Frankenfoods

In response to a post by Cookie Jill at skippy's blog, I commented as follows:

A sane person would have reservations about eating plants modified to kill pests.

People who do plant modification research are such sloppy crappers about isolating their experimental stocks. Wonder if modified plants are killing the bees?

That question is not as idle as it looks at first. A large percentage of the corn crop in the US has been contaminated by strains modified to repel borer worms. Meddlesome Agra has let many experiments out, and the corn crop is not the first to become tainted by modified strains. Sure -- take a crop that is pollinated by the wind and put the modified plants outdoors. What happens? Instant transmission of pollen by the wind. Sometimes you have to wonder about the intelligence of the people who are working with plants. They sometimes act as if the plants are their colleagues and intellectual equals.

Pollen from modified corn has been implicated in damaging populations of Monarch butterflies. Monarchs feed on milkweed plants, but pollen blown from corn may be clinging to milkweed plants and killing the butterflies. And what do bees thrive on? Pollen. And do you suppose that other blossoms are not being contaminated by modified pollen?

Right.