On The Wind

In the spring of 2001, a handful of farmers in Texas were contracted to grow genetically engineered rice known as Liberty Link. The bioseed was designed to resist a new brand of weed killer called Liberty Herbicide (gluphosinate ammonium). Both the bioseed and the chemical herbicide were developed by a North Carolina-based biotechnology company called Aventis CropScience.

In the same time frame, another Aventis test tube creation known as Star Link was about to take centre stage. Star Link, a GE biocorn that the government approved for animal feed somehow ended up in human food supply. Shocking both regulators and consumers, the unsanctioned GE grain was discovered in taco shells made by Kraft.

Needless to say, all hell broke loose. Consumers experienced allergic reactions. Greenpeace dumped bags of corn on the front steps of regulatory agencies. The EPA accused Aventis of breaking the law. Consumers and farmers sued and hundreds of corn products were recalled. Meanwhile back at the rice fields in Texas, the farmers who were contracted to grow the new strain of GE Liberty Link rice decided to take no chances. They systematically burned or buried enough rice to feed 20 million people.

Aventis paid almost $120 million to settle the lawsuits and sold the crop science unit to Bayer. The giant chemical and pharmaceutical company carried on business as usual confident that consumer memory would inevitably fall into the deep analogues of bygone retail history. But it seems that the little genetically engineered rice seed had a mind all of its own.

On The Wind
In January 2006 small amounts of Liberty Link GE rice turned up in a shipment destined for France – a country adamantly opposed to any GE food. The rice was shipped by Riceland Foods, a big rice mill located in Stuttgart, Arkansas.

Riceland was genuinely bewildered. At that time, the general public and food processors believed there was no transgenic rice commercially grown in the US. But testing revealed the unsanctioned, genetically engineered Liberty Link seed somehow made its way into the pristine commercial rice supply in five of the southern states where regional long-grain rice is grown.

Riceland immediately informed the US Department of Agriculture which in turn publicly announced the contamination in August 2006. By this time, over 30 percent of the US long grain rice crop was contaminated by multiple strains of genetically engineered (GE) rice and the tainted rice was already on grocery shelves.

Major rice buyers like Uncle Ben’s, Rice Krispies, Gerbers, and Budweiser, America’s largest buyer of rice had the unapproved, not-fit-for-human consumption rice in their retail food products. Realizing that offense is the best defense, regulators first stated the contamination was small – then moved to quickly approve the unauthorized Liberty Link biorice retroactively. Known as LL601, the USDA approved the rice stating the inserted genes were 'similar' to those inserted in GE canola and corn which were already authorized for commercial use.

The sale of the GE rice was outlawed in most of the world. As a result, US brand producers experienced a major loss of market share. The European Food Safety Authority decided it was not possible to conclude on the safety of the GE rice. Orders and contracts were cancelled. Products were removed from shelves. Shipments were halted and recalls were ordered. And, extensive testing and certification requirements were imposed.

Then it happened again. Rigorous tests put in place because of the initial Liberty Link contamination soon revealed a second event, then a third. Then the unapproved strain of Liberty Link turned up in yet another popular variety of rice seed called Clearfield 131 (CL131). CL131 seed was banned, rice prices dropped and traditional farmers were left holding the bag.

Faster than the speed of light, agri-biotechs categorically stated the crop contamination was not their fault. GE crops were always contained. Nor did GE crops have the ability to cross-contaminate neighboring fields, their experts claimed. Every possible precaution was taken, they ascertained, including maintaining strict no plant buffer zones. Therefore, the Gucci farmers continued, if farmers have GE plant material in their field, they would be sued citing damage to the corporation’s proprietary property – the patented GE seed.

Bullying tactics aside, the way of Nature is indisputable. The genetic modification of a plant must, by Nature’s logic, lead to the synchronous genetic modification of the flower’s pollen. When that selfish gene gets onto wind where it can freely invade pristine farmlands havoc begins.

According to Greenpeace, over 50 incidents of illegal or unapproved GE contamination have been documented in 25 countries on five continents and those are only the recorded incidents. Illegal and unapproved GE contamination of seeds and crops has been recorded in maize in Mexico, rice in China and the US, soy in Brazil, papaya in Thailand and Hawaii, oilseed rape in Europe, cotton in India and canola in Canada and Japan -- evidence that genetically engineered seed is causing irreversible harm to ecosystems, biodiversity and heritage seed. Unauthorized GE maize and rice contaminated food products on two continents and dangerous GE pharmaceutical crops have been discovered in silos of harvested crops in the USA.

Once GE transgenic contamination occurs it is virtually impossible to recall. Just as the scientists at the first Asmoliva convention predicted engineered crops are inherently even more unpredictable than chemical pollutants. Once the selfish engineered gene moves into the realm of the survival mode a battle cry is sounded. Evolution is ruthless. In this war someone's gotta to win and the collateral damage here is heritage seed and organic crops. When genetically engineered seed migrate and mutate there are untold risks to the environment and personal health.

From Their Labs to Your Table
Wind isn't the only factor at play when the selfish gene of industrial agricultural lets loose. Good old human error plays an important role too.

In March 2005, Syngenta US admitted to the ‘accidental’ release of GE maize(Bt10). Again, this GE corn seed was not approved for human consumption. Bt10 was an experimental corn line that used the same gene construct as Bt11 corn. Bt11 had already received approval for food, feed and environmental release.

The difference was the Bt10 was created with an antibiotic resistance marker gene that is resistance to ampicillin. Ampicillin is an important antibiotic. It is widely used to treat human and animal infections. Should we build up a resistance ampicillin, it would be disastrous to both species.

The Bt10 was sold worldwide for four years to hundreds of countries. When found out, the US government slapped a small fine against Syngenta and, for reasons yet to be defined, the US authorities agreed not to disclose which countries imported the illegal seeds. Canada was one of those countries. Canadian officials claimed just small amounts of the experimental seed were planted in Ontario and Quebec and only on a limited number of farms. How many acres and exactly where was never disclosed. Corn is pollinated on the wind.