American Agriculture May Eradicate the Monarch Butterfly Unless
Swift Action Is Taken
March 04, 2014
Story at-a-glance
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The monarch butterfly is becoming endangered, as
genetically engineered crops like corn and soy have
largely eliminated the monarch’s sole food and breeding
source—the milkweed
A group of scientists and writers are urging Mexican,
American, and Canadian leaders to commit to restoring
the monarch’s migration habitat
The proposal calls for planting milkweed all along the
migratory path through the US; between fields, in
ditches, along roadsides, and in public areas
Glyphosate-based herbicides also destroy soil, plant,
animal, and human health
To help, plant milkweed in your garden, and sign the
petition asking EPA, USDA and President Obama to protect
the monarchs’ breeding habitat by stopping approval of
glyphosate-resistant genetically engineered crops
By Dr. Mercola
You may be aware that bees are dying in large numbers across the
globe, courtesy of the ever-increasing presence of toxins in our
environment. But did you know that the monarch butterfly is also
becoming endangered, and for the same reason?
"Hoping to focus attention on the plight of the monarch
butterfly at a North American summit meeting... a group of
prominent scientists and writers urged the leaders of Mexico,
the United States and Canada to commit to restoring the habitat
that supports the insect's extraordinary migration across the
continent.
Calling the situation facing the butterfly 'grim,' the
group issued a letter that outlined a proposal to plant
milkweed, the monarch caterpillar's only food source, along its
migratory route in Canada and the United States."
Immediate Action Needed to Save the Monarch Butterfly
One of the major reasons for the dramatically diminishing numbers
of monarch butterflies is that so many of the milkweed plants
typically present in fields have been eliminated as farmers have
switched over to planting genetically engineered corn and soy. (Land
areas used to grow corn in the US have expanded by about 25 percent
since 2007.)
The proposal calls for planting milkweed all along the migratory
path through the US; between fields, in ditches, along roadsides,
and in public areas, to ensure sufficient food for the monarchs, and
a place to lay their eggs. The group also recommends subsidizing
farmers who do not use herbicides on their land.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is also petitioning
the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement tougher
rules for the weed killer glyphosate, and to do so sooner rather
than later.
The agency is scheduled to complete a review of glyphosate rules
next year, but the NRDC is asking the EPA to take immediate action,
given the rapid decline of the monarchs. As reported by the Los
Angeles Times:2
"The petition asks the EPA to consider preventing the use
of glyphosate and other weed killers along highways and utility
rights of way where milkweed could grow freely without
interfering with maintenance or emergency crews.
It also asks that farmers be required to establish
herbicide-free safety zones in or around their fields, and urges
the EPA to ensure that any new safeguards on glyphosate don't
lead simply to more use of other weed killers that would be
equally bad for monarchs and may pose health risks."
The Plight of the Monarchs
A recent article in the World Post,3
written by Mexican environmental activist Homero Aridjis, sheds
further light on just how dire the situation is. Having spent every
childhood winter in Contepec, Michoacan admiring the arriving flocks
of monarchs, he has personally noticed the dramatic decline in the
gorgeous orange and black butterflies.
In 1986, Aridjis petitioned the Mexican President to protect
monarch habitats, which resulted in the creation of the Monarch
Butterfly Special Biosphere Reserve. In 2000, the reserve was
enlarged, and additional protection was added for other butterfly
colonies as well. Mexico has also set limitations on logging in and
around the butterfly reserve, to help preserve the butterfly
population. Alas, such measures are not enough.
As Aridjis notes, excessive use of toxic agricultural chemicals
across America's Corn Belt plays an absolutely critical role in the
declining numbers of these beautiful creatures, as each year the
butterflies migrate through this area of the US.
Milkweed,4
a perennial plant that used to be common across American prairies,
is the only plant on which the adult monarch will lay its eggs. Once
the larvae hatches, the caterpillar will eat the plant. Without
milkweed along its migratory path, the monarch cannot reproduce.
Aridjis writes:5
"I was born in 1940 and grew up with (and wrote about)
the monarchs, but it was only in 1975 that their overwintering
forests in central Mexico's Transvolcanic Belt were 'discovered'
by Canadian scientists.
On Jan. 29, news was released of a dramatic plunge in the
monarch butterfly population that overwinters in Mexico after
flying thousands of miles south from the northern and eastern
United States and southern Canada.
This season's population, calculated by measuring the
area of occupied trees, covers a tiny 0.67 hectares -- the
smallest ever since these measurements began 20 years ago -- and
a huge drop from the 1996 high of 21 hectares. The population
has plummeted from an estimated 1 billion in 1996 to 33 million
this year, scattered over seven sites. There have been no
monarchs in Contepec for years."
Monarch Decline
and Changes in U.S. Agriculture Figures from EH Williams Feb
7. 2014. Decline in monarch overwintering
area compared to rise in US acreage planted in corn and rise
is usage of glyphosate herbicide. To compare these on a
similar scale, the monarch hectares have been multiplied by
5, and the glyphosate usage has been divided by 2 data
sources:
www.epa.gov/opp00001/pestsales/,
www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/agricultural-baseline-database/
Glyphosate Destroys More Than Just Monarch Breeding Grounds
The environmental destruction caused by glyphosate certainly does
not end with the eradication of milkweed, which are critical for
monarch breeding and feeding. This chemical, the toxicity of which
has been vastly underestimated since its introduction into
agriculture, absolutely devastates the soil microbiome.
Killing microorganisms is in fact one of glyphosate's primary
mechanisms of action, as it is patented as an
antibiotic. Glyphosate is also a potent chelator that sequesters
valuable minerals, rendering them inaccessible and unusable for the
plant. It ties up minerals like manganese, zinc, and iron, which are
essential for the plant's immune system and growth.
These minerals are also important for human health. Another
problem, which applies to both genetically engineered (GE) and
conventional hybridized plants, is that when a plant is altered it
may lose its ability to emit the correct signals to warn its
neighbors about impending attacks. Hence, they become more
vulnerable to infestations.
Then there's the issue of rapid resistance developing among
weeds... In some areas, highly invasive and crop-destroying
superweeds are taking over valuable farm land. This was yet another
possibility that was initially pooh-pooh'd by Monsanto. Industry
assurances aside, glyphosate resistance has now become an
undisputable fact.
But rather than acknowledging its role in creating the problem,
Monsanto and other chemical producers have simply started working on
herbicide formulations that are even MORE toxic, and developing new
crops that are resistant to a different set of chemicals, including
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), which is one of the
primary ingredients in Agent Orange!
How Glyphosate Affects Your Health
Just as glyphosate decimates soil bacteria that are critical for
plant health and nutrient uptake, the chemical also destroys the
microbiome found in the gut of animals and humans. This effect
appears to be the missing link that explains the detrimental health
effects associated with genetically engineered foods. Recent
research even suggests that glyphosate may be the most
important factor in the development of multiple chronic diseases and
conditions that have become prevalent in Westernized societies. This
includes but is not limited to:
Autism
Gastrointestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel
disease, chronic diarrhea, colitis, and Crohn's disease
Obesity
Allergies
Cardiovascular disease
Depression
Cancer
Infertility
Alzheimer's disease
Parkinson's disease
Multiple sclerosis
ALS and more
The impact of gut bacteria on your health is becoming widely
known. And here, we see how your gut bacteria once again play a
crucial role in explaining why and how glyphosate causes health
problems in both animals and humans. According to this revealing
study, published in the journal Entropy6
last year:
"Glyphosate's claimed mechanism of action in plants is
the disruption of the shikimate pathway, which is involved with
the synthesis of the essential aromatic amino acids,
phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. The currently
accepted dogma is that glyphosate is not harmful to humans or to
any mammals because the shikimate pathway is absent in all
animals.
However, this pathway is present in gut bacteria,
which play an important and heretofore largely overlooked role
in human physiology through an integrated biosemiotic
relationship with the human host. In addition to aiding
digestion, the gut microbiota synthesize vitamins, detoxify
xenobiotics, and participitate in immune system homeostasis and
gastrointestinal tract permeability. Furthermore, dietary
factors modulate the microbial composition of the gut."
Time to Choose Between Monsanto and Monarchs
The Center for Food Safety has created a petition urging the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Department of Agriculture
(USDA), and President Obama to protect the monarchs' breeding
habitat by halting the approval of Monsanto Roundup Ready™ and other
glyphosate-resistant and pesticide-promoting genetically engineered
crops. Please take a moment to sign the petition right now.
You can also make a difference by planting milkweed in your own
garden to make up for the loss of milkweed caused by the sprawl of
urban development.
Ending Glyphosate Use Is Critical for All Life on Planet Earth
Besides protecting the monarch butterfly, there are many other
reasons to insist on the removal of glyphosate from agricultural
use. The documented harmful effects of glyphosate extend not just to
critical pollinating insects like bees and butterflies, but also to
soil, plant, animal, and human health. It's becoming increasingly
clear that Monsanto's glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup is doing
FAR more harm than anyone ever expected, and it's time to put on the
brakes before it's too late.
On numerous occasions, I've stated that the differences between
industrial farming and organic farming, using time-tested
all-natural methods, are so vast that the foods produced by the
former cannot be equated to the foods produced by the latter. Use of
genetically engineered plants only deepens the many problems
associated with conventional, chemical-heavy farming. The
environmental effects are also 180 degrees opposed, as industrial
farming contributes to every form of environmental devastation,
while organic farming methods restore the environment and invigorate
and support the ecosystem—of which humans are an integral part, I
might add.
Many equate modern techniques with "progress," when in fact most
of our technological advancements are now threatening to destroy us
right along with the planet as a whole... Think about this: nearly
one BILLION pounds of Roundup is used each year for conventional
crop production. Knowing what we now know about the toxicity of
glyphosate (as well as glyphosate-based formulations that can be
even more toxic than glyphosate alone), it's quite clear we're well
on our way toward disaster.
Genetically engineered (GE) crops are typically the most heavily
sprayed, as so-called Roundup Ready crops are designed to withstand
otherwise lethal doses of this chemical. The contamination issue is
yet another valid reason for avoiding conventionally-grown foods in
general, and genetically engineered (GE) foods in particular. And
since genetically engineered foods tend to contain far higher levels
of contamination, it's also another reason for labeling foods that
contain GE ingredients.
Vote with Your Pocketbook, Every Day
Remember, the food companies on the left of this graphic spent
tens of millions of dollars in the last two labeling campaigns—in
California and Washington State—to prevent you from knowing
what's in your food. You can even the score by switching to the
brands on the right; all of whom stood behind the I-522 Right to
Know campaign. Voting with your pocketbook, at every meal, matters.
It makes a huge difference.
As always, I encourage you to continue educating yourself about
genetically engineered foods, and to share what you've learned with
family and friends. Remember, unless a food is certified organic,
you can assume it contains GMO ingredients if it contains sugar from
sugar beet, soy, or corn, or any of their derivatives.
If you buy processed food, opt for products bearing the USDA 100%
Organic label, as organics do not permit GMOs. You can also print
out and use the
Non-GMO Shopping Guide, created by the Institute for Responsible
Technology. Share it with your friends and family, and post it to
your social networks. Alternatively, download their free iPhone
application, available in the iTunes store. You can find it by
searching for ShopNoGMO in the applications. For more in-depth
information, I highly recommend reading the following two books,
authored by Jeffrey Smith, the executive director of the
Institute for
Responsible Technology:
Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks
of Genetically Engineered Foods.
For timely updates,
join the Non-GMO
Project on Facebook, or
follow them on Twitter.
Please, do your homework. Together, we have the power to stop the
chemical technology industry from destroying our food supply, the
future of our children, and the earth as a whole. All we need is
about five percent of American shoppers to simply stop buying
genetically engineered foods, and the food industry would have to
reconsider their source of ingredients—regardless of whether the
products bear an actual GMO label or not.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.