Agency has data on Monarch butterflies that it is refusing to release publicly
Washington, DC The EPA will hold a public hearing today on the re-registration of genetically engineered corn and cotton that contain the pesticide Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) genetically engineered into plants. At the hearing, EPA officials will collect public comment in order to determine if and or how Bt crops should be re-registered for planting, but the EPA is not disclosing the controversial data that the agency has collected on the effects of the Bt crops on the Monarch butterflies.
"It is alarming that the government is withholding the data. There is no way the public can comment on data that the agency refuses to release. This calls into question the validity of the entire EPA review process of Bt crops," said Joe Mendelson, Legal Director of the Center for Food Safety.
Genetically engineered Bt pesticide crops have been controversial because of their potential harmful environmental impacts, including the fatal danger they pose to Monarch butterflies. Bt genetically engineered corn contains the pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis in every cell that the plant produces, including in the pollen. Bt pollen falls onto Milkweed plants, the sole source of food for the Monarch caterpillar. Monarch caterpillars eat the Bt contaminated milkweed plants and then often die from the pesticides.
17% of all corn and 42 % of all cotton grown in the United States is genetically engineered to include Bt - which amount to a large percentage of the genetically engineered crops grown in the U.S.
Genetically engineered Bt pesticide crops have been thrown into the limelight recently after the discovery of StarLink, the genetically engineered Bt corn that was approved by the EPA for use animal feed, but which was discovered in the human food supply by the Genetically Engineered Food Alert coalition. The StarLink contamination led to government and industry recalls of over 300 food products.
Bt crops in general (not just StarLink) are also under suspicion of causing food allergies. In a recent report by the scientific advisors to the EPA, two studies were reviewed on the human allergenicity of Bt crops. The scientific advisors stated that "these two studies suggest the Bt proteins could act as allergenic sources."
At a hearing today, environmental leaders and food safety advocates will call for the right to review the Monarch data. They will also comment on the broader human health concerns and ecological risks that are associated with Bt crops, including allergenicity and toxicity.
"As we have seen before, the EPA is pushing for an approval of a plant biotechnology without a thorough review of all the information, not to the benefit of human health or the environment, but to the benefit of the biotech companies," said Matt Rand, Biotechnology Campaign Manager at for the National Environmental Trust.
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For more information visit:
EPA Briefing
Genetically Engineered Food Alert founding members include: Center for Food Safety, Friends of the Earth, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, National Environmental Trust, Organic Consumers Association, Pesticide Action Network North America, and the State Public Interest Research Groups.
Genetically Engineered Food Alert, a coalition of health, consumer and environmental groups, supports the removal of genetically engineered ingredients from grocery store shelves unless they are adequately safety tested and labeled. The campaign provides web-based opportunities for individuals to express concern about genetically engineered food and fact sheets on health, environmental and economic information about genetically engineered food. The campaign is endorsed by more than 250 scientists, religious leaders, doctors, chefs, environmental and health leaders, as well as farm groups
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