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Organic farms contaminated by transgenic organisms (Sunday, May 18, 2003 -- CropChoice news) --
ENS:
SANTA CRUZ, California, May 15, 2003 (ENS) - Certified organic farmers
have reported the first direct financial and operational impacts
associated with the threat of contamination by genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) in a nationwide survey conducted by the Organic Farming
Research Foundation (OFRF). One-third of the survey respondents rated the
risk of exposure and possible contamination of their organic farm products
by GMOs as high or very high.
National standards for organic products, implemented by the U.S.
Deptartment of Agriculture last year, exclude recombinant DNA technologies
from use in organic farming. There are also a variety of strict tolerances
for GMO contamination imposed on organic growers by foreign and domestic
buyers.
"In 1998, when OFRF conducted our previous survey, GMO contamination was
not yet a national issue," said OFRF executive director Bob Scowcroft.
"These new survey results based on the 2001 crop year document that
significant impacts have begun to occur within a very short time frame. If
this trend continues, what we're seeing now will prove to be just the tip
of the iceberg."
According to OFRF president Ron Rosmann, a diversified organic farmer from
Harlan, Iowa, "This new data supports OFRF's call for a moratorium on the
release of GMOs until there is a solid regulatory framework that prevents
genetic pollution and assigns liability for the damages imposed by GMO
contamination."
The OFRF survey found that 17 percent of survey respondents have had GMO
testing conducted on some portion of their organic farm seed, inputs or
farm products. Eleven percent of those who had GMO testing said that they
received positive test results for GMO contamination.
Eight percent of respondents indicated that their organic farm operation
has borne some direct costs or damages related to the presence of GMOs in
agriculture.
They may have had to pay for testing seed, inputs, or organic farm
products for GMO contamination. They may have lost organic sales or
markets due to actual contamination or perceived contamination risk. They
have lost sales due to the presence of GMOS in organic products, and
several respondents have lost organic certification due to presence of
GMOs in organic products.
Forty-eight percent of those surveyed said they have taken some measures
to protect their organic farms from GMO contamination. The greatest
percentage, 24 percent, indicated that they have communicated with
neighboring farmers about GMO risks to their farm.
Others have increased the size of buffer zones to neighboring farms,
discontinued use of certain inputs at risk for GMO contamination, adjusted
timing of crop planting, altered cropping patterns or crops produced, or
changed cropping locations.
Only 10 percent of survey respondents believe that a regulatory framework
is in place to adequately protect their organic farm products from damages
due to contamination from GMOs.
The OFRF survey results will be released this week at the Organic Trade
Association's All Things Organic Conference and Trade Show in Austin,
Texas. The complete results of OFRF's 4th National Organic Farmers'
Survey: Sustaining Organic Farms in a Changing Organic Marketplace will be
published in fall 2003. | |
