Sierra Club has joined in this lawsuit.
The depravity of Monsanto and the other genetic engineering corporations is
beyond belief.
Tom
Subj: Lawsuit Calls GE Alfalfa a Risk to Farmers and the Environment
Date: 2/16/2006 1:41:07 PM Central Standard Time
From: [log in to unmask] (Laurel Hopwood)
Sender: [log in to unmask] (Biotech Forum)
Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]</A> (Biotech Forum)
To: [log in to unmask]
Many thanks to Neil Carman, PhD, member of Sierra Club's Genetic Engineering
Committee, who put hours of work into this lawsuit.
laurel hopwood, Sierra Club GE Committee Chair
Lawsuit Calls Genetically Engineered Alfalfa a Risk to Farmers and the
Environment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2006
CONTACT: Will Rostov, CFS, (415) 826-2770, Charles Margulis, CFS, (510)
697-0615, Kevin Dowling, WORC, 406-252-9672, (Note: Individual farmers and
representatives of organizations who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit are available for
comment).
Groups Challenge USDA Approval of First Perennial Gene Altered Crop
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - Shortly after a government report cited problems with
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) oversight of genetically
engineered (GE) crops, a coalition of farmers, farm groups, consumers, and
environmentalists filed a lawsuit today calling the department's approval of GE alfalfa a
threat to farmers' livelihoods and a risk to the environment.
The suit contends that the USDA improperly allowed the commercial release of
GE alfalfa, the first commercial release of a GE perennial crop, and failed to
analyze the public health, environmental, and economic consequences of the
release. The suit also asserts that the GE alfalfa will likely contaminate
natural alfalfa and ultimately prevent farmers from producing natural, non-GE
alfalfa for markets that demand it.
"I'm outraged that a genetically engineered alfalfa will contaminate the
South Dakota alfalfa seed that has been developed over generations," said Pat
Trask, an alfalfa seed farmer from South Dakota and plaintiff in the suit. "Bees
pollinate alfalfa, and we know that bees can forage for miles. The introduction
of genetically engineered alfalfa practically guarantees that there will be
no genetically engineered-free seed in a matter of a few years."
The suit cites the concerns of farmers with export markets. Buyers in Japan
and South Korea, America's major alfalfa export customers, have strongly stated
that concerns about genetic contamination will lead them to avoid U.S.
alfalfa if a GE variety is grown in this country. U.S. alfalfa exports total nearly
$480 million per year, with about 75% of exports going to Japan.
In addition to genetic contamination, the lawsuit says GE alfalfa poses
unique risks to the environment. The GE alfalfa is designed to tolerate high doses
of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. But 83%
of U.S. alfalfa is grown without any herbicides, and many experts note that
GE alfalfa could lead to massive increases in herbicide use on alfalfa and more
chemical pollution in the environment. A study of GE soy has already shown
that farmers growing the GE variety use two to five times more herbicides than
farmers who plant natural soy varieties.
"Gene altered alfalfa poses special environmental, agricultural, and economic
risks for many different locations in the U.S.," said Will Rostov, Senior
Attorney for the Center for Food Safety (CFS), which filed the suit. "Given the
potential significant and large-scale environmental effects, USDA must retract
its approval and conduct a thorough Environmental Impact Statement."
Joining CFS in the suit are Sierra Club, Western Organization of Resource
Councils, National Family Farm Coalition, Beyond Pesticides, Cornucopia
Institute, Dakota Resource Council, and two individual alfalfa seed producers.
Recent scientific findings link the advent of GE crops to weeds developing
resistance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. In
turn, this weed resistance has led to increased herbicide use and forced farmers
to turn to more toxic herbicides. According to the suit, USDA failed to
address the potential impacts of the increased use of Roundup on alfalfa and failed
to address issues relating to cross-pollination of wild relatives of alfalfa.
In a report critical of USDA's oversight of GE crops released in late
December, the USDA's Inspector General said, "Current [USDA] regulations, policies
and procedures do not go far enough to ensure the safe introduction of
agricultural biotechnology."
The suit says organic farmers could lose their livelihoods when organic
alfalfa is contaminated by the GE variety. In its assessment of GE alfalfa, USDA
acknowledges that bees can pollinate alfalfa two miles away, but states that
organic growers should manage the problem with buffer zones. The USDA failed to
analyze the significant financial loss that its decision will cause seed and
organic dairy and beef farmers.
"USDA is forcing organic farmers to subsidize the biotech industry's drive
for profits," said Jim Munsch, an organically certified beef producer from
Southwest Wisconsin. "By USDA's determination all alfalfa seed available on the
market will become contaminated with GE alfalfa. Without alfalfa our costs go
up."
Alfalfa is grown on over 21 million acres, and is worth $8 billion per year
(not including the value of final products, such as dairy products), making it
the country's third most valuable and fourth most widely grown crop. Alfalfa
is primarily used in feed for dairy cows and beef cattle, and it also greatly
contributes to pork, lamb, sheep, and honey production. Consumers also eat
alfalfa as sprouts in salads and other foods.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in the Northern District of California
calls on the court to rescind the deregulated status of Monsanto's Roundup Ready
alfalfa, calling USDA's decision to approve the crop arbitrary and capricious.
The lawsuit also challenges USDA for its inadequate environmental review of
the crop and calls for a full environmental impact statement.
The complaint can be found at
www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/ComplaintAlfalfa2.15.2006.pdf.
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