Genetically Engineered Crops

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Mothers for Natural Law

Genetically Engineered Crops

 

The following is a list of genetically engineered crops that have

already been approved for sale:

 

canola

corn, including popcorn and sweet corn but not blue corn

cotton

flax

papaya

potatoes (Atlantic, Russett Burbank, Russet Norkatah, and Shepody)

red-hearted chicory (radicchio)

soybeans

squash (yellow crookneck)

sugar beet

tomatoes, including cherry tomatoes

Notes

 

GE canola, corn, cotton, and soy are the crops whose derivatives are

commonly found in packaged foods.

 

GE flax was approved for release but has not yet been planted.

Genetically engineered seed was multiplied in Canada, but the Flax

Council of Canada successfully petitioned against planting. The

600,000 bushels of multiplied seed were crushed and, as far as we

can tell, did not directly enter our food supply.

 

GE potato planting has gone way down. It appears that consumer

concerns have caused the major buyers to favor genetically natural

potatoes. Note that not all Atlantic, Russett Burbank, Russet

Norkatah, and Shepody potatoes are genetically engineered.

 

GE radicchio was never commercialized. Approval was voluntarily

withdrawn on 2 Feb 2000.

 

GE squash approval was originally for the yellow crook-neck variety.

However, the approval may be taken to cover all varieties of squash.

Thus, application of the same technology to other varieties either

through genetic engineering, breeding, or natural cross pollination

would not require separate approval by government agencies. There

are now other varieties of genetically engineered squash, including

straightneck yellow squash and two strains of zucchini, " declaration

2 " and " independence 2 " , both of which are medium green in color.

 

GE tomatoes are no longer on the market. Genetically engineered

regular tomatoes and one cherry tomato have been approved for sale,

but no genetically engineered roma or plum tomatoes. However, it

appears that the FlavrSavr was the only tomato to be commercialized,

and planting of that variety ceased years ago.

 

The list could be extended to include recombinant bovine growth

hormone (rBGH), a hormone produced by genetically modified

organisms. Dairy products from cows injected with rBGH may differ

from other dairy products in having higher levels of antiobiotics,

white blood cells, and growth hormone factor IGF-1. There may be

other differences due to the stress and hormonal cascades created by

rBGH in the cow. For more details, visit the Fox-BGH lawsuit website.

 

Several agricultural inputs, such as soil bacteria that produce the

Bt toxin, and a rabies vaccine have also been approved.

 

For more details on the approved genetically engineered crop

varieties, access the Union of Concerned Scientists' March 2000

summary, or the International Center for Technology Assessment list

of genetically engineered crops.

 

The list of approvals for Canada may be found on the website of the

Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

 

Among genetically engineered animals, salmon is the closest to

approval. For a May 2000 report, read Stalking the wild

Frankensalmon at Salon.com. See also articles in ge-news on this

site: 1999-09-03, 1999-10-16, and 1999-12-04.

 

Much of the detailed information provided above was brought to our

attention by Marc Olesky, an agricultural consultant who has spent

the last year probing the realities of the market in genetically

angineered crops.

 

http://www.safe-food.org/-industry/crops.html

 

JoAnn Guest

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