Is the pollen from YieldGard® insect-protected corn safe for monarch butterfly larvae?
Research and experience to date indicate Bt corn does not pose danger for monarch larvae and other beneficial insects. In fact, Bt (the protein from a common soil bacterium that is incorporated into crop plants like YieldGard® corn) has been used as a foliar insecticidal spray by organic farmers for more than 30 years with no known adverse effect. Confidence in the lack of danger of these crops for monarchs also is based on thousands of tests conducted by corporate and university scientists over many years. However, the result of one experiment – carried out in a Cornell University laboratory last year – suggested Bt may be harmful to the monarch’s larvae. Even the scientist who conducted the experiment said his study might not accurately represent what happens in nature. As a result, a number of scientists, primarily from American and Canadian universities, conducted their own independent field research projects last summer. Preliminary results were announced in November, at which tim
