Tampering with the Cocoon

News Note

By Editorial Staff

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, April/May 2000.

Thanks to genetically engineered corn, some monarch caterpillars may never spread their wings. As noted in Country Living’s Healthy Living (Sep./Oct. 1999), scientists have discovered that pollen from corn plants genetically engineered to produce Bt insecticide is fatal to the monarch caterpillars feeding on it. Nearly 20 million acres of Bt corn is now growing in the United States, causing concern for the safety of some 19 butterfly and moth species already designated as endangered. As a result of the research, countries in Europe and Asia are now taking steps to curb the development of genetically modified organisms.