Farmers Fight to Save Organic Crops.

• Author: Lilliston, Ben
• Position: Genetic contamination of organic crops by genetically-modified plants

For the last four years, Nebraska organic farmer David Vetter has been testing his corn for a new kind of pollution. Situated right in the middle of corn country; Vetter's 280-acre farm is small compared to those of his neighbors. All around him are farmers growing genetically modified corn. And that poses a problem. Corn is an open-pollinating crop. Wind and insects can carry pollen from a few yards to several miles.

Last year, Vetter's organic corn tested positive for genetic contamination. "We've been letting customers who buy in bulk know the situation," says Vetter. "Right now, most of it is still sitting in storage on the farm."

Susan Fitzgerald and her husband operate a 1,300-acre farm outside Hancock, Minnesota. Last year, Fitzgerald's 100 acres of organic corn showed evidence of genetic contamination, as did her neighbor's organic corn crop. The pollen had traveled more than 120 feet from another neighbor's farm. Instead of selling her organic corn for approximately $4 a bushel, she had to sell her crop on the open market for $1.67.

Vetter and the Fitzgeralds are not alone. Organic farmers are having an increasingly difficult time preventing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from migrating into their fields. And organic food companies are struggling to ensure the integrity of their products. For consumers who demand organic foods, the alarm bells are ringing.

In April, The Wall Street Journal tested twenty food products labeled "GMO free" and found that sixteen of them contained at least traces of genetically modified ingredients; five had significant amounts. One of the companies testing positive, albeit with trace amounts, was Nature's Path Foods, the largest organic cereal company in the world.

"We have found traces in corn that has been grown organically for ten to fifteen years," Arran Stephens, president of Nature's Path Foods, told The New York Times in June. "There's no wall high enough to keep that stuff contained."

Biotechnology, utilized primarily on large industrialized farms, splices genes from other plant and animal species into seeds to produce a variety of desired traits, including the ability to withstand exposure to pesticides and even to produce their own pesticides. The most popular genetically modified crops grown in the United States are soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola. Approximately 68 percent of all soybeans and 26 percent of all corn is genetically engineered in the United States, according to June statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But this is counting only those crops that are designed by genetic engineering, not those that are contaminated by it.

How much contamination is taking place on organic fields is an unanswered question.

"For certain crops, it is absolutely pervasive," says David Gould, an organic certification specialist. "Virtually all of the seed corn in this country has at least a trace of GMO contamination and often more. Canola is as bad if not worse. Soy is very problematic, too."

Other crops may also pose risks. Squashes, sugar beets, tomatoes, and potatoes have been approved for bioengineering. "These are not widespread yet," says Gould. "Just give them time, and they'll be a problem, too."

Organic Trade Association Executive Director Katherine D'Matteo says there is some misunderstanding about what organic products are. "We've built the expectation that there is a purity in the world, and even the slightest contamination is a disaster," she says.

"We're seeing traces appearing somewhat more frequently in organic, but we're not seeing an escalation to high percentages," says John Fagan, CEO of Genetic ID, a firm that tests food for many organic and conventional food companies. "If you compare organic with conventional, it is orders of...