Are GM Crops Causing the Demise of the Monarch Butterfly?

It seems that some environmentalists will grab at any excuse to damn GM crops. The latest is the concept that the dramatic reduction in Monarchs is due to the introduction of herbicide resistant crops in areas like Ontario.

The decline of the Monarch butterfly is indeed a tragedy and one that we should be making a determined effort to reverse. It is not that they are just beautiful to look at, but they have this extraordinary ability in that they can navigate all the way from Ontario to a small forest in Mexico all with a brain the size of a pin head. Monarchs require milkweed on which to lay their eggs and for the nourishment of their larva. The argument is that the introduction of GM crops resistant to herbicides, in particular RoundUp (glyphosate), has hastened the decline of this beautiful animal.

Milkweed is one of 25 plants originally designated a noxious weed in Ontario as well as Quebec and Manitoba (it has just been delisted in Ontario). Other noxious weeds are such species as Canada thistle, ragweed, nettles and poison ivy. The designation of milkweed as being noxious occurred long before the introduction of GM crops. A farmer has a legal obligation to eliminate noxious weeds not just from his land but from all the areas surrounding his land. In addition, landowners adjacent to farm land have also an obligation to eliminate noxious weeds such as milkweed.

Milkweed is noxious because it contains cardiac glycosides that are very toxic and there is a concern that farm livestock will be severely compromised if they eat it. Sheep are particularly susceptible to milkweed and there are cases of them dying after eating it. Milkweed is a very persistent weed as it reproduces not only by wind dispersed seeds but also by rhizomes in the ground. There is every reason to support the removal of milkweed from farmland.

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So what can we do to aid the poor Monarch. We need to reserve as much land as possible for wild species like milkweed to grow. I live in a farm house that was once the centre of an active farm. Farming was abandoned about fifty years ago because of competition from more productive farms in Southern Ontario and the Prairies. This farm and many others in this area with shallow topsoil are reverting back to their natural state and we must do all we can to allow this to happen. Song birds are declining in many parts of Canada but around Kingston they have increased. This results from natural land being available for them to survive. Animals such as bears and wolves have also returned.

Common Milkweed grows on our land. It is not an elegant plant but it produces lovely global flower which emits a wonderful scent. It is a delight when I walk past it in the morning with my two dogs. I have often wondered if it could be sold as a perfume, but I suppose “Eau de Milkweed” does not sound very romantic.

Not far from where I live, there a piece of land I often drive past that was reverting back to its natural state. It was interesting to watch. Then one day I drove past and found it was full of machines tearing up the trees and bushes. It was being converted into a large solar farm that would produce small amounts of intermittent, unreliable and expensive power. It would have been far better to allow it to revert to nature where plants like milkweed could thrive and where other plants and animals could return. To complete the cycle we must produce crops with higher yields on first rate farm land to supply the needs of an increasing world population. These crops crops can most effectively be developed by new technologies such as genetic modification.