Fwd: CORNUCOPIA: Lawsuit Challenges GE Alfalfa

[Guest guest]

From: Will Fantle

The Cornucopia Institute

Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 11:20:03

-0600

Subject: CORNUCOPIA: Lawsuit Challenges GE Alfalfa

Lawsuit Calls Genetically Engineered Alfalfa a Risk

to Farmers and the Environment

Groups Challenge USDA Approval of First Perennial Gene Altered

Crop

February 16, 2006

CONTACT:

Will Rostov, Center for Food Safety, ,

Margulis, Center for Food Safety, ,

Dowling, Western Organization of Resource Councils,

,

Jim Munsch, The Cornucopia Institute,

San Francisco, Calif. ­ Shortly after a

government report cited problems with the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) oversight of

genetically engineered (GE) crops, a coalition of

farmers, farm groups, consumers, and

environmentalists filed a lawsuit today calling

the department’s approval of GE alfalfa a threat

to farmers’ livelihoods and a risk to the environment.

The suit contends that the USDA improperly

allowed the commercial release of GE alfalfa, the

first commercial release of a GE perennial crop,

and failed to analyze the public health,

environmental, and economic consequences of the release.

The suit also asserts that the GE alfalfa will

likely contaminate natural alfalfa and ultimately

prevent farmers from producing natural, non-GE

alfalfa for markets that demand it.

“I’m outraged that a genetically engineered

alfalfa will contaminate the South Dakota alfalfa

seed that has been developed over generations,”

said Pat Trask, an alfalfa seed farmer from South

Dakota and plaintiff in the suit. “Bees pollinate

alfalfa, and we know that bees can forage for

miles. The introduction of genetically engineered

alfalfa practically guarantees that there will be

no genetically engineered-free seed in a matter of a few years.”

Joining CFS in the suit are Sierra Club, Western

Organization of Resource Councils, National

Family Farm Coalition, Beyond Pesticides, The

Cornucopia Institute, Dakota Resource Council,

and two individual alfalfa seed producers.

The suit cites the concerns of farmers with

export markets. Buyers in Japan and South Korea,

America’s major alfalfa export customers, have

strongly stated that concerns about genetic

contamination will lead them to avoid U.S.

alfalfa if a GE variety is grown in this country.

U.S. alfalfa exports total nearly $480 million

per year, with about 75% of exports going to Japan.

In addition to genetic contamination, the lawsuit

says GE alfalfa poses unique risks to the

environment. The GE alfalfa is designed to

tolerate high doses of glyphosate, the active

ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. But

83% of U.S. alfalfa is grown without any

herbicides, and many experts note that GE alfalfa

could lead to massive increases in herbicide use

on alfalfa and more chemical pollution in the

environment. A study of GE soy has already shown

that farmers growing the GE variety use two to

five times more herbicides than farmers who plant natural soy

varieties.

“Gene altered alfalfa poses special

environmental, agricultural, and economic risks

for many different locations in the U.S.,” said

Will Rostov, Senior Attorney for the Center for

Food Safety (CFS), which filed the suit. “Given

the potential significant and large-scale

environmental effects, USDA must retract its

approval and conduct a thorough Environmental Impact Statement.”

Recent scientific findings link the advent of GE

crops to weeds developing resistance to

glyphosate, the active ingredient in the

herbicide Roundup. In turn, this weed resistance

has led to increased herbicide use and forced

farmers to turn to more toxic herbicides.

According to the suit, USDA failed to address the

potential impacts of the increased use of Roundup

on alfalfa and failed to address issues relating

to cross-pollination of wild relatives of alfalfa.

In a report critical of USDA’s oversight of GE

crops released in late December, the USDA’s

Inspector General said, “Current [uSDA]

regulations, policies and procedures do not go

far enough to ensure the safe introduction of agricultural

biotechnology.”

The suit says organic farmers could lose their

livelihoods when organic alfalfa is contaminated

by the GE variety. In its assessment of GE

alfalfa, USDA acknowledges that bees can

pollinate alfalfa two miles away, but states that

organic growers should manage the problem with

buffer zones. The USDA failed to analyze the

significant financial loss that its decision will

cause seed and organic dairy and beef farmers.

“USDA is forcing organic farmers to subsidize the

biotech industry's drive for profits, " said Jim

Munsch, an organically certified beef producer

from Southwest Wisconsin and member of The

Cornucopia Institute. “By USDA’s determination,

all alfalfa seed available on the market will

become contaminated with GE alfalfa. Without alfalfa our costs go

up. "

Alfalfa is grown on over 21 million acres, and is

worth $8 billion per year (not including the

value of final products, such as dairy products),

making it the country’s third most valuable and

fourth most widely grown crop. Alfalfa is

primarily used in feed for dairy cows and beef

cattle, and it also greatly contributes to pork,

lamb, sheep, and honey production. Consumers

also eat alfalfa as sprouts in salads and other foods.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in the

Northern District of California calls on the

court to rescind the deregulated status of

Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa, calling USDA’s

decision to approve the crop arbitrary and

capricious. The lawsuit also challenges USDA for

its inadequate environmental review of the crop

and calls for a full environmental impact

statement. The complaint can be found at

<

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/ComplaintAlfalfa2.15.2006.pdf>www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/ComplaintAlfalfa2.15.2006.pdf

..

A fact sheet on this issue can be found here:

http://www.cornucopia.org/Alfalfa/alfalfa_factsheet.pdf

Will Fantle

The Cornucopia Institute

wfantle@...