Erviros cite Roundup for butterfly decline; Monsanto lists other factors

摘要

Widespread use of glyphosate (Roundup) and the planting of Roundup Ready crops throughout the Cornbelt has significantly reduced populations of the monarch butterfly, according to a coalition of environmental groups in a petition to list the insect under the Endangered Species Act. "In the Midwest, nearly ubiquitous adoption of glyphosate-resistant 'Roundup Ready' corn and soybeans has caused a precipitous decline of common milkweed, and thus of mon-archs, which lay their eggs only on milkweeds," states the petition, which also blames Roundup-resistant cotton planting in California, along with development, logging, and climate change for eliminating monarch habitat.