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Approved-By:  Jim Diamond <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:         Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:10:58 -0700
Reply-To:     Biotech Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Sender:       Biotech Forum <[log in to unmask]>
From:         Jim Diamond <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Corn GE'd for fuel, not food
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We know that turning corn into ethanol makes no sense from a global warming
perspective - it's using a third of America's corn crop, hurting the land
and waterways, and saving almost no gasoline.  It has had the effect of
driving up food prices - but farmers may lose from the introduction of a new
genetically engineered corn, designed especially to be turned into fuel, as
it may harm marketability of the two-thirds of the crop destined for food or
feed.  The following press release from our ally Center for Food Safety sums
up the situation well.

      Jim Diamond / Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Activist Team
-=-=-=-=-=-=-  

World's First Genetically Engineered Biofuels Corn Threatens Contamination
Of Food-Grade Corn
Washington, D.C. - February 11, 2011 - 
 Impacts on Human Health, Environment, and Farmers Not Fully Assessed
DESPITE RISING GLOBAL FOOD PRICES, OBAMA ADMINISTRATIONCONTINUES MISGUIDED
BIOFUELS AGENDA
The Center for Food Safety criticized an announcement today by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it will approve the world's first
genetically engineered (GE) crop designed specifically for biofuel
production. The Center maintains that this GE "biofuels corn" will
contaminate food-grade corn, and has not been properly assessed for
potential adverse effects on human health, the environment, or farmers'
livelihoods.
"The USDA has once again put the special interests of the biotechnology and
biofuels industries above the clear risks to our nation's food system," said
Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director for the Center for Food Safety.  "The
Obama Administration is well aware of the costly effects that Starlink corn
contamination had on farmers and the food industry, and now it is poised to
repeat the same mistake."
The GE corn - known as Event 3272 - is genetically engineered to contain
high levels of a heat-resistant and acid-tolerant enzyme derived from
exotic, marine microorganisms. The enzyme breaks down starches into sugars,
the first step in conversion of corn to ethanol, and has not been adequately
assessed for its potential to cause allergies, a key concern with new
biotech crops.  In fact, leading food allergists consulted by CFS indicated
that Syngenta's assessment of the potential allergenicity of this enzyme was
inadequate, and called for more careful evaluation.  Agronomists suggest
that unharvested corn will deposit large quantities of this enzyme in the
soil, which could adversely affect soil carbon cycling. At present, ethanol
plants add a different and familiar version of this enzyme to accomplish the
same purpose. The corn was developed by Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemical and
biotechnology firm.
"Syngenta's biofuels corn will inevitably contaminate food-grade corn, and
could well trigger substantial rejection in our corn export markets, hurting
farmers" said Bill Freese, science policy analyst at the Center for Food
Safety
Though this industrial corn is supposed to be used only for domestic ethanol
plants, Syngenta has sought import approvals in nations to which the U.S.
exports corn.  These approvals are being sought because Syngenta knows that
food-grade corn shipments will inevitably be contaminated with Event 3272,
and hopes to thereby avoid liability for such episodes.  While some markets
have granted import approvals, South Africa denied import clearance on
health grounds in 2006.  Whatever the import policies of governments, corn
traders might well test and reject U.S. corn supplies contaminated with
industrial corn that contains a potentially allergenic enzyme.
USDA acknowledges that serious concerns about food system contamination
remain, yet deregulated the GE corn anyway, citing a Syngenta-led "advisory
council" and so-called "closed-loop" system for amylase corn. That Syngenta
"invited USDA to participate" in this Council is not consoling to farmers,
consumers or food companies who remember the Starlink corn debacle. In
addition, Syngenta's capacity for and commitment to stewardship are called
into question by past mishaps.  From 2001 to 2004, the company accidentally
sold seed of an unapproved GE corn variety (Bt10) to American farmers, a
variety which contained an antibiotic-resistance marker gene for resistance
to ampicillin, an important human antibiotic, presenting the risk of
exacerbating the serious medical problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
"The resemblance to StarLink is uncanny," continued Freese. "Much like
StarLink, Syngenta's biofuels corn poses allergy concerns and is not meant
for human food use. It's hard to believe that USDA has forgotten the
substantial harm StarLink caused to farmers and the US food industry, but
apparently it has."
StarLink was a GE corn variety approved only for animal feed and industrial
use because leading food allergists thought it might cause food allergies if
used in human foods. Despite measures to keep StarLink separate from
food-grade corn, it contaminated the human food supply in 2000-2001.
Hundreds reported allergic reactions they believe were linked to StarLink.
Food companies recalled over 300 corn-based products, export markets sent
back StarLink-contaminated corn shipments, and farmers suffered substantial
economic losses as a result. Seventeen state Attorneys General sued
StarLink's developer, Aventis CropScience, to partially recover damages.
The Center also believes it is irresponsible to engineer corn for fuel use
at a time when massive diversion of corn to ethanol has played a significant
role in raising food prices and thus exacerbating world hunger. Leading food
experts have blamed excessive conversion of corn to ethanol for exacerbating
the world food crisis by driving up prices of corn and other staples. The
World Bank reported an 83% rise in food prices from 2005 to 2008, and
estimates that 100 million additional people have been pushed into hunger
and poverty as a result. USDA data show that 23% of US corn (3 billion
bushels) was converted to ethanol in 2007, jumping to over 30% (3.7 billion
bushels) in 2008, with further increases expected as more ethanol refineries
are constructed.
The Center is currently reviewing all materials related to today's decision
and is planning litigation.
#  #  #


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<TITLE>Corn GE'd for fuel, not food</TITLE>
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<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">We know that=
 turning corn into ethanol makes no sense</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"e=
n-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri"> from a global warming perspective</FONT>=
</SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">&#8211;</FONT></SP=
AN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri"> it</FONT></SPAN><SPAN=
 LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">&#8217;</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=
=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">s using a third of America</FONT></S=
PAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">&#8217;</FONT></SPAN><=
SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">s corn crop</FONT></SPAN><S=
PAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">, hurting the land and water=
w</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">ays,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us">=
 <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">and saving almost no gasoline</FONT></SPAN><SP=
AN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">.&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LA=
NG=3D"en-us"> <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">It has had the effect of</FONT></=
SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri"> driving up food pric=
es</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri"></FONT></S=
PAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">&#8211;</FONT></SPAN>=
<SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri"> but</FONT> <FONT FACE=3D"=
Calibri">farmers may lose from the introduction of a new</FONT></SPAN>=
<SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">genetically engineered co=
rn, designed especially to be turned into fuel, as it may harm</FONT>=
 <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">marketability of the</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=
=3D"en-us"> <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">two-thirds of the crop dest</FONT><=
FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">ined for food or feed</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Calibr=
i">.&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">T=
he following press release from our ally Center for Food Safety sums=
 up the situation well.</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">&nbsp;&nbsp;&=
nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jim Diamond</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri"> / Sierra=
 Club Genetic Engineering Activist Team</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">-=3D-=3D-=3D-=
=3D-=3D-=3D-</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">=
&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> </SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><B></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><=
B><FONT SIZE=3D5 FACE=3D"Times New Roman">World&#8217;s First Genetica=
lly Engineered Biofuels Corn Threatens Contamination Of Food-Grade Cor=
n</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><B></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en=
-us"><B></B></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FA=
CE=3D"Times New Roman">Washington, D.C. &#8211; February 11, 2011 &#82=
11; </FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR ALIGN=3DCENTER><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><B><I></I></B></SPAN>=
<SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><B><I><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">&nbsp;Impact=
s on Human Health, Environment, and Farmers Not Fully Assessed</FONT><=
/I></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN>=
</P>

<P DIR=3DLTR ALIGN=3DCENTER><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times=
 New Roman">DESPITE RISING GLOBAL FOOD PRICES, OBAMA ADMINISTRATIONCON=
TINUES MISGUIDED BIOFUELS AGENDA</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FA=
CE=3D"Times New Roman">The Center for Food Safety criticized an announ=
cement today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it will=
 approve the world&#8217;s first genetically engineered (GE) crop desi=
gned specifically for biofuel production. The Center maintains that th=
is GE &#8220;biofuels corn&#8221; will contaminate food-grade corn, an=
d has not been properly assessed for potential adverse effects on huma=
n health, the environment, or farmers&#8217; livelihoods.</FONT></SPAN=
></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">&#822=
0;The USDA has once again put the special interests of the biotechnolo=
gy and biofuels industries above the clear risks to our nation&#8217;s=
 food system,&#8221; said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director for the=
 Center for Food Safety.&nbsp; &#8220;The Obama Administration is well=
 aware of the costly effects that Starlink corn contamination had on=
 farmers and the food industry, and now it is poised to repeat the sam=
e mistake.&#8221;</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">The=
 GE corn &#8211; known as Event 3272 &#8211; is genetically engineered=
 to contain high levels of a heat-resistant and acid-tolerant enzyme=
 derived from exotic, marine microorganisms. The enzyme breaks down st=
arches into sugars, the first step in conversion of corn to ethanol,=
 and has not been adequately assessed for its potential to cause aller=
gies, a key concern with new biotech crops.&nbsp; In fact, leading foo=
d allergists consulted by CFS indicated that Syngenta&#8217;s assessme=
nt of the potential allergenicity of this enzyme was inadequate, and=
 called for more careful evaluation.&nbsp; Agronomists suggest that un=
harvested corn will deposit large quantities of this enzyme in the soi=
l, which could adversely affect soil carbon cycling. At present, ethan=
ol plants add a different and familiar version of this enzyme to accom=
plish the same purpose. The corn was developed by Syngenta, the Swiss=
 agrichemical and biotechnology firm.</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">&#822=
0;Syngenta&#8217;s biofuels corn will inevitably contaminate food-grad=
e corn, and could well trigger substantial rejection in our corn expor=
t markets, hurting farmers&#8221; said Bill Freese, science policy ana=
lyst at the Center for Food Safety</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Thoug=
h this industrial corn is supposed to be used only for domestic ethano=
l plants, Syngenta has sought import approvals in nations to which the=
 U.S. exports corn.&nbsp; These approvals are being sought because Syn=
genta knows that food-grade corn shipments will inevitably be contamin=
ated with Event 3272, and hopes to thereby avoid liability for such ep=
isodes.&nbsp; While some markets have granted import approvals, South=
 Africa denied import clearance on health grounds in 2006.&nbsp; Whate=
ver the import policies of governments, corn traders might well test=
 and reject U.S. corn supplies contaminated with industrial corn that=
 contains a potentially allergenic enzyme.</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">USDA=
 acknowledges that serious concerns about food system contamination re=
main, yet deregulated the GE corn anyway, citing a Syngenta-led &#8220=
;advisory council&#8221; and so-called &#8220;closed-loop&#8221; syste=
m for amylase corn. That Syngenta &#8220;invited USDA to participate&#=
8221; in this Council is not consoling to farmers, consumers or food=
 companies who remember the Starlink corn debacle. In addition, Syngen=
ta&#8217;s capacity for and commitment to stewardship are called into=
 question by past mishaps.&nbsp; From 2001 to 2004, the company accide=
ntally sold seed of an unapproved GE corn variety (Bt10) to American=
 farmers, a variety which contained an antibiotic-resistance marker ge=
ne for resistance to ampicillin, an important human antibiotic, presen=
ting the risk of exacerbating the serious medical problem of antibioti=
c-resistant bacteria.</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">&#822=
0;The resemblance to StarLink is uncanny,&#8221; continued Freese. &#8=
220;Much like StarLink, Syngenta&#8217;s biofuels corn poses allergy=
 concerns and is not meant for human food use. It&#8217;s hard to beli=
eve that USDA has forgotten the substantial harm StarLink caused to fa=
rmers and the US food industry, but apparently it has.&#8221;</FONT></=
SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">StarL=
ink was a GE corn variety approved only for animal feed and industrial=
 use because leading food allergists thought it might cause food aller=
gies if used in human foods. Despite measures to keep StarLink separat=
e from food-grade corn, it contaminated the human food supply in 2000-=
2001. Hundreds reported allergic reactions they believe were linked to=
 StarLink. Food companies recalled over 300 corn-based products, expor=
t markets sent back StarLink-contaminated corn shipments, and farmers=
 suffered substantial economic losses as a result. Seventeen state Att=
orneys General sued StarLink&#8217;s developer, Aventis CropScience,=
 to partially recover damages.</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">The=
 Center also believes it is irresponsible to engineer corn for fuel us=
e at a time when massive diversion of corn to ethanol has played a sig=
nificant role in raising food prices and thus exacerbating world hunge=
r. Leading food experts have blamed excessive conversion of corn to et=
hanol for exacerbating the world food crisis by driving up prices of=
 corn and other staples. The World Bank reported an 83% rise in food=
 prices from 2005 to 2008, and estimates that 100 million additional=
 people have been pushed into hunger and poverty as a result. USDA dat=
a show that 23% of US corn (3 billion bushels) was converted to ethano=
l in 2007, jumping to over 30% (3.7 billion bushels) in 2008, with fur=
ther increases expected as more ethanol refineries are constructed.</F=
ONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">The=
 Center is currently reviewing all materials related to today&#8217;s=
 decision and is planning litigation.</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR ALIGN=3DCENTER><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"=
en-us"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">#&nbsp; #&nbsp; #</FONT></SPAN><=
/P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>

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