Children's Health Defense
A U.K.-based biotech company is seeking U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval to sell genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes directly to U.S. consumers as a “biopesticide.”
If the EPA approves the company’s product registration application, Oxitec could sell boxes of GM Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — under the brand name “Friendly” — directly to consumers across the U.S. in stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s, according to GMO Free USA.
After customers add water to the boxes, the GM mosquitoes hatch and take flight.
According to Oxitec:
“Friendly males carry a self-limiting gene that when passed on, prevents their offspring from surviving to adulthood. With regular releases of Friendly males, the number of offspring … is reduced, resulting in a reduction in the pest insect population.”
Critics say Oxitec has failed to scientifically show that its GM mosquitos are safe for human health, endangered species and the environment.
GMO Free USA Founder and Executive Director Diana Reeves told The Defender:
“It is mind-boggling that the EPA would consider the commercialization of a biopesticidal organism that has potentially consequential impacts on human health, endangered species and our environment without thorough study. No such studies have been performed.”
There would be no informed consent — meaning anyone bitten by a GM mosquito would be unaware of any risks associated with the insects…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (childrenshealthdefense.org)
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