Fedco
Does Not Knowingly Carry Genetically Engineered Seeds
At
our 1996 Annual Meeting we voted unanimously not to knowingly offer
for sale any transgenic variety because the new gene technologies
pose unacceptable risks to the environment. In 1999 we affirmed
and clarified that position and will follow the guidelines of the
Organic Materials Review
Institute (OMRI) which prohibit the use of genetically engineered
organisms in organic crop production. OMRI uses the National
Organic Standards Board (NOSB) definition of genetic engineering.
Along with more than 150 other seed companies, we have signed The
Safe Seed Pledge.
Please note the word “knowingly.”
Because of the possibility of contamination, over which we have
no control, our pledge necessarily stops short of being an absolute
guarantee. Although we will not sell any variety represented to
us as transgenic, we will not be held legally responsible if any
of our seed tests positive for genetically modified organisms. We
have been advised not to sign any blanket statements such as “GMO
free” that require us to state with certainty that our products
are pure. Please do not submit such statements with your order.
We apologize for having to split legal hairs, but we all share the
reality of genetic drift.
We Test Sweet Corn Seed
for GMOs
One maize plant can produce 18 million grains
of pollen. Because corn pollen is transmitted by wind, corn is at
risk for contamination from nearby genetically engineered fields.
To help ensure the purity of our seed, we have for the past nine
years employed industry leader Genetic
ID to test random samples of our lots for the presence of genetically
modified organisms.
We have removed from our inventory and our catalog
any lots that have tested positive for GMO contamination or show
trace indications of GMO presence.
A negative test result, while not guaranteeing
genetic purity, improves your chances that the seed is uncontaminated.
These tests are expensive, but in a time of genetic roulette, they
are necessary though not sufficient to assure seed purity. Only
if the seed trade takes an adamant position that we will not tolerate
GE contamination in our product can we maintain any integrity in
our seed supply.
Bio-Tech Bytes
• One reason why agricultural markets in
commodity crops are being dominated by transgenic seeds
is the aggressive strategy of the biotech giants. According to David
Quist, senior scientist at Norway’s Center for Biosafety,
an overwhelming majority of corn seed varieties and nearly all seed
varieties offered by six of the United States’ largest seed
sellers are GM. “Farmers are starting to see that they have
few to no non-GMO options,” forcing them to choose transgenics
to get the varietal genetics they want.
• Big victory in sugarbeet case:
On Sept. 21 Federal District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White ruled
in favor of plaintiffs in the Roundup Ready sugarbeet lawsuit, finding
that the USDA-APHIS had violated the National Environmental Protection
Act (NEPA) in deregulating the transgenic sugarbeets without first
properly preparing the required environmental impact statement.
As we go to press, the remedy phase is beginning. Plaintiffs are
seeking a moratorium on the planting, sale and distribution of Roundup
Ready beets until a full environmental assessment is completed.
Fedco filed an affidavit with the court in support of this suit
and our customers contributed more than $5,000 in donations to help
defray the Center for Food Safety’s costs in preparing it.
• As Maine goes so goes the nation?
Thanks to superb work by lobbyist Logan Perkins, the Maine Legislature,
by a margin of one vote in the Senate, passed a first-in-the-nation
3-year moratorium on outdoor production of GE pharmaceutical crops
in the State.
• As the nation goes, so goes Maine?
In Mar. 2009 the Maine Board of Pesticides Control (BPC) voted to
allow the sale of genetically engineered Bt sweet corn in the state.
Previously Maine had been the only state where this product was
not registered. Maine growers have a statutory right to
ask for advance notice from any neighbor planning to apply pesticides
or to sow pesticide-incorporated crops such as Bt corn within 500'
of their property.
• Monsanto investigated:
As part of a broad investigation into competition and consolidation
in the seed industry, the Justice Department and the USDA have questioned
Monsanto about whether their marketing tactics to expand their dominance
in GE seeds violated antitrust statutes. Monsanto’s transgenic
genes are in 96% of US soybean crops and 80% of corn crops. At least
two states are conducting their own independent antitrust investigations
of Monsanto. (Olney, ILL Daily Mail Sept. 30, 2009, quoted by Organic
Consumers Association)
• Lethal cocktails: Researchers
in France found that the presence of other chemical ingredients
(so-called “adjuvants” usually considered “inert”
and protected as trade secrets) greatly amplified glyphosate’s
toxic effects. This could help explain why Roundup has been found
to be toxic to frogs and is likely implicated in the recent drastic
global decrease of amphibian populations. (Science in Society 26,12,2005)
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GTARW.php
• Unsafe to consume: Concluding
that “there is more than a casual association between genetically
modified foods and adverse health effects,” the American Academy
of Environmental Medicine called for a moratorium on GE foods. (MOF&G,
July-Sept. 2009, p.9.)
• Biotech companies thwarting research?
In a statement submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency,
26 corn-insect researchers, mainly from land-grant universities
with big agricultural programs, charged that biotechnology companies
are keeping universities from fully researching the effectiveness
and environmental impact of their GE crops by restricting scientists’
access to their seeds. (New York Times, Feb. 19, 2009).
Links to: Terminator
Technology, Biotechnology (We
Are As Gods, Debunking
Biotech Myths), Monsanto
Buys Seminis, Conference
Keynote Speeches
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