En los últimos días, algunos medios han publicado notas informativas que pretenden hacer creer a los lectores que sólo existen dos posturas en el debate sobre los organismos genéticamente modificados (OGM): los científicos respetables protransgénicos frente a los activistas sin rigor científico. Esto es totalmente falso. Sin embargo, este argumento se está utilizando para descalificar la integración de puestos clave en la Comisión Intersecretarial de Bioseguridad de los Organismos Genéticamente Modificados (CIBIOGEM).

La Unión de Científicos Comprometidos con la Sociedad y la Naturaleza de América Latina (UCCSNAL) hace un llamado a los gobiernos y parlamentos de América Latina y a la sociedad civil, para que se prohíba el uso del glifosato, en razón del aumento de las evidencias de los graves efectos dañinos que este herbicida ocasiona en la salud humana y en especies claves para el equilibrio ecológico.

Brazil is the second largest producer of genetically modified plants in the world. This agricultural practice exposes native pollinators to contact and ingestion of Bacillus thuringiensis proteins (e.g. Cry toxins) from transgenic plants. Furthermore, native bees are also exposed to various herbicides applied to crops, including glyphosate. Little is known about the possible effects of glyphosate and Cry proteins on stingless bees, especially regarding exposure at an immature stage. Here, we show for the first time that glyphosate is lethal, and that Cry toxins (Cry1F, Cry2Aa) alter the development of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata upon contamination of larval food. Glyphosate was very toxic to the bee larvae, killing all of them within only a few days of exposure. Bees treated with Cry2Aa proteins had a higher survival rate and were delayed in their development, compared to the negative controls. Those treated with the Cry1F protein also suffered delays in their development, compared to the negative controls. In conclusion, the proteins Cry1F, Cry2Aa, and the herbicide glyphosate were highly toxic to the stingless bee M. quadrifasciata, causing lethal or sublethal effects which can severely impair colony growth and viability, and reduce pollination ability.