Global Opposition Mounts Against Monsanto's "FrankenWheat"

US & Global Opposition Mounts Against Monsanto's GE Wheat--Even Before It Is
Commercialized
Farm News from Cropchoice
An alternative news service for American farmers
http://www.cropchoice.com

2/1/01
Farmers, foreign markets send negative signals on Roundup Ready wheat
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(February 1, 2001 -- Cropchoice news) -- The concerns are sprouting before
Monsanto even introduces its newest batch of biotech -- Roundup Ready
wheat. They range from outright rejection by foreign markets that don't
want it, to contamination of conventional varieties. The Montana and
North Dakota legislatures have responded with bills that would place a
moratorium on the sale and planting of genetically engineered wheat.

"As time goes on we will not necessarily be able to guarantee that
conventional varieties can remain free of genetically modified material,"
said Todd Leake, who grows wheat on 1,300 acres in North Dakota. This
could hurt farmers trying to grow conventional wheat for overseas markets
that demand a product free of genetic modification.

"A lot of farmers would like to use Roundup Ready wheat because it would
cut herbicide costs and be more convenient to spray on our crops and clean
up fields," Leake said. "But with the increased technology fees for the
seed, losing the right to propagate our own seed and having to purchase
every bushel we plant, and especially losing our export markets, the
tradeoffs are not in the favor of Roundup Ready wheat with a lot of
growers."

Indeed, export markets are already sending negative signals ahead of
Monsanto's introduction of its new crop.

Tsutomu Shigota, senior managing director of the Japan Flour Millers
Association, earlier this month told Dow Jones: "Under the circumstances,
I strongly doubt that any bakery and noodle products made from genetically
modified wheat or even conventional wheat that may contain modified wheat
will be accepted in the Japanese market. World wheat supply has been
abundant in recent years, and I don't see why we have to deal with
modified wheat...I believe the production of modified wheat at this time
will be a very risky challenge for U.S. producers."

On Jan. 5, Algeria, which imports large amounts of durum wheat from the
United States, announced that it would not import any genetically modified
commodities. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are taking a similar tack.

Italians don't want genetically modified wheat, either. The website,
www.infoexport.gc.ca, recently reported that "given the situation in
Italy, with (leading farmers' group) Confagricoltura promising consumers
to use only GM-free wheat, attention and effort should be directed to this
subject."

Contamination?

Some farmers are concerned that genetically modified wheat will too easily
cross-pollinate with conventional varieties.

"Once the seed stocks are grown out, this accelerates the process of GM
crops ending up everywhere," said Leake, who also works with the Farmers
Union and the Dakota Resource Council on wheat issues.

However, setting a 4.5 to 5-foot buffer (typical for wheat) between
conventional and genetically altered varieties will greatly reduce, but
not eliminate, cross pollination, said Norman Ellstrand, a professor of
genetics at the University of California at Riverside. Purity, he noted,
in this case equals 1 percent contamination.

Most contamination happens during seed processing, planting, harvesting
and distribution of the crop, said Jane Rissler, a plant pathologist on
staff at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, D.C.

At the seed processing facility, employees might accidentally mix
genetically modified and conventional seeds, or incorrectly label bags.

All harvesting equipment, trucks, and silos must be kept clean when trying
to segregate genetically modified and conventional wheat. This, of
course, is labor and time intensive.

"A farmer to the west of me didn't clean out his planting drill between
planting of Roundup Ready soybeans and conventional soy," Leake said. "In
the end, the entire crop was GM (genetically modified). This was enough
to qualify him for a GM discount." In this case, discount is not a plus.
It means that the elevator paid the farmer less for his soybeans because
they were genetically engineered.

Ground contamination also plays a role, he said. Farmers who grow a
genetically modified crop one season and a conventional variety the next
would have a tough time guaranteeing that no remnants of the transgenic
crop remain.

Canada's experience with canola further illustrates the nightmare of
biotech crop contamination. Farmers first planted Roundup Ready canola in
western Canada in 1995. Five years later, the entire Canadian canola crop
was considered genetically modified, because of cross pollination and
segregation problems, Leake said. Farmers lost money when they
couldn't export the crop to many parts of the world.

To halt problems with genetically modified wheat before they begin,
legislation is pending in the Montana and North Dakota legislatures.

A bill in the Montana State House of Representatives would place a
moratorium on the production of genetically modified wheat. HB 211 reads
as follows:

"1. Moratorium on production of genetically modified wheat.

(1) Genetically modified organisms may pose risks of unknown dimensions to
Montana's economy, native environment, and agricultural industry. The
planting of genetically modified crops over the past several years has
outpaced our understanding of the immediate and long-term economic and
environmental effects of genetically modified organisms. Because of
these concerns, the legislature finds it appropriate to impose a
moratorium on the production of genetically modified wheat.

(2) A person may not plant genetically modified wheat in Montana.

NEW SECTION. Section
2. Termination. [This act] terminates October 1, 2003."

Meanwhile, in North Dakota, legislators are considering a prohibition on
the sale of genetically modified wheat seed until Aug. 1, 2003.

Leake thinks these measures are the least that government can do to help
resolve the liability, segregation, technology agreement and market
acceptance issues that likely will happen with biotech wheat just as they
did with corn, soy and canola.

"As far as the chances for passage," Leake said, "we have a lot of support
in North Dakota and Montana for this, but moratoriums are notoriously
difficult to get enacted, and legislators are sometimes hesitant."

Monsanto did not return calls for its take on the story.
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