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Monarch Butterfly/GE Crops
Controversy Still Simmering

Greenwire
September 10, 2001

BIOTECH: NEW RESEARCH SAYS GM CROPS ARE
BUTTERFLY-SAFE

Contrary to earlier reports on the subject, genetically
modified corn poses only a "negligible" risk to monarch
butterflies, according to six new papers on the subject.
In 1999, Cornell University scientists reported in a
laboratory experiment that some monarch butterfly caterpillars
had been killed when they ate pollen from genetically modified
corn. And a study last year at Iowa state found that the toxic
effects could be seen under normal conditions in and near
cornfields. Critics of genetically modified foods have often
cited those studies as evidence that GM crops could harm
ecosystems and should be regarded with caution.

But the new research by the National Academy of Sciences,
representing the most comprehensive peer-reviewed publications
on the issue, appears to contradict those earlier studies. The
six papers, which combine laboratory and field studies, conclude
that caterpillars are not likely to be exposed to levels of
pollen high enough to be harmful, except for one type of corn
that is being phased out. "I don't think there's a need to
consider monarchs at risk due to biotechnology," said Mark K.
Sears, a professor of environmental biology at the University of
Guelth in Ontario, a lead author of the study (Andrew Pollack,
New York Times, Sept. 8).

But critics of genetically modified crops challenge the new
studies. "The results suggest that the major BT corn varieties
on the market are not immediately lethal to monarch butterfly
caterpillars," said Rebecca Goldberg of Environmental Defense.
"They don't take a very hard look at what might be called
sublethal effects long term" (Andrew Pollack, New York Times,
Sept. 9).

The papers had been scheduled for release on Oct. 1 but
were released early because the U.S. EPA "is scrambling to
defuse criticism" that it has been planning to renew permits for
GM crops even though the new butterfly data had not been widely
released to the public. One scientist involved in the butterfly
research called on the EPA to delay its Sept. 30 decision until
opponents of GM crops have time to review the data (Pollack,
Sept. 8). -- DAF