Farmers Worry Monsanto's New
GE Alfalfa Will Contaminate
Their Crops

Associated Press.
January 24, 2002

Alfalfa farmers leery of engineered seed

BOISE, Idaho

Plans to introduce a new genetically-modified alfalfa seed are raising
concerns with seed growers who fear cross-pollination with a conventional
crop which is their livelihood.

The seed, called Roundup Ready, is being developed by Forage Genetics
International of Nampa. It has a gene that makes it resistant to the Roundup
herbicide, which will allow both seed growers and alfalfa hay growers to
better control weeds. The seed is undergoing regulatory scrutiny and could
be on the market by 2004.

Bill Knipe, Forage Genetics vice president, said standard alfalfa can be
destroyed by many herbicides, and often there is only a small window of
opportunity to use them without damage.

The Roundup Ready seed will allow applications of Roundup herbicide to
control the weeds without damaging the crop. That could save money.

If approved by agencies including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the
Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, Forage
Genetics would be the first company to market a genetically altered alfalfa
seed.

Similar Roundup Ready seeds for corn, soybean, canola and cotton already are
on the market.

Although the seeds have obvious advantages, the acceptance of genetically
modified crops has yet to be embraced by the markets.
Japan and some European countries have trade policies that prohibit such
imports.

These restrictions concern seed growers who are under contract to grow only
non-altered seeds.

Nampa seed grower Richard Huff said he fears cross-contamination of his seed
crop from a neighbor who may be using the genetically enhanced seeds.
Huff, who harvested 500,000 pounds of alfalfa seed last season, said his
contract has no tolerance for genetic seeds, so any cross-contamination, no
matter how slight, could ruin his crop.

"If it's put out, and there's cross-contamination, who's going to be
responsible?" Huff said.

Peter Reisen, a seed breeder with Forage Genetics, said studies have been
done on the distance needed between normal and altered alfalfa to ensure
there is no pollen spread between them.

So far, they have shown no cross-contamination between crops placed at least
2,000 feet apart.