Environmental dangers of

Of the 40 million hectares of genetically engineered (GE) crops grown throughout the world in 1998, 22% (8.8 million hectares) were varieties developed to be resistant to insects 1 . Most such crops are created by inserting a synthetic version of a gene from the naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), so that the plants produce their own Bt toxins to destroy pests. Insect resistant Bt maize, cotton and potatoes have already been grown extensively on a commercial scale, particularly in the USA, and many other Bt crops are under development (e.g. oilseed rape, rice and tomatoes).