released in Florida and Texas. But environmentalists protest
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himSeven hundred and fifty million genetically modified mosquitoes they will be released in Florida and Texas as an attempt to control the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito which spreads diseases such as Zika, Dengue, yellow fever and other diseases. But according to environmentalists, the plan is a "Experiment from Jurassic Park", because no one has calculated the risks and above all the environmental impact.
We had already talked about it back in 2015, because this idea of introducing a GM species into nature has been under consideration by scientists for a while. But now there are certainties because last Tuesday the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services gave the green light to the plan to rid the millions of mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, the series of islands that extend from the southern tip of the state. starting as early as this summer.
The test bed for Oxitec, a British biotechnology company, will therefore be the United States. What are these GM mosquitoes? Insects created in laboratories, in short, manipulated that contain a protein that decreases their survival capacity and that will prevent them from biting people and spreading diseases such as Zika, dengue or yellow fever. At least that's what the company says, backed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which approved the Florida plan in full, as well as a further step next year which will take place in Harris County, Texas and has ensured that there will be no dangers for citizens and for the natural cycle. But the environmentalists do not think so and they criticize the EPA for having given the green light without having ascertained the environmental impact. For example, has it been evaluated what could happen if something goes wrong in this experiment? And what would, for example, be the consequences on the food chain?
The plan is a “Experiment from Jurassic Park. What could go wrong? We don't know, because they illegally refused to seriously analyze environmental risks, ”says Jaydee Hanson, director of policy at the International Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety, the International Center for Technology Assessment and Food Safety. And this is echoed by executive director of the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, Barry Wray, who comments: "People here in Florida don't want genetically modified mosquitoes, much less be human experiments."
In fact, Friends of the Earth, GMO Free USA, Center for Food Safety and other groups have filed a lawsuit for denounce the EPA regarding the issuance of permits, arguing that the Environmental Agency violated the Endangered Species Act at the time of issuing the permit, but officials respond that comprehensive reviews have been made and that mosquitoes pose no risk to human health or the environment, including fish and other aquatic species, birds, bats, plants, invertebrates or endangered species.
The EPA permit allows Oxitec to initially release male mosquitoes and alert state officials 72 hours in advance to conduct continuous monitoring and prevent any of the mosquitoes from reaching adulthood. Another idea is to promote the mating of genetically modified male mosquitoes with wild female mosquitoes. The mating larvae could not survive according to scientists. In short, a real experiment that raises many concerns, since it is difficult to predict in advance what will happen.
For those wishing to learn more about the formation of these Gm mosquitoes CLICK HERE
Fonti: UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONAGENCY WASHINGTON/The Guardian/Alliance for science
Read also:
- GMO mosquitoes: mass mobilizations in Burkina Faso against the experiments
- Millions of GMO mosquitoes soon released in Florida against viral diseases
