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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] U.S. organic food industry fears GMO contamination
  • Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:01:47 -0600


Organic dairy farmer Albert Straus, who started testing corn fed to his
300-head dairy herd more than a year ago, and found about one-third had been
contaminated, now tests every lot of grain he buys.

---

U.S. organic food industry fears GMO contamination
Carey Gillam Reuters, March 12 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1216250820080312?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10152

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Widespread contamination of U.S. corn,
soybeans and other crops by genetically engineered varieties is threatening
the purity of organic and natural food products and driving purveyors of such
specialty products to new efforts to protect their markets, industry leaders
said this week.

A range of players, from dairy farmers to natural food retailers, are behind
an effort to introduce testing requirements and standards for certification
aimed at keeping contamination at bay. That goal is rapidly becoming harder,
however, as planting of biotech corn, soybeans, and other crops expands
across the United States.

'Now there is a real shortage of organic grain for animal husbandry and dairy
operations,' said Organic Consumers Association national director Ronnie
Cummins. 'People are having to be real careful.'

Proponents of the plan are rolling it out this week at an industry meeting in
Anaheim, California, seeking to get the entire organic and natural foods
industry to agree on testing and standard certifications. Companies that get
certified will be allowed to use a seal designating as much on their products.

'We think we can keep the contamination from getting worse by putting
safeguards in place so people who want to choose to eat organic products free
of genetic contamination can do so,' said Michael Funk, CEO of United Natural
Foods, which is backing the initiative. 'The longer we delay ... the more
challenging it is going to be.'

Biotech crops, primarily corn, soybeans, cotton and canola, have genes that
have been manipulated to express specific traits, most commonly a resistance
to herbicide, which helps farmers. Biotech developers such as Monsanto Co
patent the crop technology and tightly control use of the seed.

But mixing of biotech crops and conventional crops can occur during many
phases of harvest, storage and shipment of grain, and drifting pollen and
other natural forces can also contaminate crops while they are still in the
fields.

Indeed, contamination of conventional crops by biotech crops has been
reported around the world. There were 39 cases of crop contamination in 23
countries in 2007, and more than 200 in 57 countries over the last 10 years,
according to biotech critic Greenpeace International.

Contamination of corn is the biggest concern for those trying to sell
biotech-free food. Corn is not only used in human food but is also used to
feed livestock, meaning organic beef and dairy farmers must ensure their
animals are fed corn that is free of contamination.

That has become more difficult as biotech corn acres have expanded in the
United States. In 2007, an estimated 73 percent of the 92.9 million acres of
U.S. corn planted were biotech, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.

The USDA has a set of national standards for foods labeled 'organic' as part
of its marketing service, but the industry players seeking independent
testing said the USDA has not gone far enough to require organic and natural
foods are free from biotech contamination.

Organic dairy farmer Albert Straus, who started testing corn fed to his
300-head dairy herd more than a year ago, and found about one-third had been
contaminated, now tests every lot of grain he buys.

'I started to test our products to see if there was an issue or not. It
turned out there was an issue,' said Straus. He is now adding a label to his
dairy products to alert consumers to the extra level of caution. 'There is so
much contamination,' he said.





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