Monsanto's latest claims of eco-efficiency were rejected by the Irish environmental group Genetic Concern, which accused the company of "yet another attempt to jump on the green bandwagon". Mr Quentin Gargan said biotechnology might bring enormous benefits for agri-business, but he disputed the extent to which consumers, developing countries or the environment would benefit.
He added: "If a plant is genetically altered so that it produces its own insecticide, this may mean fewer sprays but, if anything, it significantly increases the overall amount of insecticide used in the field and consumed in the end-product."
Similar claims relating to herbicide should be dismissed, Mr Gargan said, because board-spectrum weed-killers were being used with the technology, and conservation groups believed they could be more damaging to important ecosystems than the herbicides they replaced.
Claims that the biotech industry had initiated monitoring and labelling practices should he rejected, he said. The industry had so far hindered "any attempt at meaningful labelling of genetically engineered foods by refusing to segregate genetically engineered crops".