While toxic to worms in cattle, these new Bt varieties are unlikely to have an adverse affect on cattle or other organisms. Also, the bacteria are biodegradable. The Bt toxin breaks down easily because it is a protein, which could lead to safer treatment of cattle.

Biological pesticides like Bt could greatly affect animal health care in the United States, where farmers lose over $1 billion annually in revenues due to parasitic nematodes in cattle. Scientists at Mycogen Corporation in San Diego, California, made the Bt discovery. Mycogen does research in order to develop and market biopesticides for insect and weed control.