Reuters | October 7, 1999
WASHINGTON - Janet Andersen, the Environmental Protection Agency's director of biopesticides was cited as telling a US Senate Agriculture committee hearing on biotechnology and crops that EPA will analyze new field test data from seed companies that sell genetically-engineered Bt corn to determine if the pollen is dangerous to Monarch butterflies, and that the company-provided data will be shared with the agency at a November workshop, adding, "There are extensive tests going on right now.
If unreasonable risks are identified, EPA will take appropriate precautionary steps to reduce the risk to the Monarch populations."
The story notes that after the hearing, she declined to elaborate on what action the EPA might take, saying the agency wanted to collect as much information as possible to analyze.
Scientists at Cornell University ignited a global debate about the safety of so-called Bt corn a few months ago after their laboratory research showed pollen from it killed the larvae of the Monarch butterfly. The researchers cautioned at the time that lab results did not duplicate real-world conditions.
Andersen was further quoted as saying, "We are working with the researchers at Cornell and Iowa State Universities, and we expect to complete our scientific review of their studies shortly. To help identify actual risks to Monarch populations in the field, we have asked registrants of Bt corn products to provide us with field performance data dating back to 1995."
She added that the EPA is also consulting with butterfly experts and the U.S. Agriculture Department to understand the impact of Bt-corn pollen, and that in 1995, before Bt corn and cotton was approved for use, the EPA evaluated studies that showed there could be "potential adverse effects on some species of butterflies" but concluded the species' long-term survival would not be threatened.
