Letter: GM pollution peril

Letter: GM pollution peril

Sir: In your leading article of 21 May, you mention that genetically engineered maize in America poses a threat to the Monarch butterfly.

We live in the heart of wheat and oilseed rape fields which are systematically sprayed with a disturbingly high dose of pesticides and fungicides. Fewer and fewer species of butterflies survive this annual onslaught on the ecosystem and there is evidence that species of birds, like the skylark, are being adversely affected.

While the nation huffs and puffs about GM crops, in front of our very eyes the destruction of the countryside by traditionally accepted methods continues unchecked. Should not government and independent scientists also be monitoring the effects of intensive farming on the environment and on those of us that are subjected to high levels of agricultural pollution? Are asthma and eczema on the increase because of crop spraying?

ANDREW HAMILTON; ANTHEA HAMILTON; ALICE HAMILTON; HATTIE HAMILTON; IMOGEN HAMILTON

Walton, Warwickshire