Senators, Organic Industry, Resist New Biotech Corn

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http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2003/2003-02-27-01.asp

 

Senators, Organic Industry, Resist New Biotech Corn

 

 

WASHINGTON, DC, February 27, 2003 (ENS) - As the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) approves a new genetically engineered corn for sale, members of

Congress and the organic farm industry are working to keep that corn from ending

up as feed for animals raised on organic farms.

On Tuesday, the EPA approved the use of a corn variety created by Monsanto that

produces its own insecticide to control corn rootworm, a widespread and

destructive insect. The EPA said the new product, YieldGard Rootworm corn, will

provide corn growers with a safe, non-chemical pest control alternative that can

reduce reliance on traditional insecticides.

Entomologist Wade French examines corn roots. The nontransgenic root on the

right shows damage from corn rootworms, but the transgenic root on the left has

little damage. ((Photo by Scott Bauer courtesy USDA)) " EPA has put this new

product through a rigorous, science based review process, including extensive

public comment and independent scientific peer review, to ensure that it is safe

for human health and the environment, " said Stephen Johnson, the EPA's assistant

administrator for prevention, pesticides, and toxic substances.

" This is another milestone in the continued growth of plant biotechnology, " said

Dr. Robert Fraley, chief technology officer for Monsanto. " The fact that this

technology continues to grow is a testament to the benefits of plant

biotechnology and to the promise of products like YieldGard Rootworm corn. "

" This new variety of corn pest control holds great promise for reducing reliance

on conventional insecticides now used on millions of acres of corn in the U.S., "

Johnson said.

But some critics are concerned about where the new corn may end up in the food

supply. They fear it might be fed to livestock whose meat, milk or butter is

then labeled organic on market shelves.

Under the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that Congress passed for fiscal year 2003

earlier this month, a rider was included in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill

allowing producers to label their meat and dairy products organic even though

they do not meet the strict criteria set forth by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA), including the requirement that the animals be fed

organically grown feed.

" The rider was included in the bill to benefit one Georgia producer, " says

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, and " it is written broadly enough

that it essentially creates a loophole for any livestock producer in the country

to get around the organic feed requirement, " the senator said.

On Wednesday Senators Leahy and Olympia Snowe, a Republican from Maine, led a

group of 27 senators in introducing the Organic Restoration Act, a bill that

would repeal the rider.

" With the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, we set out to create strong and

credible standards so that consumers know that when they buy something

'organic,' they know it is organic, " said Leahy, the author of the 1990 law, who

calls himself the " father " of the organic standards and label program.

Senator Patrick Leahy announces his new bill to reverse what he called an

undermining of recently enacted national organic standards. (Photo courtesy

Office of the Senator) " This rider would undo what it took more than a decade to

achieve. It would undermine consumer confidence in the new labeling program and

in this thriving new American industry, and it would devastate U.S. exports of

organic products, " Leahy said.

" We do not let meat packing plants ignore food safety standards or automakers

ignore passenger safety standards for the sake of corporate convenience. We

should not weaken the organic standards because one producer wants to cut

corners that his competitors are not cutting, " said Leahy, who is working to

build a bipartisan coalition to repeal the rider. " We will not let 10 lines in a

3,000-page appropriations bill undermine 12 years of hard work and the

commitment of thousands of organic producers. "

Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman on Tuesday took a position on the

controversial rider which allows organic livestock to be fed non-organic feed

when organic feed is more than twice the price of conventional feed.

Veneman said, " I am concerned that the language inserted in the Omnibus

Appropriations Act could weaken the National Organic Program. It is important to

maintain a strong organic program that ensures the integrity of the organic

label placed on organic consumer products. The best way to do that is to

maintain the organic standards as USDA implemented them in October 2002. "

The Agriculture Department did not take a position when the language was added

to the omnibus spending bill.

Adult corn rootworm (Photo courtesy USDA)The new corn, developed by Monsanto

and referred to as " MON 863, " produces its own insecticide within the plant

derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a naturally occurring soil bacterium.

The Bt protein, called Cry3Bb1, controls corn rootworm, the pest responsible for

the single largest use of conventional insecticides in the United States.

At about 80 million planted acres, corn is the largest crop grown in the

country. The EPA said use of the new pest control tool is expected to result in

major reductions in the use of numerous conventional insecticides.

Kevin Penny, a corn grower from Burlington, Colorado, said, " In the past, we've

had to spray up to three insecticides in a single growing season to control this

pest. So, we are very excited about having the type of technology that can have

this rootworm resistance built within the plant itself. "

In order to reduce the possibility of corn rootworm developing resistance to Bt,

the EPA is requiring Monsanto to ensure that 20 percent of the planted acreage

of this product be set aside where non-Bt corn will be grown to serve as a

" refuge. " These refuge areas will support populations of corn rootworm not

exposed to the Bt bacterium.

The damage is done by corn rootworm larvae like this one. (Photo courtesy

USDA)The insect populations in the refuges are expected to help prevent

resistance development when they crossbreed with insects in the Bt fields. This

resistance management strategy was developed as a condition of the registration,

and the EPA will require routine monitoring and documentation that these

measures are followed.

The EPA is also requiring Monsanto to conduct additional research on corn

rootworm to ensure that optimal long term resistance management practices are

maintained.

The Organic Trade Association Wednesday urged Congress to pass the repeal of the

controversial rider. It is a serious issue because organic livestock provides

meat, milk, eggs, cheese, wool, and more, forming the basis of hundreds of

products, the association said in a statement.

Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the association which represents the

organic industry throughout North America said the rider is upsetting to the

industry because many producers have already made the commitment to organic

production and are following the rules.

" The Organic Trade Association and organic producers throughout the country are

urging that this section be repealed because it undermines their hard work to

adhere to the requirements of the National Organic Program, " said DiMatteo.

" Prompting this has been one company's reluctance to pay the price for organic

feed. Our information shows that there is enough organic feed available to feed

the organic livestock now being raised. "

George Siemon, founding farmer and CEO of Organic Valley Family of Farms and

Livestock Committee chair of the National Organic Standards Board, called on

Congress to pass the Leahy-Snowe " Organic Restoration Act. "

" This rider is a slap in the face to organic farmers, " said Siemon, who

represents the more than 500 organic farmers in the Organic Valley cooperative,

the largest in the world. " It threatens the economic viability of organic

farmers, undermines the foundations of organic agriculture, and tears down

public trust in the USDA organic seal. "

For more information on EPA's regulation of genetically engineered crop

pesticides, visit: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/

 

 

 

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Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2003.

 

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