Farmers and seed companies can be liable for GM contamination, legal scholars ar

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Subject:Farmers and seed companies can be liable for GM contamination,

legal scholars argue

 

" GM WATCH " <info

Wed, 24 Nov 2004 08:31:34 GMT

 

 

 

Farmers and seed companies can be liable for GM contamination, legal

scholars argue

http://www.gmwatch.org

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Extract from the report: " Some legal scholars argue that if a farmer

and/or seed company knows that a

GM crop is difficult to control and that it will likely cross

pollinate with crops in adjacent fields, the farmer and/or seed

company should be held strictly liable for any resulting damages. "

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Farmers urged to learn about GMOs before planting 2005 crops:

GMOs are legal minefield for both growers and their neighbors

http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstryflaginc112204.html

 

Contact Information

David Moeller – Farmers' Legal Action Group (FLAG) 651/223-5400

Michael Sligh - Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA

(RAFI-USA) 919/542-1396

 

Pittsboro, N.C. (November 19, 2004) – The commercial production of

genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, has created a legal minefield

for American farmers and requires that farmers be particularly sure

footed, says Farmers' Guide to GMOs, just released by the Farmers'

Legal Action Group (FLAG) and Rural Advancement Foundation

International-USA (RAFI-USA).

 

Co-author and attorney David R. Moeller of FLAG says that whether

farmers grow GMOs, conventional seeds, or are certified organic, the

use of GMOs in commercial agriculture can affect operations and have

costly legal ramifications.

 

" After almost a decade of commercial production, we have reached that

point, " Moeller said, " where every farmer has a stake and has to be

fully aware of the legal ramifications. No farmer should buy seed for

next season without having a grasp of the information contained in

this Guide. "

 

Co-author Michael Sligh of RAFI, said, " The problems GMOs are creating

for farmers are getting increasingly complex. We at RAFI felt it was

time to invest in a collaborative effort to inform all farmers of the

risks and legal liabilities involved and help them protect their self

interests. "

 

Copies of the Farmers' Guide to GMOs, the first comprehensive look at

the subject, are available free at www.flaginc.org and www.rafiusa.org

 

GMO contamination is one of the primary GMO-related problems. " In a

world of widespread production of GMO crops, what one farmer plants

may seriously affect all of his neighbors' crops. Certain crops, such

as corn and canola, cross-pollinate, causing genetic material to

migrate, " Moeller said. " Farmers may be unable to market contaminated

non-GMO crops, and GMO growers may face liability for unintentional

contamination of their neighbors' crops. "

 

GMO development and marketing is concentrated in a few biotechnology

companies – Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta and Aventis – who control most

of the GMO technology and the resulting seed and chemical markets.

GMOs are regulated by three federal agencies. USDA regulates

pre-release testing and procedures, including field trials. EPA

regulates pesticides contained within GMOs and sets tolerance levels

for pesticides that end up as residues in foods. FDA has regulatory

authority over food produced from GMOs, claiming that it is " generally

recognized as safe. "

 

Moeller said farmers assume significant obligations and legal

liabilities when they sign GMO contracts. " Common obligations include

how and where to plant, including creating 'refuges' of non

pest-resistant varieties; giving up the right to save seed; opening up

their fields and all records, including filings usually subject to the

Privacy Act, to inspections; and agreeing to specified remedies if the

farmer violates the agreement. "

 

In most cases saving seed – an age-old practice among farmers – is

prohibited as to GMOs, and there are stiff penalties for doing so. A

recent U.S. Supreme Court case limited a statutory seed-saving

exemption, and a Canadian case ruled that a farmer could not save seed

from a crop contaminated with GMO technology. " Farmers may not save

seed containing `patented' genes resulting from accidental cross

pollination from a neighboring GMO group or any other source, " Sligh said.

 

Farmers who sign a technology agreement have little recourse if the

company asks to inspect their fields. Where there is no contract,

farmers should seek legal counsel and require the company to show

cause. In every case when samples are demanded, farmers should make

sure an identical independent sample is taken and analyzed, Moeller said.

 

Selection of uncontaminated seeds, planting at a distance from GMO

crops, creating buffer areas, and meticulous cleaning of equipment and

storage areas are all important. Moeller counsels farmers to avoid

making broad statements of non-GMO warranty and to emphasize efforts

made to prevent contamination beginning, of course, with the statement

that seed have been certified GMO free. Organic farmers risk losing

their certification through GMO contamination.

 

Recent research on the costs and benefits of GMOs surprisingly shows

that pesticide use has increased on herbicide tolerant crops. Sligh

says this is due primarily to farmers' reliance on a single herbicide –

glyphosate – that must be sprayed in increasing amounts to keep up

with the shift in weed populations toward more difficult to control

species and the development of resistance to certain weeds.

 

FLAG is a nonprofit law center dedicated to providing legal services

to family farmers and their rural communities to help keep family

farmers on the land. RAFI-USA is dedicated to community, equity, and

diversity in agriculture. This Farmers' Guide to GMOs is a joint

project of FLAG and RAFI-USA with financial support from the Nathan

Cummings Foundation and The John Merck Fund, and the Lawson Valentine

Foundation.

 

Additional information, as well as the full text of the Guide, is

available at http://www.flaginc.org

 

View Farmer' Guide to GMOs (PDF)

http://www.flaginc.org/news/FG_GMO_20041122.pdf

 

 

 

 

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