How Great is the Impact of GMOs on Organic?

The Non-GMO Report June 2005

www.non-gmoreport.com

Organic farmers continue to report problems with "genetic trespass" from genetically modified crops. Some say the problem is getting worse, but no one knows how bad it is. Research is needed to determine the extent of the problem and to alert stakeholders.

Little research has looked at the impact of GMOs on organic. The Organic Farming Research Foundation's (OFRF) 2002 survey of organic farmers documented the first impacts of GMOs on organics (see The Non-GMO Source July 2003). While only 8% of farmers surveyed reported direct costs or damages resulting from genetic trespass, the survey was nationwide in scope and included farmers in areas where no GM crops are grown.

In the Midwest, where millions of acres of GM corn and soybeans are grown, the impacts were much greater with up to 80% of organic farmers reporting direct costs or damages. "If this trend continues, what we're seeing now will probe to be just the tip of the iceberg," said Bob Scowcroft, OFRF executive director.

Don't know how large the problem is Mary-Howell Martens, an organic farmer and co-owner, with her husband Klaas, of Lakeview Organic Grain in Penn Yan, New York, says GMOs are increasingly threatening organic. "The problem is probably getting worse as more GM crops are being grown, but we don't have a good assessment of how large the problem actually is," she says.

Mary-Howell and Klaas Martens are in a good position to see the impacts of GMOs. They buy organic grains, including corn, soybeans, and sunflowers, from 50 farmers, as well as grain suppliers in the Midwest. Their certified organic feed mill converts the grain into feed, which they sell to 250 farmers in New York, including dairy farms.

Don't want to test for GMOs The problem may be extensive because some food companies and feed mills are reluctant to test organic grains for GMOs because they are afraid grains will test positive.

A representative with a large US corn processor told The Non-GMO Report that his company buys organic corn and sells it to food manufacturers. The company tests incoming corn for GM material. The representative said that some manufacturers who buy organic corn are strict about GMO contamination, but others only want to know if the corn is certified organic. They aren't concerned if the corn tests positive for GMOs.

In addition, Martens says she knows of few organic feed mills that test for GMOs.

Because organic is a process-based system, US organic rules do not require GMO testing. As a result, if corn is grown according to organic standards, but becomes contaminated, it is still considered organic. Buyers can decide whether or not to use it. "It is a fine line of decision to make," says Martens.

Roger Lansink, an Iowa organic farmer, says if organic feed corn is tested, "we would be losing a lot. If feed buyers rejected corn to a minute trace (of GMOs) that would cripple our corn market," he says.

However, many buyers of organic and non-GM grains say they require GMO testing.

Arran Stepens, president, Nature's Path Foods, says, "Certified organic farmers and processors are very concerned about this issue and are doing their best to prevent contamination. We have not seen any evidence that there is a lack of concern or that there is a lack of effort in complying to the practice standards in regard to this issue."

Lansink says GMO contamination is "a real problem." Even organic corn seed doesn't test 100% pure. We do the best we can to keep it as pure as we can," he says.

Martens concurs. Purity and reality are two different things. In an ideal world we would test everything and reject anything that showed even a minute trace, but we are scrambling most of the time. The unfortunate reality is that we have to do the best we can," she says.

Seed is main problem Seed is the biggest source of GMO contamination. "Contaminated seed is a pervasive problem," says Martens. "People are not aware of how much risk there is in growing conventional seed, especially of certain crops like corn and soybeans."

The National Organic Program states that organic farmers can purchase conventional seed if commercial quantities of organic seed are not available. Martens sees problems with the exemption. "If we continue to allow the loophole of using conventional seed, there's going to be a gradual erosion of the non-GMO status of organic grain," she says.

However, organic certifiers are becoming stricter and requiring that farmers try harder to locate organic seed.

The Martens have seen some of their seed become contaminated. Two open pollinated corn varieties from Canada were tested using the DNA-based PCR method. One tested negative, but the other tested positive for GMOs at a very low level. "We're trying to figure out where it came from," says Martens. It was grown in good isolation from pollen drift, so we're assuming it was probably in the seed when we received it."

Other sources of GMO contamination include commingling during harvest. Organic farmers often hire combine operators to harvest their fields, but the operators may not thoroughly clean the combines of residual GM grains from previous harvests. Even tarps used on trucks carrying organic grains can contain dust from GM grains that can cause contamination.

Cross pollination, particularly with corn, is another contamination source. Bob Howe, a New York-based organic inspector, says some organic farmers don't even plant corn due to the risk the GMOs will cross-pollinate with their organic corn. "It's too much of a bother because they can't find an isolated spot to grow it. It's a shame," he says.

Coexistence?

There has been talk in recent years of fostering "coexistence" among GMO, non-GMO, and organic. Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack said such coexistence should be a "national priority."

One US government-fund-ed coexistence project was launched in North Dakota involving all stakeholders, including organic farmers and certifiers, GMO farmers, biotechnology/seed company representatives, and university agricultural officials. But the project collapsed after organic and non-GMO proponents resigned, claiming that responsibility for coexistence fell on the organic and non-GMO farmers, while the biotechnology companies refused to accept responsibility. In Europe, several nations, including Germany, Italy, and Denmark, have passed laws aiming to ensure coexistence of GMO, non-GMO, and organic. These laws place responsibility and assign liability for GMO contamination on GMO farmers. It is interesting that Europe has addressed coexistence issues before GM crops are widely planted, while the US has only begun to talk about the coexistence after millions of acres of GM crops have been planted.

"We have to do it" One of the best ways to avoid GMO problems is to buy from reliable suppliers. "We deal with reliable suppliers who share or philosophy of organic integrity," says Martens.

Another key is for farmers to become more proactive. "GMO problems are increasing because organic farmers haven't taken responsibility for the fact that avoiding contamination is up to them," says Martens. "Our attitude has been that this is unfair, and it should not be our burden, which is true. But unfortunately that is not how things are. As a community, we haven't shifted to realization that if we want to keep GMOs out of organic we have to do it."

Martens and her husband have developed a GMO management plant to minimize the impacts of GMOs on organic crops.

More research is needed to determine the extent of genetic trespass into organic. The OFRF has made genetic trespass a higher priority, says Jonathon Landeck, assistant executive director. One suggestion has been to track incidents of GMO contamination of organic to determine the scope of the problem and use it to alert stakeholders. "We definitely need that type of information," says Landeck.