Monarchs Have Little to Fear, Says EPA

September 6, 2001

The Environmental Protection Agency has released a report that holds Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn poses little risk to monarch butterflies, putting to rest controversy stemming from a two-year-old Cornell University study that indicated the Bt pollen could be harmful to monarchs, says the National Corn Growers Association.

EPA said while there is a small chance that one in 100,000 monarch caterpillars could be affected by toxic corn pollen, research suggests even those larvae will mature into healthy butterflies. NCGA Biotech Working Group Chairman and Plain City, OH, corn grower Fred Yoder said that "definitely a positive. "With this report, we can put this issue behind us and move on. Growers need continued access to the technology, and this is a big step towards that."

EPA`s conclusion is based in part on field studies conducted last summer by the USDA in Maryland, Iowa and Minnesota. Data from those studies have not been published, but have been turned over to EPA for review. The agency has declined to release the data because of confidentiality claims by biotech companies involved in the research. Agency officials said they hoped to release the data before the Sept. 30 deadline for renewing Bt corn licenses.