Heartburn in the heartlands/Monsanto buys another seed company

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GMW: Heartburn in the heartlands/Monsanto buys another seed

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Wed, 2 Mar 2005 13:12:26 GMT

 

 

 

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Heartburn in the heartlands/Monsanto buys another seed company

 

" At this stage, any kind of reasonably cautious approach would say hold

off on their protein until we get data that is more definitive, " said

Doug Gurian-Sherman, a former scientist for the Environmental Protection

Agency who doesn't believe the EPA should approve the new corn variety,

which could end up in food. (item 1)

 

Most items shortened

1.New kind of biotech corn gets close look

2.Sonoma County to put biotech ban to voters

3.Monsanto buys regional seed co. for $40m

4.New Hampshire town voters asked to oppose GMOs

5.Bills would prohibit local crop seed rules

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1.New kind of biotech corn gets close look

Philip Brasher

Des Moines Register, March 1, 2005

 

Washington, D.C. - The government is again investigating the safety of

genetically engineered corn.

 

This time, the issue isn't StarLink, the corn variety that spawned

nationwide food recalls in 2000, but a variety developed by Des

Moines-based Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Dow AgroSciences. The

new variety

produces corn resistant to rootworm.

 

Like StarLink, the Pioneer-Dow product contains a protein that takes

longer to break down in the human gut than many other proteins. That's a

characteristic of foods that cause allergic reactions.

 

" At this stage, any kind of reasonably cautious approach would say hold

off on their protein until we get data that is more definitive, " said

Doug Gurian-Sherman, a former scientist for the Environmental Protection

Agency who doesn't believe the EPA should approve the new corn variety,

which could end up in food.

 

Gurian-Sherman, who worked on the StarLink issue while at the EPA, is

now senior scientist with the Center for Food Safety, an advocacy group

critical of agricultural biotechnology.

 

The EPA believes the corn is safe, based on research provided by

Pioneer and Dow, as does the Food and Drug Administration, which also

assesses the safety of biotech foods.

 

However, the EPA is convening a panel of scientific advisers today and

Wednesday to look into the companies' data.

 

Officials with Pioneer and Dow were cited as saying there are crucial

differences between their corn and StarLink and expect the scientists to

agree that it is safe.

 

The Pioneer-Dow product, which contains a bacterium gene that makes the

plants toxic to insect pests, would be the second line of biotech corn

that is resistant to rootworm.

 

The EPA approved the first rootworm-resistant corn, a Monsanto product,

in 2003.

 

In initial tests, the protein at issue in the Pioneer-Dow product took

up to 30 minutes to disappear. Most similar proteins break down within

30 seconds to five minutes.

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2.Sonoma County to put biotech ban to voters

Associated Press

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/11028201.htm

 

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Sonoma County supervisors agreed Tuesday to allow

voters to decide whether to become the fourth California county to ban

genetically modified organisms.

 

The measure, which will likely be voted on in November, would prohibit

the cultivation of genetically altered plants and animals for 10 years.

 

" I think it is perhaps the most significant ballot initiative that

voters will have ever had the chance of voting on in Sonoma County, " Lex

McCorvey, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, which

opposes the ban, told The Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

 

Biotech critics turned in more than 45,000 signatures last month, the

most ever submitted for a local initiative.

 

" We are starting with a vast majority of people in the county

supporting us, " said Daniel Solnit, campaign coordinator for GE-Free

Sonoma

County. " Our job, in essence, is to hang on to most of the support we

have,

which is a nice place to start from. "

 

County supervisors declined to adopt the law outright Tuesday and voted

5-0 to put the GMO ban before voters. The measure will be voted upon

Nov. 8, unless Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for a special election before

then.

 

Bans have already passed in Mendocino, Marin and Trinity counties.

Voters in Humboldt, San Luis Obispo and Butte counties rejected similar

ballot measures last November.

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3.Monsanto buys regional seed company for $40 million

JIM SUHR

Associated Press

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/11021855.htm

 

ST. LOUIS - Monsanto Co. said Tuesday its fledgling holding company

will buy seed-marketer NC+ Hybrids Inc. for $40 million in cash,

continuing the agribusiness' shopping spree for regional seed

companies as its

dominance in herbicides erodes.

 

St. Louis-based Monsanto said NC+ Hybrids Inc., based in Lincoln, Neb.,

is the latest acquisition by its American Seeds Inc. unit, formed last

year to support regional seed businesses with capital, genetics and

technology investments... The company represents

roughly 1 percent of the U.S. corn seed market.

 

" ASI was established with the intention of cultivating a new business

model that brings new technology more directly to more farmers through

local seed brands, " said Kerry Preete, Monsanto's vice president of U.S.

crop production. NC+ Hybrids " is the logical continuation of our

strategy to add regional seed companies that can build this new model and

accelerate ASI's growth. "

 

The purchase is the latest by Monsanto, which last month announced it

was buying Emergent Genetics Inc. - the nation's third-largest cotton

seed company - for $300 million.

 

Boulder, Colo.-based Emergent has roughly 12 percent of the U.S. cotton

seed market through its Stoneville and NexGen brands. Emergent also has

two cotton seed brands in India and a solid presence in several other

smaller cotton-growing markets.

 

That announcement came less than a month after Monsanto agreed to a $1

billion cash deal to buy Seminis Inc., the Oxnard, Calif.-based

supplier of more than 3,500 seed varieties to commercial fruit and

vegetable

growers, dealers, distributors and wholesalers in more than 150

countries.

 

Late last year, Monsanto's American Seeds Inc. acquired Indiana-based

seed company Channel Bio Corp. for $120 million cash.

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4.Warner voters asked to oppose genetically modified food

By Associated Press

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/special/2_28special3.htm

 

WARNER, N.H. - Voters at Town Meeting will be asked to discourage the

growing of genetically engineered crops in town and to support any state

or federal laws calling for

a moratorium on them and making manufacturers liable for damages if

they cause harm.

 

About 70 Vermont towns passed similar warrant articles last year and

theVermont Legislature passed a law requiring genetically modified seeds

sold in the state to be clearly labeled, but the Warner warrant article

appears to be the lone effort in New

Hampshire so far.

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5.Bills would prohibit local crop seed rules

 

An opponent says the plan to set uniform guidelines in Iowa is 'by and

for the biotechnology industry.'

 

By TIM HIGGINS local crop seed rules>

 

DES MOINES REGISTER STAFF WRITER

 

March 1, 2005

 

Legislation that would prevent local governments from regulating crop

production is drawing complaints from people who say it's aimed at

shutting off efforts to restrict genetically modified crops.

 

House File 202 and Senate Study Bill 1144 would keep cities and

counties from banning the sale, use or formulation of agricultural seeds.

 

Supporters have said the legislation will prevent inconsistent rules

across the state over what farmers can and can't plant.

 

The House Agriculture Committee plans to hold a public hearing at 7:30

a.m. today at the Iowa Statehouse in the Supreme Court Chamber.

 

Rep. Mark Kuhn, a Democrat from Charles City, said in a written

statement that the legislation is " an attempt to legislate by and for the

biotechnology industry. " He added that the lawmakers should focus

instead on protecting organic producers from genetically modified crops

and damage caused by pollen drift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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