Bt cotton: a threat to environment?

Cultivation of genetically modified cotton seeds is increasing rapidly in Pakistan. In 2010, it was planted on 2.4 million hectares, 75% of total land dedicated to cotton cultivation. However, little or no attention is paid to the environmental repercussions of such breeds.
Cotton crop is one of the significant produces in the agro-based economies; hence, it directly or indirectly affects the world population due to its environmental and global economic integration. Ever-increasing demand for cotton in global, as well as in domestic markets, motivated agricultural countries to improve cotton crop yield by enhancing its resistibility against the pests' attacks, scarcity of water and other adversaries including environmental upsets. Consequently, the GM (Genetically Modified) cotton breeds were developed around the world to secure highest possible output. The crop's output is largely affected by two types of pests i.e. sucking and chewing. Genetically modified seeds most commonly Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton reduces the damage caused by 'Lashkari Sundi', 'American Sundi' and other bollworms, as its developers claim.
Genetic engineers induce a bacterium into the genome of cotton seeds harmful for the bugs and worms attacking the crop which ultimately reduces use of pesticides and insecticides. In terms of insecticides and pesticides consumption, cotton crop is considered to be the dirtiest crop as the most hazardous and dangerous chemicals are used to debug this natural produce. Cotton is cultivated on 2.5% of total world's cultivated land but it consumes 16% of pesticides of the globe. Alarmingly, a high usage of pesticides and insecticides has generated detrimental impact on ecosystem in general and human beings in particular, without making substantial increase in output. In such circumstances, the technology of organic, not Bt, cotton, emerged as a savoir. However, GM breeds particularly remained a controversial issue in international media because of its environmental hazards, ultimate outcome and other projected merits attached to it. Similarly, it's utility in terms of pest management and resistance towards other diseases harmful for cotton such as CLCV (Cotton Leaf Curl Virus) is questioned frequently by agricultural economists around the globe. Bt Cotton further aggravates this already precarious situation.
Pakistan, the fourth largest cotton producing country, enjoys remarkable place in global market, though stands atop in use of uncertified seeds, adulterated pesticides and fertilizers, which makes it vulnerable to the threats of CLCV (Cotton Leaf Curl Virus), and water stress under increasing temperature. For that reason, Pakistan lags far behind in terms of per Acre output. Solution lies in use of biotechnology, development of hybrid breeds and drafting. So, hunt for violable solution to control the vulnerability opens gateway to the tycoons of biotech - dominating public as well as private biotech breed developers. Here arises a natural clash of interest between domestic and global forces. Pakistan's natural vulnerability creates ample opportunity even for certain fake-claimers offering eternal solution to the problem, without any guarantee of success in the long run.
This dilemma results in wastage of national resources, on one hand, and the continuity of the core-issue, on the other hand. This matter of fact contradiction creates a dire need for critical evaluation of economic, as well as environmental prospects of GM cotton breeds in Pakistan. Nature has its own apparatus of balancing ecosystem in most effective manner. Hence, any undesirable intervention of human-beings mostly brings disastrous fallouts. The inevitable repercussions of Biotechnology have made it a controversial issue across the globe. The impact of Genetically Modified crops particularly food grain on human health and ecosystem is of major concern for the civil society and environmental activists. However, GM seeds of cotton gained wide range acceptance in many countries because of its projected benefits. On the contrary, GM seeds particularly the Bt cotton economically crippled developing economies such as Bangladesh, Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mali, Nepal, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Thailand, on one hand, and caused substantial environmental damage on the other. These countries have shown their concerns about genetic pollution health hazards and environmental degradation. However, Scientists have ambivalent stance over the environmental impact of Bt cotton predicting it "both sustainable and highly detrimental". It is difficult to envisage the future of GM cotton with certainty but in prevailing scenario it is causing more damage to the users than gain to the sellers.
The development of Bt cotton was intended to curtail the environmental damage caused by disquietingly high use of pesticides and insecticides on cotton crop. Unfortunately, the new technology itself befell hazardous to environment. The bacterium induced in the genome of cotton starts secreting a toxin in plants body at certain point of plants life cycle that kills the attacking insect with in few hours it bits the plant. This toxin is likely to enter the food chain in the form of cotton seed oil; adversely affecting human health. Similarly, cottonseeds and field trash is usually sold for animal feed and Bt toxin reportedly killed cattle gazed of cotton crop. There are several insects and bugs that support the ecologically system with there existence, experiments suggested that the toxin of Bt cotton is equally harmful for these nature friendly creatures as it kills them too. Laboratory research has proved that genetically modified cotton breed have adverse impact on eco-friendly bugs like Lacewings, ladybird beetles, monarch-butterfly larvae and soil biota. Similarly, Bt cotton users in India have reported loss of soil fertility as it infected the soil and they failed to cultivate any other crop on that soil afterwards. Bt cotton also exhibited a potential threat of development of more resistant super bugs. The super bug comes into existence when a pest sustains the attack of the toxin produced by the Bt bacterium and reproduces highly immune off springs.
The Environmental Protection Agency in USA has directed framers to use "refugia" in order to prevent the development of such insects. Cross pollination of Bt and non-Bt cotton is likely to contaminate the native/natural breeds and might result into creation of weaker and debilitating the offsprings of cotton plants. The challenges associated with this supposedly environment-friendly human developed cotton variety is obnoxious for environmentalists and civil society activists who are making hue and cry to fix its hazardous repercussions across the globe. As Bt cotton brings vital threat to growth and environment, the growers are advised to think twice when they decide to go for Bt seeds of cotton.