GE CROP CONTAMINATION IS FAR FROM UNDER CONTROL

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Republished with permission from Citizens for Health, Natural Health
E-News Update, February 27, 2004

Even farmers who don't think they are growing genetically engineered crops may be planting GE seeds in their fields. That's what new studies commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists unveiled this week. According to new research, the majority of conventional U.S. crop seeds have become contaminated with strands of genetically modified DNA.

In the 70-page report, "Gone to Seed," released this week, data revealed that more than two-thirds of conventional soy, canola and corn seed batches contain traces of genetically modified material. Though researchers say that at this point the contamination is somewhat slight, they warn that if farming practices and federal regulation of the biotech industry are not tightened, soon all of our food crops will contain some genetically modified elements.

Such a situation could be disastrous for the overall U.S. economyparticularly for exports of foods, seeds and oilssince many consumers in export nations are not in favor of GM foods. The domestic market for organic food, one of the fastest growing sectors in U.S. agriculture, would also take a drastic hit.

Even more harmful are long-term effects of "biopharm" crop contaminationcrops that are genetically engineered to produce pharmaceutical and industrial products in their leaves and stems. "No one wants drugs or plastics in our cornflakes," said Margaret Mellon, Director of the food and environmental program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Left unchecked, this is a problem that will hurt the U.S. economically, and perhaps even affect our health."

To protect against a total takeover from GM seeds, the report suggests much tighter regulations for outdoor GE crop planting and creating a reservoir of seeds that are still pure to fall back on as an "insurance policy." Both the FDA and USDA said they would review the report. Biotech industry officials did not seem surprised by the report's findings. In fact, they said they could have predicted the results all along.

"We were not surprised by this report�knowing that pollen travels and commodity grains might commingle at various places and you may have some missing in transport or storage," said Lisa Dry, communications director for the Biotechnology Industry Association. How do Dry and the industry suggest that farmers and regulators keep seeds free of genetic contamination? Simply work harder to make consumers around of the world more accepting to the technology, of course. "It's important for countries around the world to adopt a uniform standard" of acceptable levels of contamination, Dry said.

Biotech companies have faced strong consumer resistance of GM foods on a global scale. At the very least, consumers want GM foods to be labeled so that they can make an informed choice about the food they buy. Food labels are something that companies like Monsanto have adamantly refused, claiming that labels would "blacklist" genetically modified fare.

Monsanto has even gone so far as to sue small dairy farmers across the country for labeling their milk as "free of artificial growth hormones." The biotech giant says that other milk producers do not have the right to tell consumers that their products do not contain the Monsanto chemical rBGH, a growth hormone banned for health reasons in every other industrialized country other than the U.S. The worst part? Monsanto actually won their first case against Oakhurst Dairy, a small family-owned company in Maine.

Take Action Against Monsanto!

Join the Organic Consumers Association in the Millions Against Monsanto campaign. Tell Monsanto to respect consumer's rights, to quit intimidating small family farmers, and to label genetically engineered foods! To send your fax in just a few clicks visit: http://www.organicconsumers.org

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