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Organic farmers sing biotech blues
(Tuesday, July 15, 2003 -- CropChoice news) -- Philip Brasher, Des Moines Register, 07/14/03: Washington, D.C. - Farmers who are trying to fill America's growing appetite
for organic food said that genetically engineered corn and
soybeans are becoming so widespread that organic growers - who count on
selling their crops for two to three times as much as conventional varieties
- are having trouble keeping biotech contamination out of their crops.
Federal rules bar the use of biotechnology in organic
agriculture, and even the slightest bit of biotech contamination can cut the
value of the crop by a third or more.
Roger Lansink, an organic farmer near Odebolt, Ia, said,
"The first load of corn you send out with every new crop you hold your
breath," and that a "huge percentage" of organic corn probably contains
traces of biotech residue.
Organic crops can be contaminated in a variety of ways. Bags of seed often
include traces of biotech varieties. Depending on weather conditions and
farming practices, organic corn can easily cross-pollinate with biotech corn
in nearby fields.
Lansink had a load of soybeans test positive for biotech contamination two
years ago and almost had to sell the crop for half what it was worth as an
organic crop.
Dave Vetter, a Nebraska farmer, said his organic corn crop
tested positive for biotech residue three years in a row, and he lost a
customer as a result.
Food companies and livestock producers are increasingly forcing farmers and
grain elevators to test organic commodities to detect any traces of biotech
material, known as GMO for genetically modified organism.
Lynn Clarkson, president of Clarkson Grain Co. Inc. of Cerro Gordo, Ill., a
major supplier of biotech-free grain to U.S. and foreign companies, said, "The trend for difficulty is going up and will continue to
get worse if the planting trends for GMOs continues as they've been in the
last several years."
A recent survey of U.S. organic farmers by the Organic
Farming Research Foundation found more than half of the 990 respondents said
the government wasn't doing enough to protect them from biotech
contamination and 18 farmers in the survey said their crops had tested
positive for biotech material.
When the U.S. Department of Agriculture originally
proposed rules for organic agriculture in the mid-1990s, they would have
allowed the use of biotech seeds, but USDA reversed itself after receiving
thousands of comments opposed to the provision. Not only are organic crop
farmers barred from using biotech seeds, but livestock producers also are
required to use organically grown feed.
The USDA rules, which took effect last year, don't require organic crops to
be tested for biotech residue, and the department says that unintentional
biotech residue doesn't prevent a crop from being called "organic."
But that doesn't stop organic food companies and organic livestock producers
from requiring seeds and crops to be tested for GMO content.
Both the testing requirements and GMO tolerances - the amount of biotech
residue permitted in a crop - vary from company to company. Some grain
companies test organic grain if it is to be sold for food but not for animal
feed. Other companies test everything.
The financial stakes for farmers are large: Organic soybeans that can be
sold for food go for $12.50 to $14.50 a bushel. Feed-grade soybeans sell for
about $9 a bushel, still about $3 more than conventional soybeans. | |
