Nature's Path
Press Release
March 9, 2000

(Blaine, WA) Nature’s Path Foods President Arran Stephens says that the National Organic Program rules just released yesterday by the USDA are missing critical protections for American consumers—as well as organic farmers whose fields are positioned within seven miles of GMO crops.

"We have searched the entire USDA regulatory document, and found nothing that addresses the drift of pollen from genetically engineered crops to organically grown crops. There is no wall high enough that can be erected around a GMO crop to prevent pollen drift. This is the critical question now being asked by our customers in both the US, Canada and Europe,” says Stephens.

Unless changed, the proposed USDA Rules would disqualify all certified organic corn if that corn became inadvertently contaminated by pollen drift.

"It’s not like a pesticide that you can wash off the corn." Arran states. "Once corn is contaminated with the genes of genetic engineering, those gene markers and traits will continue in perpetuity. In other words, all the offspring that grows from that corn will continue to reveal GMO markers. Failing an outright ban on GMO crops, reasonable, internationally acceptable tolerance levels for inadvertent contamination must be set, otherwise organic corn farming—if not the entire organic industry could become a thing of the past. We’d like to see an outright ban on GMOs, but even then, there is no guarantee that the GMO Genie can ever be put back in the bottle. The consequences are unknown and not worth the risk.”

Inadvertent genetic contamination of organic crops, even if in trace amounts, is measurable by existing testing and will cause the product to fail organic status under the Act. "It is important that the organic industry does not paint itself in a corner on this issue," says Stephens, who grew up on a pioneer organic farm in the 1940's. He and his family have been active in organic agriculture for over 50 years.

"Our European customers are insisting on GMO free organic food and hundreds of thousands of American consumers have written to the USDA to insist that GMOs be prohibited. Why has the USDA not addressed this issue?" asks Stephens.

Founded in 1985 by Arran Stephens, Nature's Path Foods is North America's best selling maker of third-party certified organic and all-natural breakfast foods marketed under the name Nature's Path and LifeStream, respectively.

The company owns and operates certified organic processing facilities in Blaine, WA and Delta, BC, Canada. (Q.A.I. is the third-party certifying agency).

For more information, please contact: Ken McCormick, Nature’s Path Communications Coordinator 360-671-3496 / e-mail: organic@nas.com Or, visit the Nature’s Path website:

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3/16/00