From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Wed Aug 02 2000 - 09:45:10 MDT
Brian D Williams wrote:
>
> 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.
No, since monarchs are not dependent upon corn for their diet, there are many
other crops being planted besides corn, as well as wild growth in uncultivated
areas.
>
> 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.
Yes, and I suspect that areas that are overwhelmingly covered with this GM corn
would simply be flown around by the monarchs, much as migratory waterfowl change
their migratory routes to fit the availability of wetlands.
>
> 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?
I'm not sure. However, I have found from my own experience that the Monarch
Butterfly's primary diet is NOT pollen or leaves from plants like corn, but they
feed on animal dung. You heard it, thats right, animal dung. During the monarch
migration through our area, I never see monarchs in cornfields. I do however see
them congregating en masse on piles of cow, deer, and moose dung. This key fact
in my mind tends to blow out of the water the claims of the anti-GM bunch about
a threat to the Monarch Butterfly. What the GM corn IS a threat to is the Boll
Weevil, which DOES feed on corn, as well as cotton. However the fact that the
anti-GM bunch chooses to emphasise a marginal if not false threat to the Monarch
Butterfly, which most people like and think are beautiful creatures, and ignore
or deemphasise the threat to the Boll Weevil, which most people will admit is a
pest that is better off on the endangered species list, fits in perfectly with
my theory of the 'Cute and Fuzzy' modus operandi of the Greens, which only
incriminates their personal as well as scientific integrity (assuming there was
any to begin with).
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