Response to Butterfly Controversy a Model in Assessing Biotech Products

When the story first broke in 1999 in the scientific journal Nature that Bt corn could pose a threat to **monarch butterflies**, there was heightened concern about the safety of **biotech crops**. Even though the study cautioned that it was only a lab study that in no way mimicked natural conditions, the idea that **Bt corn** — enhanced with a naturally-occurring protein to ward off **insect pests** — harmed butterflies was widely reported. In response, a group of public and private scientists joined forces to design a comprehensive study that ultimately showed that Bt corn presents a negligible risk to **monarch caterpillars**. Today, the steps taken by these scientists are being viewed as a model for determining the risk of biotech products, according to a new report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, “**Butterflies and Bt Corn**, Allowing Science to Guide Decisions.” The document is also available online. Whole article on "Whybiotech":[ http://www.whybiotech.com/index.asp?id=2182]

---