Genetically engineered corn should not be grown in Maine or anywhere.

Why? Because we do not know what harm it will cause and we have every reason to believe that it will, eventually, be understood to be harmful both to humans and to natural ecosystems.

We know GE corn is classified as a pesticide because every cell of the GE corn plant produces the Bt toxin that kills the corn borer and other insects. We know the amount of toxin involved is thousands of times greater than when a conventional plant is sprayed.

We know the toxin-tainted pollen of GE corn ends up in ponds downstream of GE corn fields and that caddis flies eat that pollen. In lab tests, caddis flies that eat this pollen are exhibiting reduced growth and increased mortality. In ponds, fish and amphibians eat caddis flies.

We also know that corn is pollinated by wind, so people who live or work near GE corn fields breathe in the pollen. We have every reason to believe that breathing in toxin-bearing pollen will prove to be harmful to us.

Technology moves quick. Scientific understanding takes much longer to achieve, so we have to proceed with caution. It makes sense to dedicate ourselves to the development of an agriculture that is respectful of human and ecosystem health, and for us to worry about the ecological effect of technologies and remember the many severe mistakes human beings have already made in their relationship with the land. Let us devote ourselves to an agriculture that is healthy, caring and cautious for the good of us all.

Julie Beckford

Clifton