Engineered DNA Found in Crop Seeds-U.S. Failure to Block Contamination

[LiviaOlivia]

Engineered DNA Found in Crop Seeds
Tests Show U.S. Failure to Block Contamination From Gene-Altered Varieties

By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 24, 2004


Much of the U.S. supply of ordinary crop seeds has become contaminated with strands of engineered DNA, suggesting that current methods for segregating gene-altered seed plants from traditional varieties are failing, according to a pilot study released yesterday.

More than two-thirds of 36 conventional corn, soy and canola seed batches contained traces of DNA from genetically engineered crop varieties in lab tests commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington-based advocacy group.

The actual amount of foreign DNA present in U.S. seeds appears to be small, and most engineered genes getting into the seed supply are among those that regulators have deemed safe for consumption, the report acknowledges.

But if federal rules and farm practices are not tightened, it concludes, the United States may soon find it impossible to guarantee that any portion of its food supply is free of gene-altered elements, a situation that could seriously disrupt the export of U.S. foods, seeds and oils. Many believe it could also gravely harm the domestic market for organic food -- one of the fastest-growing and more lucrative segments of U.S. agriculture.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A486-2004Feb23.html

[Nay]

1. This, of course, was the intention of the engineered seed producers.

They knew contamination would occur. This has two benefits for them -- first, they get to act outraged that farmers who have not bought their seed all of a sudden have DNA from their patented seed, and they can threaten to sue.
Second, and most important, the sooner they can contaminate millions of acres and all the important food crops, the sooner they can throw up their hands in mock despair and cry, "Well, looks like ALL your food, just by accident, has engineered DNA all through it! Gee, what a shame! Guess that means we don't have to label our stuff as Frankenfood, because we've made sure ALL your food is frankenfood!"