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Allowing
science to guide decisions
Monarch
butterflies are familiar to most people as a welcomed garden visitor.
They also have become a poster insect for the need to preserve wildlife
and wildlife habitat.
But
in May 1999, the monarch took on another role as the center
of a tornado of controversy when a small laboratory trial was published
that appeared to indicate that the pollen of genetically modified
Bt corn presented a threat to monarch caterpillars. Although
this experiment in no way duplicated natural conditions under which
monarch caterpillars may come in contact with corn pollen, mainstream
media reported that monarch butterflies were threatened.
Considering the popularity of monarch butterflies, the public outcry
that followed media reports that pollen from transgenic corn was
killing monarch butterflies was not surprising. These media reports
had the effect of heightening public awareness and increasing scrutiny
of transgenic plants in terms of potential environmental impact.
The reports also intensified one of the most controversial and polarizing
issues to face agricultural scientists in recent memory.
Often, such a public outcry drives decision making in advance of
true scientific evidence. But in this case of Bt corn and
monarch butterflies, an attitude prevailed, even among groups with
differing agendas, that decisions about transgenic plants should
be based on the weight of scientific evidence.
In response to the furor in the media and the public, a group of
public and private scientists designed multi-faceted studies to
answer questions about Bt corn pollen and the monarch butterfly.
They published their findings as a group after rigorous scrutiny
of their work by the scientific community.
Their
scientific evidence shows that the risk to the monarch butterfly
by Bt corn pollen is negligible. The steps taken by these
scientists represent a model for risk assessment research of genetically
modified plants. Further, the work represents an important example
of allowing science to guide decision making.
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The
scientific evidence shows that the risk to the monarch butterfly
by Bt corn pollen is negligible. The steps taken by these
scientists represent a model for risk assessment research of
genetically modified plants. Further, the work represents an
important example of allowing science to guide decision making.
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