really why is not a problem right now? today?

already most farmers are growing some type of modified crop

I have no problems at all growing various types of tomatoes - peppers etc
and NONE of them cross pollinate.

Especially for those growing hybrids to begin with.

The issue that most people dont realize is that if your KEEP some plants for
seeds then you MIGHT have a problem, but if you are a farmer most buy their
seeds because they could not garuantee the next crop would be what they
wanted anyway -

So I dont understand the Organic portion of the statement -

Are hybrids non-organic?

Just buy your seed each year and you wont have the problem!

Tomatolord


"ncstockguy" wrote in message
ups.com...
Our legislature is about to pass a law which would prevent county
governments from banning genetically modified crops. Anyone who
gardens or farms, knows this would make it very difficult to grow
organic, since insects and wind carries pollen. Article from the N &
O:
-------

Bill on DNA-altered crops reaps organic outrage
By KRISTIN COLLINS, Staff Writer
The idea of rearranging the DNA of plants once sounded like the stuff
of science fiction.

Today, man-made plants that repel pests or survive heavy doses of
weedkiller cover 3 million acres of North Carolina farmland -- and
state agriculture leaders are paving the way for more.

A bill likely will pass in the legislature this session that will stop
local governments from banning genetically modified crops, as three
California counties have done. The bill, requested by the Department of
Agriculture, passed in the Senate on Friday, the last major hurdle to
its success. The House, which passed the bill in May, must agree to a
few changes to make it final.

No North Carolina county or city has tried to ban the crops. But the
bill has created a maelstrom among those who say that genetically
engineered crops pose a danger to the food supply and could destroy
organic farming.

"They're really playing with Mother Nature in a pretty perverse way,"
said Ken Dawson, an organic vegetable farmer from Orange County. "We
don't know what the consequences are."

The outrage is heightened by a new genetically modified crop in North
Carolina that, unlike most others, is intended to go directly into the
food supply.

This year in Washington County, a California company planted 75 acres
of rice implanted with a human gene that produces proteins found in
human milk, saliva and tears. The company plans to extract the proteins
and use them in food products that they say could help infants in the
Third World.

Those who oppose the crops say they can easily cross-pollinate with
organic and conventional crops, destroying rare heirloom varieties and
making natural food almost extinct.

Now, as the bill awaits final passage, state leaders are in the middle
of a rowdy debate over the future of high-tech agriculture.

"Research and science has moved agriculture from the horse and plow and
very low yields to very efficient operations that can meet the world's
food demands," said state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, who
grows genetically modified soybeans on his Guilford County farm. "I
don't know that we can afford to stop doing that."

Genetically modified crops are the products of biotechnology companies,
which have figured out how to add genes to plants' DNA to make them
resistant to pests or to the weedkiller Roundup.

Farmers, who pay the companies for the rights to use the patented
seeds, say the mutant crops make farming easier and more efficient and
cut down on the use of pesticides and herbicides. Ninety-five percent
of cotton, 87 percent of soybeans and 52 percent of corn grown in North
Carolina this year are genetically modified, according to the
Department of Agriculture.

Right now, most genetically modified crops do not go directly into the
food supply. Most of the soybeans and corn are used for livestock feed,
not sold in grocery stores. But their uses are expanding.

Troxler is among many state agriculture leaders who say that
genetically modified crops provide the best hope for keeping farmers in
business in difficult times -- and for feeding the world on less and
less land.

Troxler said the Agriculture Department asked for the bill, which is
similar to those being floated in several other states. It would give
the state Board of Agriculture, which Troxler chairs, sole authority to
outlaw plants.

He said the push comes at the request of seed dealers, farmers and
agribusiness companies that were concerned about what they saw in
California and New England -- where "genetically engineered free"
movements have gained steam.

"The public is very misinformed," said Wade Byrd, a Bladen County corn
farmer. "We're going to use fewer pesticides and have a safer food
product when we get more of these crops on the market."

In California, several counties have held referendums on whether to ban
the plants locally. Three have been successful. In Vermont, more than
80 local governments have passed resolutions barring them. And in
Maine, one town has passed a resolution, and others are considering
similar action.

In North Carolina, where no such movement has gained a foothold, state
officials said they thought the bill would pass without fanfare. It
slid through the House in May with only one dissenting vote.

But advocates of organic farming got wind of it soon after, and it
didn't have such a smooth road in the Senate. On Thursday, a Senate
committee amended the bill to create a study commission that will
examine the risks and benefits of genetically engineered crops. It also
added two new members to the state Board of Agricultu an organic
farmer and a consumer advocate.

Tony Kleese, head of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, which
promotes organic farming, said the new bill is better -- but still not
palatable. He said it will all but assure that genetically engineered
crops can spread unchecked.

He said allowing local governments to create zones where genetically
engineered crops aren't allowed could protect organic crops from being
contaminated by wind-blown pollen. Now, that right will be taken away,
regardless what the study shows.

Kleese and other organic advocates say genetically engineered crops
haven't been studied enough to prove they're safe. Europeans shun them,
banning any U.S. product that contains them.

They call the bill the work of giant biotech companies -- such as
Monsanto, a Missouri company that owns the rights to most of the
genetically modified seeds used on American farms -- that want to
protect their profit margins.

"Do we want these companies to own our food supply from seed to plate?"
Kleese said. "The more of these kinds of laws that go into effect, the
more the balance tips to genetically engineered crops. We need to ask a
lot of hard questions before we continue down this path."

Sen. Charlie Albertson, a Duplin County Democrat, was one of the bill's
sponsors.

He said it's unrealistic to think that organic farmers, who sell
vegetables and fruits at a premium, can feed the masses. He said the
expansion of genetically engineered crops will ensure an abundant and
affordable food supply.

"The truth is, organic crops are out of the reach of most people who
are buying produce," Albertson said. "We can't grow them at the expense
of genetically modified crops. These crops offer the best hope in the
world to feed hungry people."


Staff writer Kristin Collins can be reached at 829-4881 or
.