52 Congress members sign letter warning of GMOs killing monarch butterflies (March 18, 2015)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.naturalnews.com/049067_monarch_butterflies_GMOs_Congress.html#


There is a spirited discussion about GMOs from today in LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141044714


Wednesday, March 18, 2015 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: monarch butterflies, GMOs, Congress

(NaturalNews) Dozens of House Democrats have signed onto a letter sent to President Obama claiming that the spread of GM crops is leading to the death of monarch butterflies.

The letter,[PDF] authored by Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, says that the butterflies are "in peril of being lost to the history books" in large part because of the "virtual eradication" of milkweed plants from their primary breeding grounds in the Midwest.

The milkweed eradication, the letter states, has come primarily from the "widespread spraying of herbicides in agricultural areas" where the plants were once bountiful.

"With the advent of herbicide-resistant genetically engineered crops, the use of herbicides like glyphosate has increased..." dramatically, from 20 million pounds per year in 1992 to more than 250 million pounds by 2011, said the letter.

FULL story at link.

[Faux pas]

1. Kickin'

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. That's weird.

I thought the GMO defenders were constantly telling us that GMO planting drastically reduced the overall use of herbicides, not increased them more than 12 fold in the span of two decades.

[marym625]

22. shocking!

Defenders of the indefensible were lying? I don't understand!

The defenders of GMO would be better off if it wasn't one, horrible, company known for not caring about anything but profit. There could possibly be some good things about GMO if used reasonably, responsibly and after exhaustive study. But, that ain't gonna happen.

[upaloopa]

3. Well what can we say. Because science!

Screw the butterfly the food is safe.
All us mush brained anti GMO folks need to just suck it up. Because science.

[Cha]

14. "Science!!11" You can't disagree with " gmo science" or you're as bad as Climate Change Deniers!

Well, Yes I Can.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

4. The clown car will be here soon.

The usual suspects will spill out and rave about the science.

[Cha]

17. Yeah, studiouly ignoring what poisons in their beloved Big Ag GMO do to our Earth and its

inhabitants.

[NuclearDem]

5. Oh dear, NaturalNews.

[sabrina 1]

6. Tactic #1: Attack the messenger!

[sabrina 1]

8. Tactic #2: Launch personal attacks.

[ND-Dem]

9. you pegged it. they're so predictable. and boring.

[NuclearDem]

10. No, it just gets tiresome engaging posters

who post long, generic, slogan-heavy rambling paragraphs of nonsense and refuse to back up any of their claims.

[ND-Dem]

11. neither of which sabrina did. or omaha steve. so why the rude remarks.

[NuclearDem]

13. I didn't mention OS anywhere.

And while I'm not going to get dragged into yet another circular exercise in goalpost movement with you, I'll just tell you pro-GMO posters aren't the only ones who are utterly predictable.

[marym625]

23. I realize you can't reply

Feel free to message me. I will even put your response here if you want

Yes, you did say something derogatory to and about OS. Your reply to the post was to him and about what he used. It lacked any substance but was obviously a shot at both.

No one dragged you anywhere near discussion that isn't about the subject of the post. You did that yourself the second you responded like you did to first, OS and then Sabrina.

Own it.

[sabrina 1]

12. It never changes. I've watched it for over a decade now and 'boring' is putting it mildly.

Not much else they can do though, the tide is turning rapidly on these Corporations who have been destroying the environment with their poisonous chemicals for decades, and refusing to label their genetically altered foods which is just outrageous when you consider they are treating the American people like children. And all for profit.

So those attempting to defend these practices have little option other than resort to the old, boring standard tactics.

[Bluenorthwest]

29. See, that source does have major issues, but this is about a letter from Congress, here is a link

to that letter, signed by my Representative and by the bulk of the Progressive Caucus....
http://agri-pulse.com/uploaded/Rep-monarch-letter-32015.pdf

So anyone who wants to can just read that letter and then talk about that. About the Monarchs.

[MattBaggins]

15. Natural news

shouldn't this be locked?

[Cha]

16. Mahalo Steve.. our Monarch Butterflies are so important to our Earth.. damn gmo roundup toxic crap..

I have an anecdotal anti-gmo story from today..

I was at the Post Office getting a package.. the Postman brought me the wrong package out and I discovered it before I left the PO. I went right back to him and let him know.. I excused myself to the lady who was now getting her business done.. she said.. "oh, that's okay."

He brought out my package and I said to the woman.. "Good, that's my case of organic corn spaghetti!".. She(who is a local lady on Kaua'i) said.. one way to stay away from gmo.. I said, "Yes, and gluten!"

P.S. I should add that the Will of the People on Kauai, who voted to have a buffer zone between Monsanto and Schools and Hospitals and to divulge what's in their spray has been overturned by a Fed Judge. We are not giving up.

[Cha]

18. I would really like to thank those 52 members of Congress. whomever they are along with Rep Pingree

of Maine!





Monarch butterfly may be designated an endangered species

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/petition-to-obama-to-put-monarch-butterfly-on-endangered-list/article/428763#ixzz3V0rWBxLf

[DeSwiss]

19. K&R

[Vinca]

20. It's a shame the majority of people in this Congress say: "We don't need no stinkin' butterflies."

[mathematic]

21. But of course, we don't get our science from political sources

No, we believe in science, from scientists! Reality has a liberal bias!*

(*Unless somehow, somewhere, somebody can make some money using that science. Then it's evil, tainted Corporate Science, performed by corrupted Corporate "Scientists" that would gleefully murder the world for a comfy middle-class job.)

GMOs don't kill butterflies.
Glyphosate doesn't kill butterflies.

The decline in the monarch population is attributed to a loss of habitat.

By the way, I don't think I've seen a story about the most recent monarch population figures on DU. Care to hazard a guess why?

[Omaha Steve]

24. Toxic pollen from widely planted, genetically modified corn can kill monarch butterflies

No links to support your statement.

I've posted about butterfly numbers more than once THIS YEAR.

Toxic pollen from widely planted, genetically modified corn can kill monarch butterflies, Cornell study shows: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/1999/04/toxic-pollen-bt-corn-can-kill-monarch-butterflies

Researchers: GM Crops Are Killing Monarch Butterflies, After All: http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/03/researchers-gm-crops-are-killing-monarch-butterflies-after-all

GMOs Are Killing the Bees, Butterflies, Birds and . . . ?: https://www.organicconsumers.org/essays/gmos-are-killing-bees-butterflies-birds-and


You must be using different science? Several studies say GMOs are killing butterflies and we have known for over 10 years.

OS

[mathematic]

25. (Oganic) insecticide BT kills caterpillers in your first link

Your second link is about habitat loss.

Your third link is a hodge podge from a trade association that blames its competitors for everything and is mostly talking about neonics (which are unrelated to GMOs) and bees.

And if you've posted so many butterfly numbers this year than you should know that the most recent butterfly numbers show a rebound in the population. But you don't seem to know that. Which I find strange for somebody that purports to be informed on the issue.

[Omaha Steve]

26. Looks like a couple hundred links on this

I don't see you posting any links.

How many do you need? Here is one from the Clinton era.

Study: GM Corn Harms Monarch Butterflies: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=120016

Iowa State University researchers said today they found more evidence that pollen from bioengineered corn could be deadly for Monarch butterflies, prompting environmentalists to renew demands for tighter restrictions on the crop.

The Iowa study published in the journal Oecologia comes at a time when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched its own review of the safety of corn and cotton plants modified to contain a pest-fighting gene.

The Clinton administration has faced growing pressure during the past year from consumer and environmental groups, as well as some U.S. trading partners, who say not enough is yet known about the long-term safety of biotech crops. The seed industry and agribusiness contend that gene-spliced crops have undergone thousands of tests and pose no more safety risks than conventional crops.

Iowa State researchers John Obrycki and Laura Hansen said their research showed Monarch butterfly caterpillars were seven times more likely to die when they ate milkweed plants carrying pollen from Bt corn, compared to conventional corn.

FULL story at link.

[mathematic]

30. Why should I post links when you're not even reading your own?

Seriously.

The pollen is expressing BT, an organic insecticide that is intended to kill caterpillars. The article says that monarch caterpillars are among those caterpillars. And where's your concern about all the reckless spraying of BT by organic farmers growing non-gmo crops? And still, the decline in monarch butterflies are not attributed to BT exposure (see below).

The real reasons I haven't posted the link is because 1) the link is real science, 2) it's from an acceptable source, 3) not posting it exposes your ignorance on the subject and lets you commit to an incorrect position so you can't change the goalposts. It's not complicated.

Since I'm no longer interested in this conversation and I actually am interested in getting good information out there, here's the link about the over-wintering population of monarch butterflies in mexico.

The write-up for laymen:
http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/survey-shows-69-increase-in-area-occupied-by-monarch-butterflies

And the scientific study:
http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publications/768/files/original/REPORT_Monarch_Butterfly_colonies_Winter_2014.pdf?1422378439

If you read the actual paper there are three reasons given for the decline in monarchs. Loss of milkweed habitat, loss of overwintering habitat in mexico, and global warming.

[Omaha Steve]

32. Genetically engineered crops are destroying its habitat and disrupting its food chain

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/posts/roundup-shrinks-monarch-butterfly-population/

by Shicana Allen

The beautiful, regal North American Monarch butterfly—chosen as an official insect by seven U.S. states—is dwindling in numbers and is currently at the lowest level ever measured: 18 times less than in 1996. One main reason? Genetically engineered crops are destroying its habitat and disrupting its food chain. Starting in 1997, when Midwestern farmers started spraying Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide on GMO soy and corn fields, one of the “weeds” they killed off was the milkweed plant, the primary source of food for Monarch butterfly larvae....

(One reason, not ALL the reasons.)


Monsanto’s GMO crops wiping out Monarch: http://www.thomhartmann.com/users/telliottmbamsc/blog/2014/03/monsanto%E2%80%99s-gmo-crops-wiping-out-monarch

Mar. 1, 2014 5:53 am
By telliottmbamsc

On the heels of recent bee declines, another iconic pollinator, the monarch butterfly, is in serious trouble. Last month, the New York Times reported that the number of monarchs arriving at their ancient overwintering grounds in Mexico has reached the lowest level on record.i

The monarch butterfly’s sharp decline has been linked to massive increases in the planting of GMO crops engineered to tolerate huge doses of Monsanto’s Roundup™ herbicide. These herbicide-tolerant “Roundup Ready” crops have encouraged farmers to use ever-increasing amounts of this weed killer -- virtually wiping out milkweed, the only food young monarchs eat.ii

We need your help to protect this iconic butterfly. Tell the USDA and EPA to stop approving the pesticide-resistant GMO crops and the toxic chemical pesticides that accompany them.

Over the last decade, the amount of U.S. crops genetically engineered to withstand massive applications of Monsanto’s patented Roundup™ herbicide grew to comprise 83 percent of all corn and 93 percent of soybeans.iii As a result, the use of Roundup skyrocketed and has virtually wiped out the milkweed that once grew among our farm fields.

FULL info at link.

Since I'm no longer interested in this conversation and I actually am interested in getting good information out there, here's the link about the over-wintering population of monarch butterflies in mexico.

Mexican stand off. You don't post on the DU enough to get ANY info out there. There is a word for this type behavior....

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[Lancero]

27. So is it herbicide use, or GMOs that are killing them?

Naturalnews states it is GMOs, yet the letter states it is herbicides...

Which one is it?

[Omaha Steve]

28. At the last link...

I still don't see any links from you.

Gene Used as Pesticide

Bt is short for bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally occurring soil bacterium that acts as a pesticide. The gene has been inserted into millions of acres of UL.S. corn and cotton plants to repel the European corn borer, bollworms and other pests.

The researchers placed potted milkweed plants in and around Bt cornfields to simulate naturally occurring conditions.

Pollen from Bt crops also drifts onto nearby plants, including those eaten by harmless insects like the Monarch. The orange and black butterflies are at greatest risk within 10 meters of Bt fields, Obrycki said in an interview.

[Bluenorthwest]

31. Study links Monsanto herbicide to monarch decline- link to a story from The Hill about it and one to

the study itself.
"Agriculture giant Monsanto's signature herbicide has nearly eradicated the monarch butterfly, according to a Center for Food Safety study.

The study, released Thursday, found Monsanto’s herbicide glyphosate that is being sprayed on genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant corn and soybeans — known as Roundup Ready crops — are killing the monarch butterfly’s habitat and milkweed, the monarch caterpillar’s main food source.

Monsanto’s product, sold under the name Roundup, is unlike other weed killers in that is moves internally to the root tissue once its absorbed, not only killing but preventing regeneration of the milkweed."
http://thehill.com/regulation/231893-ag-companys-signature-herbicide-linked-to-monarch-butterfly-decline-study-says

MONARCHS IN PERIL
HERBICIDE RESISTANT CROPS AND THE DECLINE OF
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES IN NORTH AMERICA
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/cfs-monarch-report_2-4-15_design_05341.pdf