Bill on DNA-altered crops reaps organic outrage
By KRISTIN COLLINS, Staff Writer

RALEIGH, NC-- 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
.
www.newsobserver.com

More Than Just a Food Fight

By Zack Pelta-Heller, AlterNet. Posted August 4, 2005.

Fifteen states have passed laws preventing bans on biotech foods.
Sounds
harmless enough -- but green activist groups are protesting the
proposed
legislation as an affront to local democracy.

The debate over genetically modified organisms just got a lot hotter in
California. Last month, Democratic State Senator Dean Florez introduced
an
amendment that would effectively remove a community's control over its
food
supply.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/biod...laws080405.cfm

A battle of values between organic growers and hi tech agriculture will
eventually surface in nearly every state.

The irony is that the fear of genetically altered crops motivates more
people to choose organic produce. These political battles can
potentially increase the market niche for organically grown produce.

To create zones where genetically engineered crops aren't allowed is a
positive and safe step and should not be seen as a threat to the future
of hi tech agriculture. In fact, Monsanto and other high tech growers
should welcome such measures that can demonstrate their objective view
of the big picture - including the need to give society ways to protect
themselves from potential harm.

What should be a greater concern is some ill-motivated techy like
hackers and terrorists who may create a genetically modified weed that
will invade and destroy major crops and wildlands around the world. A
super-weed that can laugh at Roundup and outgrow the most invasive
weeds we see today. Maybe this type of super-weed will be designed and
released by accident, while attempting to create bountiful crops for
human consumption?

________
Ergonica: Talk about weeds - www.ergonica.com

On 2005-08-14, raycruzer wrote:

What should be a greater concern is some ill-motivated techy like
hackers and terrorists who may create a genetically modified weed that
will invade and destroy major crops and wildlands around the world. A
super-weed that can laugh at Roundup and outgrow the most invasive
weeds we see today. Maybe this type of super-weed will be designed and
released by accident, while attempting to create bountiful crops for
human consumption?

That's already old news:

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=8473

A twelve foot tall weed that spreads like dandilions and is resistant
to Roundup and other herbicides. Fast growing too... Gak!


________
Ergonica: Talk about weeds - www.ergonica.com

In article ,
Ed Clarke wrote:

On 2005-08-14, raycruzer wrote:

What should be a greater concern is some ill-motivated techy like
hackers and terrorists who may create a genetically modified weed that
will invade and destroy major crops and wildlands around the world. A
super-weed that can laugh at Roundup and outgrow the most invasive
weeds we see today. Maybe this type of super-weed will be designed and
released by accident, while attempting to create bountiful crops for
human consumption?

That's already old news:

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=8473

A twelve foot tall weed that spreads like dandilions and is resistant
to Roundup and other herbicides. Fast growing too... Gak!


________
Ergonica: Talk about weeds - www.ergonica.com


If mildew dies. We will be soon to follow. Rot is of import.
Not pretty but life. Sterile world will be just that.

My hope is that the super weed stir fries well.



Bill

--
Garden Shade Zone 5 S Jersey USA in a Japanese Jungle Manner.39.6376 -75.0208
This article is posted under fair use rules in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and is strictly for the educational
and informative purposes. This material is distributed without profit.

The threat of invading horseweed in farms in California and several
other states is a good lesson on how weeds can learn to adapt to
Roundup and any other environmental change.

These weeds were not genetically modified, but the crops they invaded
were designed by Monsanto to withstand their own product Roundup
(Roundup-Ready crops).

Now maybe Monsanto will use their scientific wizardry to come up with a
new solution, maybe a new type of Venus Fly-Trap that attacks specific
weeds, like horseweed, as well as bugs and possibly terrorists, as
well?

________
Ergonica: Talk about weeds - www.ergonica.com

This reminds me of the fools who controlled the sugar and pineapple
plantations in Hawaii. Rats where destroying the crops so some dumbass
decided it would be a good idea to introduce the Indian mongoose to
control the rat population...only thing was rats are primarily
nocturnal and the mongoose aren't! Instead of controlling the rat
population the mongoose became another pest and are all but decimating
the local endemic bird population by eating their eggs. I think of all
the states Hawaii has the longest endangered and extinct species list.

Nature has it's checks and balances when we start to meddle in it we
only, for lack of a better word, f*ck it up. "Wildlife mangament" is a
total oxymoron.

Layne

On 15 Aug 2005 10:48:54 -0700, "raycruzer"
wrote:

The threat of invading horseweed in farms in California and several
other states is a good lesson on how weeds can learn to adapt to
Roundup and any other environmental change.

These weeds were not genetically modified, but the crops they invaded
were designed by Monsanto to withstand their own product Roundup
(Roundup-Ready crops).

Now maybe Monsanto will use their scientific wizardry to come up with a
new solution, maybe a new type of Venus Fly-Trap that attacks specific
weeds, like horseweed, as well as bugs and possibly terrorists, as
well?

________
Ergonica: Talk about weeds - www.ergonica.com

Agriculture tends to mess up native flora and fauna, as well. Hi teck
ag, moreso than organic. The cost to mother earth for her human
children is very high. For an interesting paper on the toll of
agriculture on evolution, see this page
http://www.ergonica.com/downloads.htm.

Ultimately, the more we tinker with nature the more likely we will see
the day when the more simple species (weeds and bugs) will ultimately
recover all that the intelligent predators and consumers have taken.

_______
EWIRM: Pull out weeds respectfully.
www.ergonica.com