Genetic contamination becomes apparent in Europe. Is India listening?

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The proponents of GM crop argue that if sufficient distance is maintained inbetween GM crop and normal crop there would be no contamination. This highly controversial suggestion has already been proved wrong in Europe as GM contamination spreads across a wide area. Scientists who have warned against this are livid, but business houses are only interested in the profits. Jagannath. GMW: Altered crops in Europe: At what cost?"GM WATCH" <infoThu, 25 May 2006 21:12:37 +0100GM WATCH dailyhttp://www.gmwatch.org---Altered crops in Europe: At what cost?By Elisabeth

RosenthalInternational Herald Tribune, MAY 25, 2006http://iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/05/24/news/gmo.phpALBONS, Spain Enric Navarro was dumbfounded when the letter arrivedfrom the testing lab of the Spanish organic farmers association in lateFebruary, informing him that his organic crop contained 12 percentgenetically modified corn. Hearing that his plants had been modified bybiotechnology was almost as traumatic for Navarro as finding theycontainednuclear waste.For four years, he has lovingly planted hundreds of varieties of trees,shrubs, flowers and herbs to attract just the right mix of insects sothat he would not need fertilizers or weed- killers on his preciousseven hectares. "If I could not farm organic, I would not farm," Navarrosaid. "I could not sleep at night if I sold

that crop."He burned the corn in the field to rid his farm of what he calls a"contaminant." But he does not know how the genetically modified seedblewin. He cannot claim compensation for his losses. Also, since pollenlingers, he is not sure when, if ever, it will be safe to use thefield tofarm organic corn again.As the European Union cracks open the door to genetically modifiedcrops, Navarro's tale serves as a caution about the risks, scientificuncertainties and the hazy policies now in place to deal with problemsthatwill almost certainly arise.For eight years, Spain was the only EU member state to allow commercialcultivation of genetically modified crops. In the last 18 months, theEuropean Commission has approved 11 genetically modified seeds forplanting in the bloc. In 2005, France, Germany, Portugal and the CzechRepublic began planting small commercial plots.The cornerstone of the

EU's policy is the political conviction thatgenetically altered crops and conventional crops can coexist as long asproper safeguards are in place - such as keeping a distance between thetwo types of fields and imposing a liability scheme for accidents.But scientifically, there are strong disagreements about whethercoexistence is possible, and at what cost."Coexistence is feasible in the vast majority of places, so long asfarmers talk to each other and cooperate," agreeing, for example, not toplace GM and conventional seeds of the same crop in adjacent fields,said Simon Barber of EuropaBio, an industry group in Brussels. Ordealslike Navarro's, he said, should be rare.But many scientists - not just those with Green credentials - believethat the small, closely spaced farms of Europe make such coexistencedifficult if not prohibitively expensive."My experts all agreed that coexistence often

just doesn't work, itisn't possible," said Chantal Line Carpentier, an agricultural economistwho assembled an independent panel of international experts to study theissue in North America.The study was requested by Mexico in 2002, after GM corn was discoveredcontaminating fields of native crops in Oaxaca, hundreds of miles southof the United States. Mexico had not permitted GM cultivation, for fearthat the heartier, but more uniform, genetically modified variantswould edge out its dozens of unique strains of maize.That report, "Maize and Biodiversity," prepared by the North AmericanCouncil on Environmental Cooperation, concluded that the GM corn - whichcame from the United States - might have a long-term effect on Mexico'secology and biodiversity and should be more thoroughly studied andmonitored.The United States and Canada attacked its conclusions. "We are deeplydisappointed that the CEC secretariat

has produced a report that ignoreskey science about biotechnology," reads a letter of protest from theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency.But some farmers believe the report did not go far enough. "Saying thatGM and non-GM farming can coexist is nonsensical," said Julian Rose, anorganic farmer from England who has helped organize Polish farmersagainst modified crops. "It's like saying that noise and silence cancoexist in a room."The biotech industry considers that "coexistence" has been achieved ifmixing is below 0.9 percent. It argues that foods in the EU could belabeled GM- free if they contained less than that amount. The conceptinfuriates advocates of organic foods, who liken it to allowing a bit ofmeat in vegetarian products. But even industry analysts admit that 100percent GM free foods are not practical once GM farming begins on alarge scale. "Coexistence has become a problem

in Europe because somepeople want zero percent tolerance," Barber said. "And that is, quitefrankly, unobtainable."There are simply too many ways that mixing occurs: Mills grind cropsfrom different farms, a cookie contains oil made from imported GM soy.The GM corn in Oaxaca was most likely the progeny of GM ears that hadbeen legally imported for animal feed, whose kernels had been illegallyused for planting.With so many routes, environmental groups say it inevitably spreadspast the 0.9 percent limit and to areas where it is unwelcome."When the government of Catalonia says there's no evidence of geneticpollution, what they mean is they didn't look," said Anna Rosa Martinezof Greenpeace in Barcelona. Last year, Greenpeace tested 40 organicfarms, and nearly 20 percent had some level of contamination, from 0.7 to12 percent.Suzette Jackson, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace

International, said: "Wewould like to keep Europe as a supplier of non-GM food, and when youlook at countries with a lot of GM crops, it eventually becomes reallyhard, or hugely expensive, to maintain regular farming."Spain allowed GM cultivation in 1998. Twelve percent of corn is now GM- 50,000 to 60,000 hectares - about half of that in Catalonia.Farmers are free to choose what to plant, but representatives of GMseed companies now regularly hold dinners touting the benefits ofmodifiedseeds, which are patented. Some variants produce pesticides, othershave stalks that resist wind or need less water.While some farmers signed on, others - like Navarro - said no,preferring the independence and quality they see with traditional seeds.Traditional farmers in Mexico, and many in Europe, save seed from oneseason's crop to plant the next. It is cheaper and allows selection ofunique varieties. Such replanting

is forbidden under the agreement forGM corn seed that farmers sign with companies like Monsanto andSyngenta.In 2004, knowing that GM corn was growing in his area, Navarro plantedjust a small patch of land to see if he could grow withoutcontamination. Successful, he later planted two large corn fields."But it was verywindy here last fall," he said, "so perhaps it blew in some stalks fromanother field, and contaminated me. I don't know, I will never know."His two fields are 70 and 100 meters, 230 and 330 feet, from hisneighbors' farms, a distance often deemed adequate to prevent mixing.But theGM seed could have come on the wind or on a truck tire, from anywhere.He would like an investigation to prevent a recurrence. But there is noreliable log of which farmers plant GM seeds in the area, and farmersare not likely to confess, for fear of being sued.In Denmark, to prepare for GM farming, the

government is creating aliability pool that all GM farmers will have to pay in to.The EU agriculture commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, has told EUstates to try to guarantee coexistence, but it is unclear how, or at whatcost. Can farmers afford to maintain buffer zones of 100 meters betweenfields? Would it work to create zones specifically designated for GMcrops? Will the GM crops harm the environment?------------------------------- "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

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