Open-air biotech crop tests criticized
By Paul Elias
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Coors Brewing Co., Frito-Lay and H.J. Heinz were among U.S. companies dabbling in genetically modified crops in recent years even as consumer acceptance of such products remained in doubt.
The experiments, including those in Hawai'i, were among thousands of similar tests broadly outlined in a 600-page report critical of federal regulators that was released yesterday by the advocacy group Environment California Research & Policy Center.
The center is among environmental groups that claim poor government oversight of the open-air tests that could allow "genetic contamination" of the food supply.
The report showed 15,400 gene-splicing experiments have been done involving more than 100 crops since 1987, when the Department of Agriculture first started permitting open-air experiments, the anti-biotech group said. The experiments took place at more than 40,000 locations in all but three states.
A record number of applications to sell genetically engineered crops for human consumption is expected to soon follow, the center said.
Monsanto Co. and DuPont and its subsidiaries have applied for thousands of Department of Agriculture permits to experiment with genetically altered plants in the last 16 years.
Food and beverage makers, such as Coors' work with engineered barley, dabbled with genetically modified crops, though no major food maker has applied for a permit since 2000.
Most of the outdoor experiments were approved in the last five years, with a dramatic influx occurring since 2001 and involving seed companies.
According to the report, most of the experiments have been carried out in Hawai'i, followed by Illinois, Iowa, Puerto Rico and California.
The most active applicant by far is Monsanto, which applied for 3,309 field experiments since 1987. Corn, cotton and potatoes were the three most popular crops for experimentation.
Earlier this year, Pioneer Hi-Bred, a division of DuPont, was slapped with a fine after it failed to quickly tell the Environmental Protection Agency about initial tests on Kaua'i, later proved false, that showed one experimental corn crop had been contaminated by pollen from another genetically modified crop.
Few of the products arising from the experiments have been sold to the public, and soy and corn are the only two approved food crops that are widely engineered.
The United States is embroiled in a bitter trade dispute with the European Union over its refusal to accept genetically engineered food, while Monsanto is aggressively moving to get its modified wheat approved for human consumption.
"This is a very pivotal time for biotechnology," said Leonard Gianetti of the biotech industry-supported National Center for Food & Agricultural Policy.
Biotech analysts said the increased research activity is a good sign for a beleaguered industry that needs to bolster its bottom line, as well as for farmers looking to improve their yields and profits.
But Environment California concludes in yesterday's report that USDA oversight of the experiments has been lax, putting the public and environment at risk.
Another advocacy group, meanwhile, released its own report yesterday, accusing the EPA of shirking its responsibility to ensure that genetically modified crops don't harm the environment.
