The USDA is poised to greenlight Bayer’s new genetically engineered corn—despite serious concerns about its health, environmental, and contamination risks. Action Alert!
Listen to the audio version of this article:
THE TOPLINE
- The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is moving to exempt Bayer’s MON 95379 genetically engineered (GE) corn from regulatory oversight.
- Studies link genetically engineered crops like MON 95379 to organ damage, infertility, and increased pesticide use that harms soil health and biodiversity.
- Even with limited planting, GE corn has a well-documented history of contaminating non-GMO and organic crops, endangering food integrity and farmer livelihoods.
In a move that underscores the federal government’s continued embrace of biotech agriculture at the expense of public and environmental health, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is preparing to deregulate yet another genetically engineered (GE) crop: Bayer’s MON 95379 corn. This new variety, designed to produce two insecticidal proteins targeting lepidopteran pests (caterpillars of moths and butterflies), is on the verge of being released into the environment.
Bayer has petitioned APHIS to determine that this new GE corn poses no greater plant pest risk than conventional corn. Based on their internal assessment, APHIS agrees. If finalized, this deregulation would mean the corn is exempt from the already weak safety net of the permit system under federal regulations. This regulatory framework, minimal though it already is, at least demands confinement, monitoring, and reporting standards. Deregulation removes those guardrails entirely.
It’s worth noting that deregulation, in itself, isn’t inherently problematic. In fact, we’ve long advocated for a deregulatory approach when it comes to dietary supplements and the ability to communicate their health benefits—measures that empower consumers and support public health. But context is everything. Expanding access to natural health products is a far cry from giving the agritech industry free rein to unleash GE crops that may harm human health and the environment. These are two very different scenarios with vastly different implications.
GE Corn on the Loose: The Dangers of a Deregulated Future
MON 95379 is engineered to produce its own insecticide. While industry argues these toxins are harmless to humans and only target specific pests, independent science tells a different story. Peer-reviewed studies have shown that GE foods—especially Bt varieties (that express toxins from the bacteria Bacilllus thuringiensis) and Roundup Ready varieties (engineered to be resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller)—can have serious health impacts on mammals.
Concerns over Bt corn include:
- Mice fed Bt corn (MON810) showed immune system activation and intestinal disturbances.
- Bt Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac proteins caused liver and kidney toxicity in mice.
- Monarch butterfly larvae suffered increased mortality when exposed to Bt corn pollen on milkweed.
- Bt corn residue slowed growth and development of earthworms in soil.
Roundup Ready concerns include:
- Rats fed Roundup Ready corn showed liver and kidney deterioration.
- Mice consuming Roundup Ready soybeans had impaired embryonic development.
- Rats in other studies experienced DNA damage, reproductive harm, and organ toxicity.
- A well-known study by Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini found that rats consuming GE corn developed tumors, liver/kidney damage, and early death—a study so controversial it was attacked, retracted, and later republished in another respected journal.
And it’s not just rodents. A study of pigs fed GE feed showed severe gastrointestinal inflammation and poor growth, echoing the findings of Danish pig farmer Ib Pederson, who saw drastic improvements in his animals’ health when he switched away from GE feed. Even Atlantic salmon fed GE soy displayed higher inflammation than those on a non-GE diet.
The Environmental Fallout: Pesticides, Resistance, and Collapsing Biodiversity
The deregulation of this corn also perpetuates the pesticide treadmill—a vicious cycle in industrial agriculture where pests evolve resistance to chemical or genetic controls, prompting the development of stronger and more numerous interventions. MON 95379 is being developed to counter fall armyworm resistance to existing Bt corn in South America. But history has shown us how quickly pests adapt, requiring newer, more potent GE crops and more toxic chemicals.
In the big picture, studies have shown that herbicide-resistant crops like these have increased overall herbicide use, not decreased it. Glyphosate-resistant weeds now plague millions of acres of farmland. These chemicals don’t stay on the field: they contaminate water supplies, disrupt ecosystems, and kill beneficial organisms vital to soil health like worms, bees, beetles, and soil microbes.
Whose Interests Does the USDA Serve?
The purpose of the USDA is to regulate exactly this kind of agricultural product. Yet, when it comes to genetic engineering, the federal government has for decades embraced a “see no evil” approach. Despite mountains of scientific evidence of the health and environmental impacts these plants can have, most GE organisms reach the market with shockingly little independent pre-market testing. In fact, in 2020 APHIS tried to exempt from its regulations all GE plants with modifications the agency determined could have been developed through conventional breeding. A group of non-profits successfully sued APHIS over the rule and some of the exemptions were rolled back late in 2024, but it’s a sad commentary on where we are when the government needs to be sued to protect Americans instead of the biotech industry’s interests.
Corn, in particular, occupies a foundational place in the American food system. It’s not just what we eat—it’s what our livestock eat and what permeates processed foods in the form of high fructose corn syrup.
In its Environmental Assessment, APHIS notes that Bayer has registered MON 95379 with the EPA under a restricted use permit, limiting cultivation to no more than 100 acres per growing season across Nebraska, Hawaii, and Iowa. This ostensibly confines the GE corn to small-scale breeding, testing, and seed increase nurseries within the US.
However, even with these limitations, the risk of genetic contamination of non-GE corn remains significant and well documented. Gene flow from GE crops to conventional or organic varieties has been observed repeatedly, posing a serious threat to farmers who seek to maintain GE-free status and to consumers wishing to avoid GE foods in their diet. A new GE corn like MON 95379 could infiltrate our food supply in hundreds of hidden forms.
All of this comes on the heels of our executive and scientific director, Rob Verkerk, PhD, participating last week in a ‘MAHA in Action’ think tank held in Huron, Ohio, alongside 25 leading US regenerative farming experts. The goal of the meeting was to work collaboratively to maximize opportunities for regenerative farming as a foundational strategy with immense potential to improve the health of both US citizens who rely on its produce and the soil and local environments that sustain it.
Dr. Verkerk said, “The deregulation of MON 95379 is a backward step by the USDA and highlights the federal government’s continued failure to develop a coherent, multi-agency strategy that prioritizes the health and wellbeing of American citizens over the profits of commercial interests.”
Conclusion: Say No to Bayer’s GMO Corn
Deregulation of MON 95379 is not in the public interest. It’s about expanding market share for a global agrochemical giant. We have ample evidence to suggest that GE crops like this one pose risks to human health, exacerbate environmental degradation, and entrench a broken model of industrial agriculture.
We urge concerned citizens to use the form below submit comments to APHIS and demand a halt to the deregulation of MON 95379. It’s time for a precautionary approach to biotechnology—one that values ecological balance, food integrity, and human health over corporate convenience.
