Assuntos
Agricultura/economia , Financiamento de Capital , Produtos Agrícolas , Gado , Pesquisa/economia , AnimaisRESUMO
This study provides the first evidence of a direct link between the adoption of a genetically modified (GM) crop and improvements in human health. Estimation of the impact of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton adoption on pesticide use from data from a survey of cotton farmers in northern China, 1999-2001, showed that Bt cotton adoption reduced pesticide use. Assessment of a health-production function showed that predicted pesticide use had a positive impact on poisoning incidence. Taken together, these results indicate that the adoption of Bt cotton can substantially reduce the risk and the incidence of poisonings.
Assuntos
Produtos Agrícolas/genética , Gossypium/genética , Saúde Ocupacional , Praguicidas , Plantas Geneticamente Modificadas , Agricultura , Bacillus thuringiensis/isolamento & purificação , China , Produtos Agrícolas/microbiologia , Gossypium/microbiologia , Humanos , Modelos Biológicos , Exposição Ocupacional/prevenção & controle , Praguicidas/toxicidade , Plantas Geneticamente Modificadas/microbiologia , Distribuição de PoissonRESUMO
Bt cotton is spreading very rapidly in China, in response to demand from farmers for technology that will reduce both the cost of pesticide applications and exposure to pesticides, and will free up time for other tasks. Based on surveys of hundreds of farmers in the Yellow River cotton-growing region in northern China in 1999, 2000 and 2001, over 4 million smallholders have been able to increase yield per hectare, and reduce pesticide costs, time spent spraying dangerous pesticides, and illnesses due to pesticide poisoning. The expansion of this cost-saving technology is increasing the supply of cotton and pushing down the price, but prices are still sufficiently high for adopters of Bt cotton to make substantial gains in net income.
