Press Releases

Contamination Of Rice With Unapproved Genetically Engineered Variety Casts New Doubt On Government Oversight

For Immediate Release: March 6, 2007
Contact: Bill Freese, 202-547-9359 x14      

Group Calls for Moratorium on Field Testing of Genetically Engineered Crops to Protect Farmers and Consumers
 
(March 6, 2007) Genetically engineered rice not approved for human consumption has been found contaminating a non-engineered strain, said the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) late yesterday.  USDA issued an order stopping the distribution and planting of the contaminated rice variety, known as Clearfield 131.  The genetically engineered contaminant has not yet been identified, but is thought to be an unapproved version of Bayer CropScience's LibertyLink rice.

This new contamination episode follows a similar debacle last summer, when the non-engineered Cheniere variety of rice was found contaminated with LL601, another unapproved genetically engineered rice from Bayer.  LL601 contamination led to rejection of U.S. long-grain rice exports to Europe, resulting in sharp drops in rice prices and lost income for farmers.  Cheniere will not be planted this year to prevent propagation of the LL601 contaminant, which remains unapproved in Europe.  The new ban is intended to prevent a repeat of that situation with Clearfield 131.

The loss of Clearfield 131 and Cheniere, which together represent 39% of the South's certified seed supply, is causing great hardship to Southern, especially Arkansas, rice farmers, who are unable to find sufficient amounts of uncontaminated seed as planting season nears.

"Once again, the USDA's inability to keep unapproved genetically engineered crops out of the food supply has hurt American farmers and will further undermine confidence in the wholesomeness of the American food supply," said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety.

USDA is responsible for ensuring that unapproved genetically engineered crops grown in outdoor field trials do not contaminate commercial-grade crops, but has come in for harsh criticism of numerous regulatory failings.  In late 2005, USDA's Inspector General issued a scathing audit documenting that the Department was not even aware of the locations of many field trials, and failed to conduct many, supposedly required, inspections of field trial sites.  In February 2007, a federal court ruled against USDA for allowing genetically engineered crop field trials to take place without conducting environmental assessments.

"We call on USDA to protect the interests of American farmers by instituting a moratorium on the planting of any new experimental, genetically engineered crop until it proves itself capable of preventing future contamination episodes," said Bill Freese, science policy analyst at Center for Food Safety.