Event 176

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Ciba Seeds Event 176 Corn was the first variety of Bt Corn deregulated (legalized) in the United States. It is a corn variety genetically engineered by the company Ciba Seeds to be European Corn Borer Resistant. It was deregulated in the U.S. on May 17, 1995 and commercialized in the U.S. in 1998. Bt crops and genetically modified organisms are controversial around the world.

U.S. Deregulation

The first company to come out with a variety of Bt corn was Ciba Seeds. It submitted its petition for deregulation to the USDA on November 15, 1994. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published a notice in the Federal Register February 21, 1995, alerting the public to the petition and soliciting public comments, due by April 24, 1995. The USDA conducted an environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and issued a "finding of no significant impact" (FONSI). Event 176 Corn was deregulated on May 17, 1995.

Upon deregulation, the USDA reported in the Federal Register:

"Ciba Seeds' Event 176 Corn has been genetically engineered to express an insect control protein representing a truncated form of the CryIA(b) protein that occurs naturally in Bacillus thurigiensis subsp. kurstaki (Btk), a common gram-positive soil bacterium. Btk proteins are very effective against certain lepidopteran insects, including European corn borer (ECB). Even 176 Corn has been modified to produce the CryIA(b) protein in green tissues and pollen cells. During field tests of Event 176 Corn, ECB infestations were significantly reduced as compared to the nontransgenic control plants."[1]

1998: Commercialization

In 1997, Ciba-Geigy merged with Sandoz and Ciba Seeds was dissolved. In 1998, Wensman Seed, the company that had produced, marketed, and sold Ciba Seeds, introduced Event 176 in a commercial corn seed.[2]

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. Federal Register, Vol 60, No 119, June 21, 1995.
  2. Wensman Seed, Accessed August 11, 2012.

External resources

External articles