Widestrike GMO approved in Brazil

Brazil's National Committee for BioSafety (CTNBio) recently approved the commercial use of the transgenic cotton WideStrike in Brazil. This genetically modified organism (GMO), manufactured by Dow AgroSciences Industrial (a Dow Chemical company division), is known for being resistant to several worm pests such as cotton bollworm, tobacco budworm, beet armyworm, fall armyworm, soybean loopers, cabbage loopers and pink bollworm.

CTNBio's technical advisory board concluded that WideStrike was safe for human and animal consumption and may reduce the use of insecticides, thus decreasing the possibility of damage to the environment and human health.

The next application in line for approval by CTNBio’s board seems to be Bollgard II, owned by Monsanto. Bollgard II and WideStrike have both BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) technologies, controlling the attacks of Lepidopterans larvae on vegetative and reproductive parts of the cotton plant.

Source: news item prepared for IP Tango by Jorge Miguel Arruda da Veiga ((Di Blase, Parente, Vaz e Dias).