On October 7, 1996, spokespersons representing more than 300 consumer, health, trade and agricultural organizations from 48 countries announced the launch of a world wide boycott of genetically engineered soy and corn produced in the U.S. Monsanto's glyphosate-tolerant soybeans and Ciba-Geigy's Bt corn will be commercially harvested this season for the first time. Organizations participating in the campaign will urge consumers to boycott targeted products containing soy and corn including Green Giant Harvest Burgers, Nestle Crunch, Similac Infant Formula, McDonald's french fries, Kraft Salad Dressings, Fleischmann's Margarine, Fritos, Karo Corn Syrup, Quaker Oats Corn Meal and Coca Cola. Organizers of the boycott cite increasing scientific concern over environmental and health risks associated with genetically engineered soybeans and corn.
The Secretary General of EuroCommerce, a trade association representing over one third of the European Union's food wholesalers and retailers, stated last week that they will refuse to accept Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" soybeans from the U.S. unless they are labeled. He warned that several major members of EuroCommerce would not buy U.S. soybeans without assurances that they are not genetically engineered. Approximately 40% of the U.S. soy crop is exported to Europe annually. Only one to two per cent of this year's soy crop is genetically engineered; officials expect this amount to increase by a factor of ten by next year.
Earlier this year, the European Union moved to allow limited importation of genetically engineered soybeans. A majority of European ministers, however, recently refused to authorize import of Ciba-Geigy's Bt corn, citing concerns about possible health and environmental effects. In response, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture sent the department's trade counselor to Brussels last week in an attempt to argue against restrictions on genetically engineered crops. The Secretary stated that European objections to Ciba-Geigy's corn were based on "unsound science," and that maize could become a trans-Atlantic trade issue.
U.S. agribusiness representatives and grain distributors maintain that labeling is not necessary since key U.S. agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have already approved the crops. They state that labeling would involve high costs since both soy and corn are normally shipped and stored in huge, interchangeable lots. Corn and soybeans, two of the most important U.S. field crops, were planted on 144 million acres this season.
Some U.S. agricultural distributors have already made agreements with European buyers to provide unaltered soybeans. These distributors have stated that they will not accept any genetically engineered soybeans from U.S. farmers.
In other events, Greenpeace activists blocked harvesting of a field of genetically engineered soybeans in Iowa on October 10. More than 30 activists used a bright pink non-toxic, milk-based paint to spray an entire Monsanto soybean field and mark a 100 foot "X" with the words: "Biohazard! Monsanto." The message could be read from the air and a similar banner marked the area from the road.
Monsanto's herbicide tolerant soybeans contain a gene that makes the soybean plant resistant to glyphosate (brand name Roundup), Monsanto's top selling herbicide. Critics maintain that the potential exists for herbicide tolerant genes to be transmitted to weeds, thereby exacerbating weed control problems. In addition, they point out that glyphosate is a toxic chemical, (for example, it is the third most commonly reported cause of pesticide poisoning in farmworkers in California) and that herbicide tolerant plants merely perpetuate use of toxic pesticides.
Ciba-Geigy's genetically engineered corn produces an insecticidal toxin derived from the naturally occurring soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt. Bt is a valuable tool for organic farmers, and critics state that Bt crops such as corn will speed development of insect resistance and reduce its effectiveness.
Sources: Foundation on Economic Trends press release, October 7, 1996; Greenpeace press release, October 10, 1996; International Herald Tribune, October 9, 1996; "EU, U.S. continue grain subsidy, biotech talks," Reuters, October 9, 1996.
Contacts: Ronnie Cummins, Pure Food Campaign, 860 Highway 61,
Little Marais, MN 55614; phone (218) 226-4164; email purefood@aol.com.
Foundation on Economic Trends, 1600 L Street NW, Suite 216, Washington DC 20036;
phone (202) 466-2833; fax (202) 429-9602.
Terri Johnson, Greenpeace, Chicago; phone (312) 563-6060;
http://www.greenpeace.org/~usa.
8/19/97