California Monarch Butterfly Numbers Decline 86% in 2 Years
Monarch Butterflies
Approximately 20 years ago, I wrote a California State senator and warned him that side-effects associated with Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) threatened Monarch butterflies. I specifically pointed to expected declines in California along parts of its coast. But he did not listen.
Now we see reports of massive losses of these butterflies:
California Monarch Butterfly Numbers Decline 86% in 2 Years
Researchers with an environmental group have labeled as “disturbingly low” the number of western monarch butterflies that migrate along the California coast.
A recent count by the Xerces Society recorded fewer than 30,000 butterflies, which it said is an 86 percent decline since 2017.
By comparison, the group in 1981 counted more than 1 million western monarchs wintering in California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The Xerces Society conducts annual Thanksgiving and New Year’s counts and was not certain what caused the numbers to drop. It said there is no substantial evidence of a delayed migration and butterflies are not being reported in other parts of the country.
A 2017 study by Washington State University researchers found the species likely will go extinct in the next few decades if nothing is done to save it.
Scientists say the butterflies are threatened by pesticides, herbicides and destruction along their migratory route. They also have noted climate change impacts. https://ktla.com/2019/01/06/california-monarch-butterfly-numbers-decline-86-in-2-years/
Notice also a report from 2014:
WASHINGTON— In response to a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Xerces Society and renowned monarch scientist Dr. Lincoln Brower, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said today that Endangered Species Act protection may be warranted for monarch butterflies. The agency will now conduct a one-year status review on monarchs, which have declined by 90 percent in the past 20 years. …
The butterfly’s dramatic decline is being driven in large part by the widespread planting of genetically engineered crops in the Midwest, where most monarchs are born. The vast majority of genetically engineered crops are made to be resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, a potent killer of milkweed, the monarch caterpillar’s only food. The dramatic surge in Roundup use with Roundup Ready crops has virtually wiped out milkweed plants in Midwestern corn and soybean fields. In the past 20 years it is estimated that these once-common iconic orange and black butterflies may have lost more than 165 million acres of habitat — an area about the size of Texas — including nearly a third of their summer breeding grounds.
The population has declined from a recorded high of approximately 1 billion butterflies in the mid-1990s to only 35 million butterflies last winter, the lowest number ever recorded. http://www.xerces.org/2014/12/29/monarch-butterfly-moves-toward-endangered-species-act-protection/
There are many, many risks with GMO crops. Because of the use of GMO corn, the amount of milkweeds have diminished–hence the herbicide intent of GMOs has negative side effect. This in turn has diminished the amount of monarch butterflies as they benefit from milkweed. In our local area here, the migration of the monarch butterflies to Pismo Beach from November through February draws a lot of tourists. But the numbers of monarch butterflies coming to Pismo Beach have tended to drop.
Bees, too, are affected by GMOs and their population keeps dropping (see Nearly One Third of American Bees Died: Is Famine Coming to the USA? and ‘The world’s most popular pesticide probably killed England’s wild bees’ and UN reports on massive declines in bee and buttefly populations). Furthermore, there are a lot of unanticipated problems from GMOs. Additionally, scientists are combining a variety of animal genes as well as genes of creatures like spiders. This is not going to end well. As far as the nutritional benefits of GMOs go, many of those ‘benefits’ are based upon a lot of assumptions that I do not believe hold up well in the real world and I will leave it at that for now.
While the supposed intent of GMOs is to increase the food supply and provide crops that are resistant to pests, the reality is that the GMO thrust is essentially based upon lust for profits.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10)
The production of GMO crops places massive amounts of the food supply at risk for destruction. While in nature, there is variety of crops, with GMO-crops there is a uniformity that is unnatural. This uniformity puts the entire crop at risk because if one plant succumbs to a pest, the entire crop is susceptible as well–this can lead to famines. Paul told Timothy that love of money can cause many sorrows. Notice that Jesus said that famines were one of the sorrows that would come:
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. (Mark 13:8)
Now, while some claim that GMO-crops are resistant to various pests, the reality is that several years ago, Monsanto learned that its corn that was supposed to be resistant to a root pest was, in fact, susceptible to it (see Pestilence Issues and Genetically-Modified Corn). The scientists there hope to work around this, but the time will come that disasters and troubles will result in famines and I have long suspected that GMOs would be part of the reason.
In the last 20th century, I started to get published for my positions against genetically-modified foods (Thiel R. Labeling of genetically modified foods should be a fundamental consumer right. HealthKeepers, 2000; 2 (3):16-19; Thiel R. ANMA’s official position on genetically-modified foods. ANMA Monitor, 1999;3(4)5-8). And since then, more and more information has come to light suggesting dangers to the environment and health related to GMOs.
Nearly eight years ago, I warned:
In the “Great Depression” most Americans and Brits had skills in growing food. This is no longer the case. Furthermore, modern crops have gotten more complicated as so many seeds are hybrids that they will not actually grow the type of foods most in the USA and UK are used to having. The coming food problems will also get worse once one or more genetically-modified crops suffers from some type of pestilence. The USA, to cite one example, could lose virtually all of its wheat or corn because of the dependence on genetically modified versions (which is especially true for crops like corn and soy). Prophecy for famines will be fulfilled (Matthew 24:7-8). (From China Buying USA Food, In Depression Will Chinese Eat While Americans & Brits Starve? May 21, 2010)
Notice something that Ezekiel was inspired to write:
15 ‘So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. 17 So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’” (Ezekiel 5:15-17)
Notice that this shows famine, then pestilence, and then the sword. The above sequence seems to be slightly different than that Jesus listed as part of the “beginning of sorrows” (Mathew 24:7-8) as the sword comes afterwards. But since the sword should begin the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), this may be part of how the beginning of sorrows ties into the Great Tribulation–this also may suggest hunger and disease problems for the Anglo-nations prior to the start of the Great Tribulation.
The increasing use of genetically modified organisms for many of the grain crops in the USA is putting parts of humanity at major increased risk of unintended consequences such as famine and disease pestilences. Most of the corn and soy beans produced in the USA are genetically-modified. Soon, much of the wheat will be. Directly and indirectly, the USA and its Anglo-allies will cause most of the problems that it will be experiencing in the next several years.
As Jesus said:
37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch! (Mark 13:36-37)
Tougher times are coming. And for some parts of the world these tougher time may be here now. People who can prepare, should: both spiritually and physically. (From Super Wheat: Solution or Disaster Awaiting? June 10, 2011)
So, it may be that the Anglo-nations will experience some real hunger as well as disease and/or other pestilences (that could possibly at least partially be triggered by excessive reliance on genetically-modified organisms as part of their agricultural production) that will weaken them enough so that the USA and its Anglo-allies will then be considered attackable by some of their enemies…
Because of sin, greed, and ignorance, America has been into producing genetically-modified foods. These “foods” are genetically identical which makes them susceptible to total elimination via famine-causing pestilential organisms. I have long suspected that the time will come when some type of pestilence will hit America’s genetically-modified grain crops like corn and wreak havoc on the land. Enough so, that this may embolden its enemies to attack Britain and/or the USA to begin the Great Tribulation. (Can the Great Tribulation Begin in 2011, 2012, or 2013? Spring 2011)
Basically, I have long suspected that likely crop failures associated with GMO grains are putting the USA and its Anglo-allies at extreme risk of being destroyed. Most Americans do not like to accept this, but it is nonetheless true. The loss of monarch butterflies should be considered like the ‘canaries in a coal mine,’ an indicator that real disaster looms. Coal miners used to bring canaries down in the mines with them as the canaries were a bit more sensitive to air contamination risks–if the canaries died, the miners would get out. The dramatic loss of monarch butterflies should warn us that GMOs are not as safe as the proponents of them claim.
The following was published as reason ten as to why US President Barack Obama was apocalyptic in my book Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States:
Barack Obama broke a campaign pledge about requiring that genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in foods be labeled (Philpott T. Obama’s broken promise on GMO Food Labeling. Mother Jones, October 6, 2011). And while he at some point in time may change on this, the fact is that he has taken steps to encourage the production and use of GMO “foods” (cf. Isaiah 55:2) (Anderman RH. Obama Deregulates GMO Crops Despite Supreme Court Injunction. Tikkun, June 2, 2011; Huff EA. The Obama administration love affair with GMOs is selling America down the river for agricultural ruin. Natural News, August 21, 2011).
Increased reliance on GMOs by the United States puts the nation at major risk for nearly complete crop failures. The Bible warns that famines (Matthew 24:7) and food shortages (Revelation 6:5-6) are coming and Barack Obama has further helped set the stage for this. (Thiel B. Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States, Edition 2.0. Nazarene Books, 2013, pp. 47-48)
Just two months or so after the above edition of the book came out, US President Obama signed what is called the ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ to protect Monsanto from legal action from those who may believe they are harmed from GMO foods–so Monsanto now has legal protection even if its crops kill humans and/or destroy the environment (for details, see H.R. 933 includes pro-GMO provision that some call ‘Monsanto Protection Act’).
As far as Donald Trump and GMOs, my book Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse has the following:
Humans should eat what is good (cf. Isaiah 55:2). Donald Trump, like others before him, has made statements supporting the use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) to be consumed as foods (Goldberg M. President-Elect Donald Trump and Organic Food – How Concerned Should We Be? Living MaxWell, November 10, 2016). Increased reliance on GMOs by the United States puts the nation at major risk for nearly complete crop failures. The Bible warns that famines (Matthew 24:7) and food shortages (Revelation 6:5-6) are coming and Donald Trump may further help set the stage for this.
While monarch butterflies may not seem to be important to many, the time is coming when the USA will have severe food shortages. And at that same time, the USA may have to provide grain to China and other creditors that it owes when some Americans will be starving. The reliance on genetically-modified grain crops will likely contribute to disaster in the USA. It may even contribute to food inflation.
Yet, Congress and the US President gave additional legal protection to the company that produces these organisms. Genetically modified organisms are not natural foods.
Thousands of years ago, God inspired one of his prophets to pen the following, which encourages people to eat what is good:
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. (Isaiah 55:2)
Intentionally eating GMOs, in my view, is not good. Encouraging more GMOs is hazardous to the environment and ultimately will negatively impact humanity.
Some items of possibly related interest may include the following:
GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
Chimeras: Has Science Crossed the Line? What are chimeras? Has science crossed the line? Does the Bible give any clues? A video of related interest is Half human, half pig: What’s the difference?
The Bible, Christians, and the Environment How should Christians view the environment? Does the Bible give any clues? What are some of the effects of air, water, and land pollution? Is environmental pollution a factor in autism and death? Do pollutants seem to double the autism risk? What will Jesus do? Here is a link to a related sermon: Christians and the Environment (there is also YouTube video available titled Air Pollution, Autism, and Prophecy).
Physical Preparation Scriptures for Christians. We all know the Bible prophecies famines. Should we do something? Here is a version in the Spanish language Escrituras sobre Preparación física para los Cristianos. Here is a link to a related sermon: Physical preparedness for Christians.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be: Are Chinese threats against Australia for real?
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
Donald Trump in Prophecy Prophecy, Donald Trump? Are there prophecies that Donald Trump may fulfill? Are there any prophecies that he has already helped fulfill? Is a Donald Trump presidency proving to be apocalyptic? Two related videos are available: Donald: ‘Trump of God’ or Apocalyptic? and Donald Trump’s Prophetic Presidency.
Trump Presidency Magic 8 Ball or Bible Prophecy? BBC reported that one might as well use a ‘Magic Eight-Ball’ to try to predict what will happen in the remaining time of Donald Trump’s presidency. What is a ‘Magic Eight-Ball’? Dr. Thiel not only explains that, but also briefly goes over 10 biblically-based warnings he wrote would happen if Donald Trump were elected that have already began to come to pass. He also goes over something he wrote back in 2008 that the Trump presidency is also helping lead to fulfillment. Should you trust Bible prophecy or not? Dr. Thiel says that Bible prophecy can be trusted, despite the view of skeptics and others that either overlook or despise the Bible. This is a video.
Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse This 188 page book is for people truly interested in prophecies related to Donald Trump and the United States, including learning about several that have already been fulfilled and those that will be fulfilled in the future. The physical book can be purchased at Amazon for $12.99 from the following link: Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse.
Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse-Kindle Edition This electronic version of the 188 page print edition is available for only US$3.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse-Kindle Edition.
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