washington

For many Americans, research published last week suggesting that pollen from genetically modified (GM) Bt corn might harm the larvae of monarch butterflies (see Nature 399, 214 ; 1999) was their first exposure to the environmental and health concerns from GM crops. But they are unlikely to call for greater control of GM technology.

The research was widely reported in the US media, appearing on national news broadcasts and in newspapers across the country. Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the most vocal group opposing GM foods in the United States, predicts the attention will generate “a lot more opposition” to GM crops.

But industry groups and politicians are sceptical, believing that the public will not risk harming US agriculture and trade. Val Giddings, vice-president for food and agriculture at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, says European concerns about health and environmental safety are just “thinly veiled protectionism”.

The UCS and the Environmental Defense Fund have called on the US Environmental Protection Agency to suspend approval of Bt corn until the threat to monarchs can be assessed. But other environmental groups have remained quiet. In Washington, debate on GM foods is focused on trade issues.

On 13 May, 36 senators signed a letter written by John Ashcroft (Republican, Missouri) and Tom Harkin (Democrat, Iowa) calling on President Clinton to raise the issue of trade at next month's G-8 summit in Cologne, Germany, and at the November meeting of the World Trade Organization. Ashcroft's home state includes St Louis, home of the biotechnology company Monsanto.