This is important to Iowans. We have probably more acres of genetically engineered crops than just about any state in the nation. (Some say Minnesota has more; congratulations MN for that "honor" if it's true.) Tell Pioneer HiBred, now owned by DuPont, that it's time to reverse their direction and become an honest, honorable company again. Pioneer should return to what made them great: traditional plant breeding. Pioneer should abandon genetic engineering. Tom Subj: From the Burlington Free Press Date: 03-05-29 19:55:32 EDT From: [log in to unmask] (Jim Diamond) Sender: [log in to unmask] (Biotech Forum) Reply-to: [log in to unmask] (Biotech Forum) To: [log in to unmask] Burlington Free Press May 11, 2003 It's My Turn (Rep.) Floyd W. Nease GMOs pose problems on Vt. Farms Many Vermonters remember the days when Ben and Jerry's was a struggling upstart company battling a much larger company for the right to distribute their now-famous ice cream. Vermonters, this writer included, taunted that company with bumper stickers that said, "What's the doughboy afraid of?" The rest is history. There is a new David and Goliath struggle taking place right now in Vermont, on a wider stage with multiple giants. Some of that struggle occurs daily in the Statehouse, and some of it is played out quietly in barns and fields from Highgate to Pownal. The struggle is being waged between giant multinational companies that create, produce and sell genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and Vermont's non-GMO conventional and organic farmers. This at a time when organic farming is quickly emerging as our most profitable agricultural sector. The problem with GMOs for organic and other conventional farmers is that GMOs aren't organic, and they have a propensity to cross-pollinate where they weren't planted. So, if one neighbor plants GMO corn, and one plants organic, it is possible that the GMO corn will cross-pollinate with the organic. If the neighbor is organic, the crop is spoiled as completely as if a flood had wiped it out. GMO companies would solve this problem by having the non-GMO farmer build a "buffer" of a certain size between their crop and the GMO's. This is like telling a dairy farmer to keep his cows in the barn because your sewage is running across his pasture. If the patented GMO gene shows up in the neighbor's crop, the companies have a history of claiming patent infringement, and filing suit against the farmer whose crops have been contaminated. Further, if the organic crop is ruined by the GMO, the companies claim it is the farmer that planted their GMO product who is liable - and not them. This strategy - pit farmer against farmer and conquer - has been used successfully in the dairy industry for years. It has enriched retailers and middlemen while impoverishing dairy farmers. If farmers take up the fight against each other, it will be they who suffer, not the manufacturer, and it will not solve the underlying problems. Early in this session, the Vermont Senate unanimously passed S.182, a bill that would require the identification and labeling of GMO seeds sold in Vermont. Manufacturers would have to label GMO seeds and dealers would have to weigh them and report weights to the Department of Agriculture. It isn't a big deal. To GMO companies, though, it looks like the battle for Baghdad and they are pulling out the bunker to keep it from becoming law. Meanwhile, when Vermont organic farmers voiced their concerns by scrimping enough dollars together to take out ads in two newspapers, the governor characterized them publicly as "people who must have a lot of money to spend." Remember the days when companies crowed about their latest products? When new products had huge labels shouting "All New!"? Why are these companies not bragging about these wonderful new products, loudly and with big exclamation marks, "GMO! All New! Tomatoes with Fish Genes!" What would be so terribly wrong with clear labeling? Why shouldn't Vermont's farmers know what kind of seeds they are planting? And why don't GMO producers want consumers making informed choices? Just what are those GMO boys afraid of? Floyd W. Nease, a Democrat, represents Eden and Johnson in the Vermont House of Representatives and is a member of the Agriculture committee - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp