A/HRC/34/48 food), 71 per cent are pollinated by bees.42 The European Union, unlike the United States, restricted the use of certain neonicotinoids in 2013. 37. Many of the pesticides used today, accounting for approximately 60 per cent of dietary exposure,43 are systemic. Seeds treated with systemic pesticides are commonly used in soybean, corn and peanut production. Similarly, crops may be genetically engineered (so-called GMOs) to produce pesticides themselves. Proponents of systemic pesticides and genetically engineered crops claim that by eliminating liquid spraying, the risk of exposure to farm workers and other non-target organisms is greatly reduced. However, further studies of chronic exposure are needed to determine the extent of the impact of systemic pesticides and genetically engineered crops on human health, beneficial insects, soil ecosystems and aquatic life. 44 For example, transgenic corn and soybean varieties have been developed that are capable of producing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxins that act as insecticides.45 While the use of Bt crops has led to a reduction in conventional synthetic insecticide use, controversy remains about the possible risks posed by these crops. 38. The prime example of controversy around genetically engineered crops is glyphosate, the active ingredient of some herbicides, including Roundup, that allow farmers to kill weeds but not their crops. While presented as less toxic and persistent compared to traditional herbicides, there is considerable disagreement over the impact of glyphosate on the environment: studies have indicated negative impacts on biodiversity, wildlife and soil nutrient content. 46 There are also concerns regarding human health. In 2015, WHO announced that glyphosate was a probable carcinogen. 47 39. In Europe, genetically engineered crop regulations exemplify the precautionary principle. If an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus, the burden of proof falls on those taking the action or policy to demonstrate that it is not harmful. In contrast, in the United States, the biggest producer of genetically engineered crops,48 regulations have generally followed the concept of “substantial equivalence”, whereby a novel crop or food is compared to an existing one and if judged adequately similar, it falls under existing 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 10 UNEP, Global Honey Bee Colony Disorders and Other Threats to Insect Pollinators (Nairobi, 2010); Michelle Allsopp and others, Plan Bee — Living Without Pesticides: Moving Towards Ecological Farming (Amsterdam, Greenpeace, 2014), p. 9. Chuck Benbrook, “Prevention, not profit, should drive pest management”, Rachel Carson Memorial Lecture, Pesticides News 82, December 2008. Jennifer Hsaio, “GMOs and pesticides: helpful or harmful”, blog, special edition on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Harvard University (10 August 2015); Andria Cimino and others, “Effects of neonicotinoid pesticide exposure on human health: a systematic review”, Environmental Health Perspectives (6 July 2016); Greenpeace, “Environmental and health impacts of GM crops: the science”, Briefing, September 2011. Matthew Niederhuber, “Insecticidal plants: the tech and safety of GM Bt crops”, blog, special edition on GMOs, Harvard University (10 August 2015); Mike Mendelsohn and others, “Are Bt crops safe?”, Nature Biotechnology, vol. 21, No. 9 (September 2003), pp. 1003-1009. Jordan Wilkerson, “Why Roundup ready crops have lost their allure”, blog, special edition on GMOs, Harvard University (10 August 2015); Friends of the Earth Europe, The Environmental Impacts of Glyphosate (Brussels, 2013). International Agency for Research on Cancer, “Evaluation of five organophosphate insecticides and herbicides”, IARC monographs, vol. 112 (20 March 2015); Daniel Cressey, “Widely used herbicide linked to cancer”, Nature News (24 March 2015). For example, in 2013, 93 per cent of the soybeans, 90 per cent of the cotton and 90 per cent of the corn grown in the United States were genetically engineered for either herbicide tolerance or insect resistance. See https://www.loc.gov/law/help/restrictions-on-gmos/usa.php.