In 1997, the Chinese government approved commercial GM cotton farming, in an attempt to combat the bollworm which was devastating crops. More than 4 million hectares of cotton are now grown in China, and since the introduction of GM cotton, monitoring of pests across 3 million hectares has revealed the Mirid bug population (previously a minor pest) has increased 12-fold. This is a result of farmers using less broad-spectrum pesticides on their GM crops. Farmers are using two-thirds of the sprays than before and are expected to increase spraying more. Despite claims, GM crops are not completely resistant to pests – when one is targeted, others take its place. Increasing research and evidence is mounting (as has been known for thousands of years) that the safest way forward is integrated, organic, sustainable farming solutions, which respect the whole ecosystem.