From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Wed Aug 02 2000 - 07:55:11 MDT
From: "Michael S. Lorrey" <retroman@turbont.net>
>The GM crops referred to are varieties of corn and wheat that
>produces its own pesticide (much like other plants produce their
>own pesticides), thus repelling parasites. In laboratory tests,
>where monarch butterflies were given NOTHING else to eat but the
>GM plants, they did eat them and did become sterilized and died.
>Where the butterflies were given a choice between plants to eat,
>they avoided the GM plants. The Greens have not acknowledged this
>fact, and have demonstrated a rather unique case of selective
>literacy and memory.
So we have fact #1) if the entire corn crop was 100% of this
variety then the monarch would become extinct.
Now the question is at what level does the monarch population
crash? 50%? Then if half of the crop was of this variety we could
expect extinction. Actually the number I suspect is much lower, but
the fact is we don't really know.
Now another fact, Monarch's are a migrating species, they fly from
all over North America to a single mountain top in Mexico if I
recall correctly.
Now what do you think could happen if you planted a large enough
field of this GM corn at a strategic point along this migration
route?
Brian
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