GMO liability bill advances/Can pharma rice be contained

[Guest guest]

GM WAT CH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

------

Biotech's 'Battle America':

1.Senate advances GMO liability bill

2.Can pharma rice be contained? – Delta Farm Press

------

1.Senate advances GMO liability bill

April 2, 2005

By Lisa Rathke, Associated Press

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050402/NEWS/504020319/100\

3

 

MONTPELIER - The Vermont Senate on Friday gave preliminary approval to

a bill that would make seed manufacturers rather than farmers liable

for damages from genetically modified crops.

 

As the measure heads for a final vote, an amendment is expected to be

introduced next week that could dramatically change the bill.

 

The version passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week and

approved by the full Senate on Friday is designed to help farmers

recover losses from the accidental spread of genetically modified crops,

supporters say.

 

" The purpose is to establish some legal protection for Vermont

farmers, " said Sen. John Campbell, D-Windsor.

 

The bill applies so called " strict liability " to seed manufacturers,

making them responsible for damages their products cause even if they are

found to be not at fault.

 

Opponents, including Agriculture Secretary Steve Kerr, who said he

would urge the governor to veto the bill in its current form, say strict

liability is inappropriate for GMOs.

 

Sen. Wendy Wilton, R-Rutland, the only member of Judiciary Committee

who opposed the bill, said the strict liability standard may drive

manufacturers to stop selling GMO seeds in Vermont. If consumers buy

seeds

from other states and plant them in Vermont, they could end up being

liable, she said.

 

" Right now I think there's lots of problems in this bill that may

result in farmers really not being protected and that's my big concern, "

Wilton said.

 

She plans to sponsor an amendment with two other senators that would

reduce the liability requirement for manufacturers.

 

Supporters on Friday suggested that the bill is not about the safety of

GMOs but is instead about the legal issues surrounding them.

 

" This is not about whether GE seeds are good or bad. It's about

lawsuits and the liability that people face, " said Sen. Dick Sears,

D-Bennington.

 

Supporters said misinformation had been circulating about the bill. The

legislation does not pass judgment on the safety of GMOs or pit organic

farmers against nonorganic farmers, Campbell said.

 

" It does not restrict the use or sale of GE seeds in Vermont, " he said.

 

The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to consider the amendment

on Tuesday.

------

2.Can pharmaceutical rice be contained?

 

Mar 31, 2005 10:17 AM

 

By David Bennett – Delta Farm Press

 

http://deltafarmpress.com/news/050331-pharma-rice/

 

Ventria Bioscience has moved into Missouri, promising value-added crops

for rice farmers and cheaper medicines for those suffering, among other

maladies, dehydration and anemia. In a few weeks, Ventria will plant

pharmaceutical rice that contains human genes. Though microscopic, those

genes are massive red flags to the many Bootheel producers worried

about rattling already unstable markets.

 

" I've followed rice marketing and trade issues for years, " said Bob

Papanos, vice president of international programs for the U.S. Rice

Producers Association. " Rice farmers are right to be worried. I'm sure

farmers recall StarLink and Prodigy in Nebraska. If there's even a

hint that

Ventria's pharm-rice has contaminated food-grade rice, we're in serious

trouble.

 

" Actually, foreign trade negotiators can use this against us whether

there's contamination or not… This could actually give them leverage in

trade talks. And anyone who thinks any fallout could be kept isolated in

the Bootheel doesn't know what they're talking about. Folks overseas

don't pay attention to the Missouri/Arkansas border — they just see one

big swath of rice running down through the Delta. That's the way it is. "

 

How vulnerable?

 

Markets aside, how vulnerable to contamination is conventional rice?

 

Not very, claimed Scott Deeter, Ventria CEO, who responded in writing

to Delta Farm Press questions.

 

" Ventria utilizes a closed system of production that includes

self-pollinating plants to produce plant-made pharmaceuticals, " wrote

Deeter.

" Self-pollinating plants contain the male and female reproduction system

within the same plant and do not require wind or insects for

pollination and reproduction. This significantly reduces the risk from

cross-pollination.

 

" Also, Ventria produces its product in the seed of rice only during the

last month of the growing phase of the plant. Thus, the product is not

present in the leaf, stems, or root material. "

 

Not surprisingly, environmental watchdog group Friends of the Earth

said Ventria's safety claims are shaky. Bill Freese, a research analyst

with FOE, wrote two comprehensive papers regarding Ventria's pharm-rice.

Currently in Missouri, Freese said, the company has " been all over the

map with regard to what they plan to do. They like to talk about saving

children, but I've also heard them say it will be too expensive for

that particular application.

 

" The latest suggestion they've made is they want to use these proteins

as supplements to granola bars and yogurt. They've also talked about

poultry feed, topical treatment for wounds, all kinds of things. "

 

FOE's view

 

The interest of FOE in this issue isn't coincidental — the organization

has a dog in this fight.

 

" We have a `Safer Foods, Safer Farms' campaign. This focuses on our

desire for mandatory testing and labeling. We also want biotech companies

to bear liability when things go wrong, which isn't the case now. It's

a shame that the government hasn't made biotech companies own up to

their responsibilities.

 

" There's just too much risk of (pharm-crop genes) getting into the food

supply… There was a case recently with tomato seeds that points this

out. A California researcher was doing genetic engineering on some

conventional tomato seeds and wasn't getting results he expected. So he

tested them and, it turned out, these seed were genetically engineered.

Somewhere along the line, the seeds had been mixed up.

 

" That kind of stuff happens and the safest course is to keep this type

of engineering away from food crops. If they want to use non-food crops

for pharmaceuticals, we think it should be done under contained

conditions. "

 

On the Bootheel situation, one of Freese's major concerns is the

dispersal of Ventria's pharm-rice seed by animals.

 

" Ventria said that won't happen, that all their rice will be digested.

But that isn't believable. Birds eat huge amounts of rice and the

Bootheel is on the Mississippi flyway. Around 5 percent of a harvest

is left

behind on the ground.

 

" Even a small percentage of this pharm-rice getting out - and it

wouldn't take much: maybe 1 in 1,000 grains or even less - and it

would all

be over with.

 

" Another concern is human error. You can't exclude that because, as a

race, we're fallible. Mix-ups happen and tasks aren't completed as they

should be. "

 

The Nebraska Prodigy incident in 2002 is a good example of this, said

Freese. Volunteer biotech corn plants sprouted in soybean fields. Based

on that, soybean fields, at a cost of millions of dollars, had to be

destroyed.

 

" An important thing to remember is USDA said the volunteer plants came

from a corn field planted a year earlier. The size of that field was 1

acre. And they couldn't control the volunteer plants from that single

acre. "

 

Freese said if biotech companies want to grow GMO crops, they should

have liability insurance to protect producers. This concern was

solidified, he said, when it became clear Prodigy had no money to buy

back

contaminated soybeans.

 

" The USDA gave them a low-interest loan to help pay their fine. That's

the situation you get into with some of these biotech companies. They

don't have a lot of money and when they get into trouble, farmers are

left holding the bag.

 

" Now, we're talking about 200 acres of Ventria's pharm-rice. To most

producers, that doesn't seem like much. But when you've got to control

where every single grain goes, there's no way to guarantee it won't be

dispersed. And if you pin them down, Ventria will admit that. "

 

Answering concerns

 

Deeter doesn't categorically deny the charge. However, Ventria, he

wrote, " is completely committed to sound stewardship practices and has

passed every USDA inspection for the past six years, including eight

inspections in 2004. Ventria maintains chain of custody for all of its

plant

made pharmaceutical crops and we have a very stringent production

protocol to maintain quality and containment.

 

" In order to maintain product quality and as part of Ventria's

commitment to sound stewardship, Ventria has instituted the following

production practices:

 

* " Ventria's field production will be grown in areas that are separated

from commercial rice production by considerable distance.

 

* " Ventria's products are manufactured within the seed of

self-pollinating rice or barley, which are not wind or insect

pollinated plants.

 

* " Ventria's field production, storage, grinding and transportation

equipment is dedicated only to Ventria's use and is not used for any

commodity rice or barley production.

 

* " Ventria's collaborators and field production personnel receive

extensive training related to regulatory requirements and Ventria's

standard

operating procedures. "

 

Regarding concerns about viable seed passing through birds' digestive

systems, Deeter said two studies have looked at the issue. " The results

of both studies show that rice is highly digestible by waterfowl and

that no viable rice passes through the digestive system of ducks or

geese. Rice is easily digested by birds, unlike weed seeds that have a

hard

seed coat. In fact, it is suggested that attracting birds to a field

containing red rice is a viable weed management practice because the

birds effectively digest the red rice and render in non-viable. Red rice

has an even harder seed coat than Ventria's rice variety, so there is

less likelihood of birds transporting rice in this manner. "

 

How does the company propose to keep its pharm-rice from dispersing to

neighboring rice fields through flooding?

 

" Ventria will have a levee and a 50-foot fallow area around its field

to keep all water in the field, " wrote Deeter. " All of the water removed

from Ventria's field will be pumped into a sediment pond. The water

will be pumped out of the sediment pond through a screen that will catch

any rice seeds that are present in the water. "

 

How does Ventria propose to keep its pharm-rice through pollen carried

on the wind?

 

" Rice is a self-pollinated plant and the life of its pollen is only a

few minutes… Many research studies determined that 10 feet was an

adequate distance between rice seed fields to maintain purity of

foundation

seed (highest purity standards). More recent studies have shown that

outcrossing in even adjacent plants is unlikely. No studies have shown

outcrossing beyond 30 feet. Since Ventria utilizes a 50-foot fallow area

and a distance of more than 4 miles to another rice field, redundant

safeguards are in place to prevent (pharm-rice pollen from reaching

conventional rice). "

 

How about dispersal through movement of equipment or human error?

 

" Ventria owns its own field production, storage, transportation and

milling equipment, which is dedicated to Ventria's production, " wrote

Deeter. " In Ventria's `closed' system of production, viable seed does not

leave the farm. It is processed into a non-viable powder before

shipment. It is important to clarify that Ventria maintains ownership

and chain

of custody of the rice or barley throughout the entire production

process from the field to the purified protein. "

 

To keep its field red rice-free, Deeter said Ventria will rely on

" manual rouging and/or chemical application. Ventria's present seed stock

(developed in California) is also red-rice free. "

 

Where now?

 

Asked if Ventria is preparing for an injunction or lawsuit to prevent

it from planting pharm-rice in the Bootheel, Deeter said no.

 

" I still think there's a good chance Ventria's efforts in the Bootheel

can be shut down, " said Freese. " The food industry is finally waking up

to this - they haven't been very informed about the situation until

now. I believe they'll now begin to exert their influence. That pressure,

along with the Bootheel farmers, can stop this. "

 

Is FOE planning an injunction?

 

" I'm not involved in that, although I've heard talk. FOE is more

interested in getting a discussion going. Rather than do it through legal

channels, I'd like this to be defeated on the merits. Bottom line:

Ventria

can't guarantee their pharm-rice won't get out. "

 

e-mail: dbennett