[CH] + G.E. Foods
Nels Peterson (npkp4jp@polar.polarcomm.com)
Sat, 26 Feb 2000 09:11:34 -0600
> Genetically engineered foods must be approached on an individual
>basis. G.E. corn which kills monarch butterflies does not necessarily
>harm humans in any way.
I've kept quiet on this one till now: I will make no personal attacks.
Please read the research reports. Cornell and Michigan State have done
research on Bt corn pollen. The report from Michigan is on the web. I don't
have the address here at home, if anyone wants it, email me off-list and
I'll send it to you if you can't find it. The methods, results and notes
are really interesting. The Michigan study indicates that Bt corn pollen
kills monarch butterfly larvae (larvae -- not the butterflies) at the 56%
rate. The research was done for a short period (4 days) and on a very
susceptable larval instar stage. The researchers note that this was a
laboratory and NOT(their caps) a field trial. It did not measure pollen
amounts, or if pollen shed correlated with when the larval instar used in
the study is present in the field.
I use natural Bt in my peppers, melons and cabbage to get rid of pests.
When sprayed Bt kills all susceptable to Bt - non selectively -- predatory
and non-predatory beneficials as well as harmful pests; whereas Bt corn
kills only those insects feeding on the corn, not just non-selectively
killing any insect in the field. BTW -- Bt is approved by most organic
certification organizations.
I've tried to leave most of my personal bias out of this: but I realize that
I am still biased towards research and new technology. GMO's (IMO a silly
term) likely need more and continued research.