Genetic Engineering Update.

• Author: Cummins, Ronnie
• Position: Brief Article

ABC reported on June 20 that according to a recent ABCNews poll, 52% of Americans generally, and 62% of women, believe that genetically modified foods are unsafe, and an additional 13% are unsure about them; 93% say the federal government should require labels on food saying whether it's been genetically modified; 57% also say they'd be less likely to buy foods labeled as genetically modified; and "barely more than a third of the public believes that genetically modified foods are safe to eat." While only 5% of Americans say they'd be more likely to buy a food labeled as genetically modified, 52% say they'd be more likely to buy food that's labeled as having been raised organically. In Europe and Asia 70--80% of consumers remain firmly opposed to GE foods.

Reports of genetic pollution and genetic drift continue to proliferate. According to a CBC (Canada) radio broadcast (6/2/01), genetically engineered canola plants are showing up in farmers' fields all across the Canadian prairie, even though many of them have never planted GE seeds. Martin Phillipson, a University of Saskatchewan law professor, said that Monsanto may be liable for damages if their gene-altered, herbicide resistant canola continues to spread. "The GM canola has, in fact, spread much more rapidly than we thought it would," said Martin Entz, a plant scientist at the University of Manitoba. "It's absolutely impossible to control." Similar genetic pollution has been reported in the US by farmers growing organic corn and certified "GMO-free" soybeans. Cropchoice.com reported on May 21 that Monsanto has continued suing "hundreds" of US farmers for "patent infringement," for the "crime" of having genetically engineered plants growing on their property without paying royalty payments to Monsanto. Se veral farmers being sued by Monsanto are fighting back, however, filing counter-lawsuits in North Dakota and Illinois, claiming that Monsanto is deliberately causing genetic pollution, and then turning around and suing innocent farmers who are victims of this genetic trespass.

US trade representatives, working hard to engender a growing sense of fatalism regarding the impossibility" of growing "GE-free" soybeans, corn, and canola, have told EU bureaucrats that it is unreasonable and "unworkable" to expect anything less that 5% genetic contamination in non-GMO grain exports. (Financial Times 6/20/01) The US government has warned EU officials that their proposed mandatory labeling and...