The idea behind the experiment is to survey whether the release of GE mosquitoes could effectively reduce the population of this disease-harboring mosquito.
Sounds bizarre? Yes.
Has the experiment been performed? Yes.
Does it work? No!
From the surface view, it would appear that this is a great idea. Shouldn’t we be trying to control these terrifying diseases? In some communities, In some regions, (Puerto Rico, for example), this might be an important measure for public health. But, according to the California Dept. of Health [CDPH], the targeted diseases have not been shown to be an issue in a diverse state such as California, nor an issue in the US.) Plus, there are presently various non-toxic measures available to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito such as fish, since just about any fish will eat mosquito larvae.
There have been excellent results reported from Florida using BG-Sentinel traps targeted just for the Aedes mosquito and using microbes such as wolbachia reported from the CDC. Eliminating their breeding habitat is another method that has been successfully implemented, previously in the Cook Is. by the late Sir Thomas Davis, MD, MPH, KBE.
There are many aspects of this release (which have already been done in Florida, other countries, and pending release in 12 unannounced California counties) that are problematic. The potential for human health impacts from being bitten by a GE or GE-hybrid (they do mate with the locals), has not been performed.
Children are frequent and favorite victims of the mosquito diet. What would be the health ramifications of a bite from a lab/natural mosquito GE-hybrid? Not studied; not known. Additionally, impacts on endangered species have not been assessed.
And the cherry on the top is that communities subjected to this faulty experiment have not
been consulted, nor given their consent.
Experiment results: their proprietary business information is not for public consumption. This is a cocktail for an environmental/health disaster. Once they are released, they can’t be recalled as if this was a contaminated cheese, or a political leader.
We are not strangers to GMOs since we have been eating them since the 1990s. Beginning with soy, they were introduced to be herbicide tolerant, so that when glyphosate-based herbicides were applied, surrounding weeds would be affected, but not the crop. GMOs were released, flanked by science showing harm, and quickly obfuscated by political leaders.
At that time, Americans were then blinded to their existence in their foods by failed labeling efforts led by industry and supported by the US government. As herbicide resistance increased with the first herbicide-resistant weeds being reported in 1996 (almost the same time as the GMO release), increased amounts and more toxic pesticides were formulated and applied.