Bt - more

[Chip Taylor]

Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 15:12:35 -0500
From: Monarch Watch <monarch at UKANS.EDU>
Subject: Re: Bt corn another text with more detail
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John Loesy (Author of the Bt paper in Nature), Val Giddings ( a
representative of the biotechnology industires), Jane Rissler (from the
Union of Concerned Scientists), Kurt Kleiner (correspondent New Scientist)
Scott Mc Farland (a farmer and representative of the Corn Growers
Association) just held a spirited debate on Science Friday on NPR
(www.sciencefriday.com). Unfortunately, I didn't hear the entire program
but I can report that it was a spirited debate with good points made by all
the participants.

Re: The criticism raised by Ian Harvey, as reported by Paul Cherubini, has
many weaknesses but the paper should be defended by its authors. The
central finding - that Bt pollen when applied to milkweed leaves kills
monarchs - has been independently verified in a laboratory at Iowa State.
The result is not surprising, this is the effect Bt is supposed to have on
Lepidoptera larvae and this is why the product is useful in organic
gardening and is used as a transgenic.

No one is claiming that Bt corn is going to have a major impact on monarch
populations - only that it has the potential, yet to be determined, to
reduce monarch numbers. According to Val Giddings, industry spokesperson,
not all  Bt transgenic corn hybrids have the toxin expressed in the pollen.
Perhaps, these transgenic strains should be promoted since they will not
effect non-target species. Frankly, I don't see the justification for
continued use of a product that produces a biocide that does not effect the
target organisms.


Monarch Watch
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