Transcript Slide 1

The Failed Promise of
Agricultural Biotechnology
Norwegian Tour
September 2012
Bill Freese, Science Policy Analyst
Center for Food Safety
Center for Food Safety
 Civil society organization founded 1997
 Support organic and other forms of
sustainable agriculture
 Critically assess new food and
agricultural technologies, like GMOs
 Public education, engagement in
regulatory process, when necessary
lawsuits
Facts vs. Fiction
 Focus on GMOs actually being grown,
not science fiction
 Consult independent studies and data
whenever possible, for example:
 USDA data on crop yield, pesticide use
 Peer-reviewed scientific studies
 Union of Concerned Scientists
Science Fiction
 Despite > 2 decades of
experimentation and hype, not
a single, commercially
grown GMO has:
 Higher yield potential
 Vitamin enhancement
 Salt tolerance
 Pharmaceutical production,
etc., etc., etc.
Herbicide-Resistant (HR) Crops
 Herbicides = chemical weed-killers
 Herbicides also kill crops, so must be
used with restraint, early in season
 Herbicide-resistant (HR) crops allow
unrestrained use of herbicides directly on
the crop, throughout season
 “Roundup Ready” soybeans, corn,
cotton, canola grown on roughly 135
million ha in the world
Roundup-Resistant Weeds
 From total reliance on Roundup for weed control
in Roundup Ready crops
 Weeds evolve resistance to herbicides just as
bacteria evolve resistance to overused
antibiotics
 Populations of 24 weed species now resistant to
Roundup (chemical name: glyphosate)
 Infest 12-16 million hectares in U.S. alone
 How do farmers respond to resistant weeds?
 Increase pesticide use and pollution
 Increase soil-eroding tillage
 Go back to hand-weeding
Increased Pesticide Use
 Pesticide = any chemical used to kill a
pest (weed, insect, disease agent)
 GM crops increased pesticide use in U.S.
by 144 million kilos from 1996-2008
+ Herbicide-resistant:
+ Insect-resistant:
+ 173 million
- 29 million
“Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The
First Thirteen Years,” Dr. Charles Benbrook, The Organic Center, Nov. 2009.
http://www.organic-center.org/science.pest.php?action=view&report_id=159
Roundup-Resistant Weeds, So What?
“Globally, no weed control tools are as good as
glyphosate, and its potential widespread loss because of
resistance is a looming threat to global cropping and food
production.”
Dr. Stephen Powles, Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, in
Proc. of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(3): 955-56, 1/19/10
“It is the single largest threat to production agriculture
that we have ever seen,” said Andrew Wargo III, the
president of the Arkansas Association of Conservation
Districts.
“U.S. Farmers Cope With Roundup-Resistant Weeds,” NYT, 5/4/10
“Right now, we are on the edge of a precipice that we
could step off of in the next two years.”
Dr. Micheal Owen, Iowa State University weed scientist, as quoted in:
“Reeling from resistance,” Successful Farming, 1/26/10.
"It will be a very
significant
opportunity" for
chemical companies,
says John Jachetta,
a scientist at Dow
Chemical's Dow
AgroSciences and
president of the
Weed Science
Society of America.
"It is a new era."
The “New Era” of More
Pesticide Pollution
 Dow – corn & soybeans
resistant to 2,4-D, part of
the dioxin-laced, Vietnam
War defoliant Agent
Orange, a probable
carcinogen and endocrine
disruptor, banned in
Norway
 Monsanto - soybeans &
corn resistant to dicamba,
a chlorinated chemical
cousin of 2,4-D linked to
higher rates of colon cancer
in farmers
Mortensen et al (2012). “Navigating a critical juncture
for sustainable weed management,” BioScience 62(1):
75-84.
The “New Era” of Biotechnology
(= Pesticide + Seed)
Pesticide Co.
Seed Firms Acquired (partial)
MONSANTO
DeKalb, Agracetus, Asgrow, Seminis,
Delta & Pine Land, Holden’s
Foundation Seeds, Delta & Pine Land
DUPONT
Pioneer
SYNGENTA
BAYER
DOW
Northrup King, Advanta, Funk Seed
Intl, Rogers Bros.
Aventis CropScience, Nunhems BV,
AgrEvo, Plant Genetic Systems
Mycogen
Control of Seed Supply
Why do farmers grow
GMOs?
 NOT higher yield
 Convenience, labor-saving
 Protect from herbicide drift
 Few alternatives
Yield Drag with Roundup
Ready Soybeans
 Two years of extensive field trials by
University of Nebraska researchers
 Conventional (non-GM) soybeans yield
5% more than closely related Roundup
Ready soybeans
Elmore, R. et al (2001). “Glyphosate-Resistant Soybean Cultivar Yields
Compared with Sister Lines,” Agron J 2001 93: 408-412.
“Failure to Yield”
 April 2009 study by Union of Concerned Scientists
(UCS) analyzed peer-reviewed literature comparing
yields of GM vs. conventional corn and soybeans
 No yield advantage for herbicideresistant corn or soybeans
 “If we are going to make headway in combating hunger
due to overpopulation and climate change, we will
need to increase crop yields. Traditional breeding
outperforms genetic engineering hands down.”
Dr. Doug Gurian-Sherman, Senior Scientist, UCS
Convenience, Farming
without Farmers
 Weed control is SIMPLE – use one
herbicide over and over instead of
DIVERSE weed control tactics
 LABOR-SAVING
 Allows large growers to become bigger
 In South America, “agricultura sin
agricultores”
Protection Against
Herbicide Drift
 Tomato farmers with Red Gold, a tomato
processor in Indiana, lost over $1 million
over 4 years from crop damage due to
Roundup drift
 Some farmers buy Roundup Ready crops
to protect against spray drift or
misapplication by neighbor
Fewer Seed Choices
 “The whole issue of farmers not buying
conventional seed goes back to the
industry pushing all of the traits into their
best genetics. It is a vicious cycle where
they put traits into the best corn so we
tend to plant more of those varieties so
then the company says, "Look we sold
more of the corn with traits so we had
better offer even more of it!"
 Farmer on list serve, March 17, 2008
More Problems with GMOs
 Herbicide-resistant crops 
“volunteer” weeds
 Contamination  market rejection
 Higher seed prices
 Patented seeds  lawsuits for
seed-saving
HR Crops as Weeds
“The combination of dormant seed and herbicide resistance makes GM
glyphosate-resistant canola a new and difficult California weed which was
first observed in the winter of 2009.”
Contamination  Market Rejection
 CFS has documented 293 episodes where
unwanted or illegal GE crop material has been
discovered in conventional food/feed
 GM StarLink corn (2000/01) caused $1 billion
in losses to U.S. farmers
 GM LibertyLink rice (2006/07) caused total
economic losses of $741 million to $1.285
billion.
Flax
Contamination
 GM flax approved 1998 in Canada and US
 Banned 2001 on pressure from growers fearful of
contamination & export losses (60-70% exported
to Europe)
 Eight years later (Sept. 2009), GM flax detected
in food items in 30 countries (EU, Norway, Asia)
 Flax prices dropped sharply
 EU rejects contaminated shipments, flax growers
could lose exports for 3-5 years
Organic Canola No More
“The introduction of transgenic herbicidetolerant canola in western Canada
destroyed the growing … market for
organic canola.”
Smyth et al (2002). “Liabilities and economics of transgenic crops,”
Nature Biotechnology, June 2002.
Contaminate all seeds
 "The hope of the [biotech] industry is that
over time the market is so flooded [with
GMOs] that there's nothing you can do
about it. You just sort of surrender.”
 Food industry consultant Don Westfall, of Promar International,
speaking of the biotech industry’s atttude to GE crop
contamination in the wake of the StarLink corn debacle. As
quoted in: “Starlink Fallout Could Cost Billions,” Toronto Star, Jan.
9, 2001, http://www.mindfully.org/GE/StarLink-Fallout-Cost-Billions.htm
Seed Prices Rising
 "The cost of corn seed keeps getting
higher and there doesn't appear to be a
stopping point in sight."
 University of Kentucky agronomist Chad Lee
 GM SmartStax corn costs nearly
$300/bag, three times more than
conventional seed
Monsanto’s
Prosecution of
U.S. Farmers
 75 employees, $10 million per year devoted to
investigating and suing U.S. farmers for
alleged patent infringement
 Monsanto hires private investigators (McDowell
& Associates of St. Louis) and prominent U.S.
law firms
 Investigates roughly 500 farmers/year

Source: “Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers,” Center for Food Safety, 2005 & 2007
update: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/Monsantovsusfarmersreport.cfm
Investigation Tactics
According to farmers who have been investigated,
Monsanto’s private investigators:
 Trespass on farmers’ property to take photos or
crop samples
 Adopt disguises to win farmers’ trust (e.g.
pretend to be farmers or land surveyors)
 Issue threats, become physically aggressive
 Produce false or fabricated evidence
 Encourage farmers to “rat” on neighbors via
hotline – breeding suspicion, distrust in rural
America
Lawsuits Against Farmers
 As of January 2010, Monsanto has filed 136 lawsuits
involving 400 farmers and 53 small businesses/farm
 9 cases were ongoing as of January 13, 2010
Settlements
Highest: $3,052,800
Lowest: $5,595
Median: $75,000
Average: $171,660
Total recorded judgments:
$23,345,821
Estimates of Coerced Settlements
 Most cases settled
out-of-court
 2,391 to 4,531 “seed
piracy matters”
settled
 Estimate that
farmers paid
Monsanto
somewhere between
$85.7 to $160.6
million
Positive Signs
 Food companies and farming groups
reject GMOs
 Farmers starting to turn away from
Roundup Ready soybeans
 Increased demand for non-GM seed
 GM labeling initiative in California
 Organic market continues to grow
Food Companies Reject
Some GMOs in U.S.
 McDonald’s and Burger King killed GM
potatoes in 2000
 Gerber’s (baby foods) – non-GMO policy
 Del Monte – no to GM sweet corn
 Popcorn Board – no to GM popcorn
 Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Trader
Joe’s do not use GM ingredients in store
brands
Farmer/Commodity Group
Reject Some GMOs
 Monsanto shelved Roundup Ready
wheat 2004 – farm groups, wheat traders
 Rice millers and blocked introduction of
GM LibertyLink rice
 Flax Council of Canada forced prohibition
of GM flax in 2001
Demand for Conventional Soybean
Seed Rising
 Increased demand for conventional soybeans
since 2007 in Missouri, Ohio, Mississippi and
Kansas – in some cases outstripping supply
 Driven by:





Rising price of Roundup Ready seed
Increased cost of Roundup
Roundup-resistant weeds
Price premium for non-GM soybeans
Legal to save/replant, additional cost savings
Court Victories
 Farmers and Center for Food Safety
have sued USDA for illegally approving
several GMOs
 Roundup Ready alfalfa and sugarbeets
 Established that harms to farmers and
environment from contamination and
resistant weeds must be taken into
consideration
GMO Labeling Campaign
 Campaign to persuade U.S. Food and
Drug Adminstration to institute mandatory
labeling of GMOs
 1.2 million people have signed petition
 Over 50 countries in world with > 40% of
world’s population have mandatory
labeling
 Also campaign in California
Organic Market Growing
 Organic market in U.S. grows 9.5%
overall in 2011 to reach $31.5 billion in
sales
 Organic food and beverage: $29.2 billion
 Organic non-food: $2.2 billion
Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) 2012
Organic Industry Survey.
Conclusions
 Biotechnology = pesticides + seeds
 GMOs are mostly herbicide-resistant  more
pesticide use, resistant weeds, hand weeding
 Contamination rampant  huge losses
 Seed prices skyrocketing
 Monsanto sues famers for saving seeds
Positive signs:
 Public and farm groups rejects some GMOs
 Farmers turning more to non-GM seed
 Citizens demand GMO labeling
 Organic market growing
Center for Food Safety
660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, #302
Washington, DC 20003
[email protected]
www.centerforfoodsafety.org
202-547-9359