Imagine a World Without Monarch Butterflies

Photo courtesy of
The Texas state insect:The Monarch butterfly

Report by Robert Cohen

Today is the 85th day of my hunger strike.

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"Imagine a World Without Monarch Butterflies" is the title of Alex Jack's new book. Alex is the general manager of the Kushi Institute and director of the One Peaceful World Society.

I knew that I was going to like the book even before getting to the first chapter. The inside front cover contains a page filled with quotes. The title of that page is: Ode to the Monarch Butterfly.

The first quote is taken from a Rachel Carson letter, written in 1963. (Rachel Carson wrote "Silent Spring," a book alerting America to the dangers of DDT).

"But most of all I shall remember the Monarchs, that unhurried westward drift of one small winged form after another, each drawn by some invisible force ... Did they return?"

I remember the Monarchs. The Shinnecock hills of Southampton, New York were filled with Monarchs in 1973 as late spring turned into summer and my final semester of college life drew to a close. I remember walking through the beach grass, over a great sand dune, searching for nesting plovers and sandpipers when I walked over the crest of a dune and there before me was a never-to-be forgotten sight. The sky was thick with Monarchs. Behind me the ocean surf crashed against the beach. Gulls were feeding upon spearing and sand eels, driven to the surface by a school of striped bass. Everything seemed right with the world in nature's moment of perfection.

"Imagine a World Without Monarch Butterflies" is a consumer's guide to genetic engineering. Mr. Jack's memo to Monsanto should be read by all FDA regulators. Do these men and women at the Food and Drug Administration still have a thread of conscience?

Recently, Cornell University scientists exposed Monarch butterfly caterpillars to pollen from Monsanto's genetically engineered corn. None of the butterflies eating pollen from "natural" corn died, while 44% of the Monarchs eating the pollen from genetically engineered plants died within four days.

The threat to the Monarch is real, documented by real science. The threat to man is also real, but those who have the opportunity to act upon truth remain blind, deaf, and mute.

Should there be a major tragedy, who shall be held accountable?

FDA knows. So does Monsanto.

Our hunger strike continues. We have documented and submitted an enormous file to FDA. Monsanto consists of liars. Monsanto's secrets are terrifying. Monsanto made serious errors when they produced the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. Monsanto conveniently did not inform FDA of those errors until after they received approval for their drug. Monsanto scientists knew that lab animals got cancer from this hormone, now in America's ice cream and cheese. The milk is not safe to drink.

Who will tell the parents of the children? Who will apologize for those who suffer leukemias and cancers, similar to the vast array of cancers suffered by 300 lab animals in the secret Richard, Odaglia and Deslex study?

The foreword to Alex Jack's book is written by Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich. The Congressman is currently conducting biotechnology hearings. We have given our information to Congress, and there are many eyes focused upon FDA and Monsanto. Monsanto's deceit can be FDA's one opportunity to save face. Canadian scientists reviewed the same data reviewed by American scientists. Canadians found the cancers that American regulators missed. What price can profits represent, when one child dies?

On another front, Monsanto is about to be purchased by UPJOHN for a deal worth in excess of 27 billion dollars. Simultaneous to our FDA petition, UPJOHN has a "TOP SECRET" application in to FDA for approval of their version of the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone.

FDA refuses to officially comment on this application. Monsanto may very well receive approval for a new formula for their bovine growth hormone with no testing required by FDA.

Will FDA and Monsanto get away with this collaboration? Let this be a warning to all co-conspirators. We are watching. Congress is watching.

FDA and Monsanto do not seem to care about the butterflies. Their disregard for the people is equally offensive.

Close your eyes and have a loved one read you this passage from Alex Jack's "Ode to Butterflies." The following was written by Diane Ackerman in "The Rarest of the Rare."

"It's easy to get mesmerized watching the Monarchs glide overhead, with the sun shining through their wings ... They are silent, beautiful, fragile; they are harmless and clean; they are determined; they are graceful; they stalk nothing; they are ingenious chemists; they are a symbol of innocence; they are the first butterfly we learn to call by name. Like the imagination, they dart from one sunlit spot to another. To the Mexicans, who call them 'las palomas,' they are the souls of the children who died during the past year, fluttering on their way to heaven."

Alex Jack is a visionary. His concept of the world is a vision that I share. Our dream is to return to a more natural way of life by creating a world of enduring health. Monsanto's view of the world is one in which their products symbolically mirror their ill-reasoned doctrine: Agent Orange, Dioxins, PCBs, and genetically engineered foods.

Monsanto's official response to the Monarch butterfly death might very well be inscribed upon the thousands of tombstones of the children who will die this year from cancers:

"Most corn pollen remains within the cornfield and Monarch larvae can choose to avoid feeding on Bt pollen by feeding on the underside of leaves or on other milkweed leaves with little or no Bt pollen."

Who will tell the Monarchs?

(Alex Jack's book can be purchased for $6.95 by calling One Peaceful World Press toll-free at 888-322-4095. Jack is also the author of "Let Food Be Thy Medicine")