GE Contamination: The Ticking Time-Bomb

Briefing

Genetic Engineering Briefing PackOctober 2004

GE CONTAMINATION, THE TICKING TIME-BOMB

Releasing GE (genetically engineered, also called GM, genetically modified) organisms into the environment poses special threats to the environment and the food chain. GE crops are living and have the ability to reproduce and multiply. Through cross-pollination, the foreign genes they contain can be transferred to other crops and wild species. Genetic contamination can, therefore, magnify over time. GE seeds can also be spilt, mixed with non-GE seed and grown illegally, compounding the problems. GE crops have been grown commercially since 1996, largely in North America. Since that time, there have been a number of episodes of contamination of non-GE crops. Farmers have already suffered economic loss, consumers’ health has been threatened and the integrity of non-GE farming put at stake. Contamination has even arisen from small-scale experimental growing and in one case, Pioneer were fined $72,000 for not informing the authorities promptly of GE contamination from a GE field trial in Hawaii1, underlining the difficulties of containing GE contamination. This briefing reviews these incidents of contamination and their impacts. Whilst the growing of GE crops is relatively limited, there is an urgent need to prevent further contamination occurring. Canada Canola contamination – driving out organic farmers, pushing up pesticide use GE canola, or oilseed rape as it is also known, has been grown commercially in Canada since 1996. Cross-pollination between GE canola crops has led to herbicide tolerant ‘super-weeds’ emerging. These volunteer oilseed rape weeds (where seed shed from a crop grown in a field in the previous season, germinates and is a weed in the following crop), that are tolerant to three herbicides (Liberty, Roundup and

Clearfield), were first identified in Canada in1998, only 3 years after two types of GE herbicide tolerant (Roundup Ready and Liberty Link) oilseed rape were first grown2,3. This resistance to more than one herbicide is known as ‘gene stacking’ and arises through pollination of one herbicide tolerant variety by another. An Agriculture Canada project found evidence of stacking at all 11 sites it sampled in 1999 with gene flow taking place at distances of up to 800 metres4. To control these herbicide tolerant weeds, both 2,4D and paraquat (grammoxone) are being recommended by government agencies to control herbicide tolerant oilseed rape volunteers in Canada5. 2,4-D is considered "highly toxic" due to its hazard to eyes6 and some forms are also highly toxic to fish.7 Organic farmers do not use GE products because they do not consider genetic engineering fits with natural production systems. Because canola pollen can travel many kilometres (insect pollination has been recorded at over 20 kms8), organic farmers in Canada have been forced to stop growing canola. Some are taking legal action against the biotech companies involved to get GE crops removed from the market and for compensation.9 USA Starlink – how GE animal feed entered the human food chain In 2000, a variety of GE maize known as StarLink was discovered in taco shells being sold for human consumption even though it was not approved for this use and should only have been used for animal feed10,11. The StarLink maize, produced by Aventis (now Bayer), is genetically engineered to contain a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis coding for an insecticidal Bt toxin known as Cry9C. This particular type of Bt toxin is not found in other GE insect resistant crops and there are concerns that it could be a human allergen because (unlike the Cry1A and Cry3A Bt toxins used in other GE crops) it is heat stable and does not break down in gastric acid in the human digestive system– characteristics shared by many allergens12. Because Cry9C is not

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found in Bt preparations used directly as an insecticide, there is no experience with its use and safety. The contamination appeared to have been caused by a lack of post-harvest segregation between StarLink and other maize varieties and cross contamination of other non-GE maize varieties because farmers were not aware or, or did not observe, separation distances. As a result of the discovery, Kraft, Safeway and Western Family rapidly recalled their StarLink contaminated taco shells, an action which is estimated to have cost them millions of dollars. Aventis was forced to remove StarLink from sale and a formal recall order was issued by the US Department of Agriculture for all 350,000 acres of StarLink corn planted across the US in 2000. Although the FDA has purchased over $13million of Starlink seed since then, the Cry9C gene sequences were still being detected in seed in 2003 possibly because contaminated seed has been used in hybrid seed production13. Prodigene – how you could find drugs in your cornflakes Many companies and scientists are promoting the use of GE crops as drug factories. However, contamination of a food crop with a drug producing GE variety is one obvious problem that has already arisen, even though this is still at the experimental stage. In a contamination incident which did not involve cross-pollination, on November 12th 2002 in the USA, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it had quarantined over $2.7 million worth of soybeans (500,000 bushels) destined for human consumption at a Nebraska grain elevator after finding stalks of ProdiGene's GE maize mixed with the soybeans14. They later ordered their destruction. The field where the soybeans were grown had been used previously by ProdiGene to grow GE maize which contained genes to produce an experimental vaccine against a pig disease, transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV). The US Food and Drug Administration has fined Prodigene £2 million15.

Hawaii – GE papaya spreads unmonitored GE papaya, engineered to be resistant to a viral disease, has been grown widely in Hawaii since 1998.16 In 2004, it has been discovered that GE papaya trees have contaminated both organic and conventional non-GE papaya on a wide scale17. Local farmers fear that their markets will now be lost18 as they may be in Thailand as a result of contamination (see below). Fifty percent of Big Island papaya seed samples showed GE contamination including those taken from organic farms and people’s gardens. Researchers send GE tomato seeds around the world ‘by mistake’ Scientists from the University of California have admitted that they mistakenly sent GE tomato seeds to researchers around the world for seven years without realising.19 Twelve U.S. institutions, 14 foreign research facilities and two demonstration gardens received mislabelled GE tomato seeds. Latin America Mexican maize – contaminating native varieties A paper published in Nature in 2001 reported GE contamination in native landraces of maize even though no GE maize should have been grown there commercially20. It seems that farmers may have kept and sown maize imported for food. The findings of the study came under considerable attack (orchestrated, it seems, by the biotechnology industry) but the finding of contamination has since been confirmed. Sampling in 2003 of maize from the nine regions of Mexico, revealed contamination of native varieties was widespread and occurred in 24% of all communities sampled.21 What is especially disturbing is that maize originated in Mesoamerica, so it is a centre of diversity, and GE maize was not authorised to be grown there. Brazil – illegal growing opens the market for later Until recently, GE crops were not allowed in Brazil, but for years Monsanto’s GE soya was

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smuggled into the country and grown illegally creating severe problems for farmers and exporters wanting to supply the growing export market of non-GE soybean products. The illegal growing also forced the Government to allow the planting of farm-saved GE soya for one year under certain restrictions.22 Monsanto – the developer of the GE soya – did not assume any liability or responsibility for its own product, but benefited from the illegal cultivation through increased sales of its pesticide, Roundup, which was used on the illegal GE soya fields, and improved prospects for official approval. Europe Experimental GE trials contaminated Two sites in the UK used by agrochemical company Aventis (now Bayer) to test GE crops were found to include a second, unauthorised GE sugar beet line resistant to two commonly-used herbicides. 23 It is thought the contaminated seed was the result of cross-pollination in the fields of the German breeder KWS who supplied the GE seeds. Instead of producing a beet resistant to the weed-killer Liberty, it produced a line resistant to both Liberty and Roundup, another widely-used herbicide. Further tests showed that seeds sown on dozens of test sites in Germany, France and the Netherlands were also similarly contaminated.24 Asia Thailand – experimental GE papaya contaminates commercial farms Confirming Greenpeace’s earlier revelations, the Thai government has reported that at least nine farms have been discovered to be growing GE contaminated papaya trees.25 The Thai government is taking action to destroy the contaminated trees which can only have arisen from GE papaya trees being grown experimentally at the Government station breeding the trees, because GE papaya is not grown commercially in Thailand. Exports of papaya to Europe have been hit because of fears that contamination could have spread.26

Japan – GE canola on the loose In 2004, it was revealed that GE canola was found growing wild in many locations close to the ports where it was imported into Japan and the seed spilt during movement. The contamination appears to be spreading and establishing.27 Illegal GE cotton paves the way for commercial introduction Mirroring the experiences in Brazil, illegal growing of GE cotton preceded its official approval in India. In 2001, some 10,000 hectares of GE cotton were grown illegally in India from GE cotton seed sold by the Navbharat seed company.28 It is thought the seed was produced by crossing US varieties of GE cotton. In 2002, some GE cotton varieties were given official approval for planting in some states of India. Illegal growing of unapproved varieties and also in other states of India continues29 Contaminated seed supplies Across the world, there has been a worrying incidence of low level GE contamination of non-GE seed supplies. Contamination at this stage, because of cross-pollination during seed production or mixing at seed producers, is damaging because seed forms the very base of the food production chain and leaves non-GE impossible to achieve. • In Canada, Monsanto had to replace its

canola variety ‘Quest‘ in spring 2001. Tests had shown that the herbicide resistant variety Quest GT 73 was contaminated with the alternative genetic event GT 200 which is not approved in any of Canada’s major export markets, including the U.S. and Japan.30 The Quest canola variety accounted for about 10 to 12 per cent of the canola growing area in Canada in 2000.31

• In August 2002, Pacific Seeds of Australia (an Advanta company) reported that it had found GE contamination in maize seed imported into, and grown, in New Zealand for seed production.32 The contamination was detected at harvesting of the maize and was destroyed.

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• Pioneer Hi-Bred, worried about

contamination of conventional maize seed, has moved most of its European maize seed production from North America to Romania, Hungary and Austria33.

• In 2000, Advanta Seeds imported oilseed rape seed into the UK which was found to be contaminated with around 1% of GE,34 and this was sown on approximately 4,700 hectares and the crops had to be destroyed and farmers compensated.35 The seed was found to have been contaminated by GE rape grown over 4 kilometres away36.

• In 2002, Aventis (now Bayer), revealed that oilseed rape seed used at 12 sites in the UK’s farm scale trials with GE crops, was contaminated with an unapproved GE variety. 37

• In the USA, the Union of Concerned Scientists reported widespread GE contamination at levels of up to 1% in non-GE maize, oilseed rape and soybean seed.38

• In July 2001, the French Government’s Food Inspection Agency (AFSSA - Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments) reported that GE contamination of corn, soya and canola seed had occurred. Once source of this seed contamination was GE field trials.39

Counting the costs of contamination GE contamination matters for a whole range of reasons - environmental, health and economic. Even apparently low levels of contamination are significant on a commercial scale. In an average 10 hectare oilseed rape field, at a 0.3% seed contamination level, 30,000 plants in the field could be GE. English Nature believe that for GE herbicide-tolerant crops, this would pose an environmental problem because additional weed control measures would be needed with consequent harm to farmland wildlife.40

For farmers trying to farm sustainably without the use of GE crops, contamination poses a threat to their environmentally beneficial forms of agriculture and their ability to supply a non-GE market. The prospect of food supplies being contaminated by GE crops used for drug production raises obvious questions of public safety. And the economic costs of mistakes can be large as the Starlink episode has shown:

• Aventis paid at least $100 million to buy back the 2000 crop.41

• The United States Department of Agriculture spent $20 million to buy seeds from small companies whose seed stock was contaminated.42

• Kraft lost an estimated $10 million in lost sales from its taco shells alone.43 Taco Bell franchises were awarded $60 million by all the taco shell manufacturers: Kraft, Azteca Foods and Mission Foods.44

• Aventis, Garst and four food companies (Kraft, Kellogg, Azteca Foods and Mission Foods) settled a class action consumer lawsuit for $9 million to customers who said they suffered allergic reactions.45

• Aventis and Garst settled a class action lawsuit by farmers seeking compensation for lost markets. The lawsuit sought damages as well as a requirement for Aventis to decontaminate all soil, farming equipment, etc. to prevent further contamination. The firms will pay $110 million; farmers are likely to receive only US$1 per acre.46

In addition, GE contamination threatens people’s wish to have choice about whether to eat or use GE food and crops. Greenpeace believes that no more GE crops or other organisms should be released into the environment if serious and irreversible GE contamination is to be avoided. As these examples have shown, neither companies, scientists nor regulators can be trusted to establish and follow rules to prevent genetic contamination and the very nature of GE organisms will mean that no system can be foolproof.

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References 1 Emily Gersema. April 23, 2003. Pioneer pays fine in biotech corn mix-up; USDA begins new Investigation. The Associated Press; Justin Gillis. April 24, 2003. Firm Fined for Spread Of Altered Corn Genes; Government Wasn't Told Soon Enough. The Washington Post: E04; Elizabeth Weise. April 24, 2003. Biotech traces found in regular corn. USA Today: 11. 2 Downey, R.K. (1999) Gene flow and rape – the Canadian experience. 1999 BCPC Symposium Proceedings No. 72: Gene flow and agriculture: relevance for transgenic crops. British Crop Protection Council: Farnham 3 Hall, L., Topinka, K., Huffman, J., Davis, L. & Good, A. (2000) Pollen flow between herbicide-resistant Brassica napus is the cause of multiple-resistant B.napus volunteers. Weed Science 48: 688-694. 4 Beckie, H.J., Hall, L.M. & Warwick, S.I. (2001) Impact of herbicide-resistant crops as weeds in Canada. Proceedings Brighton Crop Protection Council – Weeds pp 135-142. 5 Outcrossing Between Canola Varieties - A Volunteer Canola Control Issue. http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/crops/canola/outcrossing.html 6 2,4-D Pesticide Fact Sheet. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service by Information Ventures, Inc. http://infoventures.com/e-hlth/pestcide/24d.html 7 EXTOXNET (1996) Extension Toxicology Network, Pesticide Information Profiles 2,4, D http://extoxnet.orst.edu/pips/24-D.htm. 8 Ramsay, G., Thompson, C. & Squire, G. (2003) Quantifying landscape-scale gene flow in oilseed rape. DEFRA Final Report RG0216 http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/gm/research/epg-rg0216.htm 9 Organic Agriculture Protection Fund, press release, December 20, 2002. Organic farmers apply for class certification in lawsuit against GMO giants. Losses due to introduction of GM canola estimated to be in excess of $14 million http://www.saskorganic.com/oapf/pdf/press-rel-20dec02.pdf 10 Biotech Critics Cite Unapproved Corn in Taco Shells. Washington Post, September 18th 2000 11 www.gefoodalert.org 12 National Research Council (2000) Genetically Modified Pest-Protected Plants. Science and Regulation. National Academy Press: Washington DC. 13 Mellon, M & Rissler, J (2004) Gone to Seed, transgenic contaminants in the traditional seed supply, Union of Concerned Scientists: Washington DC. http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/biotechnology/page.cfm?pageID=1315 14 See USDA press release http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/press/2002/11/prodigene.html 15 Alarm as GM pig vaccine taints US crops. The Guardian, 24th December 2002. 16 Gonsalves, D. et al (2004). Transgenic virus resistant papaya: From Hope to Reality for Controlling of Papaya ringspot virus in Hawaii. Online. APSnet feature July 2004, American Phytopathological Society. http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/ringspot/ 17 Hawaii GEAN and GMO-Free Kauai, press release September 9, 2004: New Research Reveals Widespread

GMO Contamination and Threats to Local Agriculture from the University of Hawaii’s GMO Papaya. 18 New 'gene flow' problems concern crop producers The Associated Press, September 23, 2004. http://pressroom.geaction.org/news/item.tcl?news_item_id=101548 19 UC Davis mistakenly ships biotech tomatoes to scientists. Associated Press, December 18th 2003 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/12/18/financial1708EST0140.DTL&type=science 20 Quist, D, & Chapela, I.H. (2001) Transgenic DNA introgressed into traditional maize landraces in Oaxaca, Mexico. Nature 414: 541-543; CEC (Commission for Environmental Cooperation of the North American Free Trade Agreement) 2004. Maize and biodiversity: the effects of transgenic maize in Mexico. http://www.cec.org/maize/index.cfm?varlan=english. In press. 21 Boletín de prensa colectivo de comunidades indígenas y campesinas de Oaxaca, Puebla, Chihuahua, Veracruz, CECCAM, CENAMI, Grupo ETC, CASIFOP, UNOSJO, AJAGI México, 9 Octubre 2003 Contaminación transgénica del maíz en México: mucho más grave. http://www.etcgroup.org/documents/boletinmaize.pdf 22 Vice President of the Republic of Brazil (2003) Executive Order No. 4,846 & Provisional Measure 131. Unoffical translation provided by: USDA Foreign Agriculture Service (2003) Brazil approves biotech soybeans. GAIN Report #BR3613 23 DETR News Release 2000/0638: 10 October 2000. GM crops - Aventis sugar beet http://www.press.dtlr.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2000_0638 24 Financial Times (October 9, 2000) Modified beet seed dropped after trial mistake. 25 Government Admission: GM papaya confirmed in NE. The Nation, September 14, 2004; GM papayas found on 8 more farms. The Nation (Thailand), September 21, 2004. Available on: http://www.agbios.com. 26 Europeans shun Thai papaya. The Nation (Thailand), September 2, 2004. http://www.safetybio.com/news/Inter/2547/September/02092004-4.htm 27 Bio Journal - August 2004, Trend: Serious GM canola pollution in Kashima port, Ibaraki Prefecture, http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~cbic/english/2004/journal0408.html 28 Jayaraman, K.S. (2001) Illicit GM cotton sparks corporate

fury. Nature 413: 555. 29 Bhattacharya S. (2003) Modified crops ‘have big benefits for Third World’, New Scientists 15. Feb 2003 Jayaraman,K.S. (2002) Poor crop management plaques Bt cotton experiment in India, NatureBiotechnology, Vol 20, 1069. 30 Monsanto (April 25, 2001) Quest Canola Seed Replacement Offered. Press release 31 Reuters (April 25, 2001) Monsanto replacing GMO canola seed in Canada 32 Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, New Zealand. Testing Imported Seeds For the Presence of GM Seeds.

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Investigation into GM maize grown in Pukekohe and Gisborne, August-September 2002 http://www.maf.govt.nz/biosecurity/imports/plants/papers/gm-seeds/ 33 Nuttall, N. 2000. Firms move to avoid risk of contamination. The Times (UK). May 29. www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/05/29/timnwsnws01017.html 34 House of Commons Agriculture Committee inquiry into genetically modified organisms and seed segregation: memorandum by the MAFF and the DETR. 10th July 2000. 35 Rogue GM seeds taint UK crop. The Guardian (UK)18th May 2000. 36 Written submission from Advanta Seeds UK to the UK House of Commons Agriculture Select Committee, 10th July 2000. 37 BBC News 16 August, 2002, Urgent tests on GM crop seeds. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/2195762.stm 38 Union of Concerned Scientists (2004) Gone to seed. Transgenic contaminants in the traditional seed supply. UCS: Cambridge, MA. www.ucsusa.org/documents/seedreport_full report.pdf. 39 AFSSA - Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments. July 23, 2001. de l’Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments relatif à l'évaluation, en termes de santé publique, de la signification d’un signal positif à 0,2% par une sonde 35S et du risque éventuel lié à la présence de semences de maïs OGM non identifiés, au regard notamment des taux de présence observés et de la fréquence des cas. 40 See BBC News online. 13 October, 2002. 'GM seed spread' warning; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2321443.stm; and submissions by English Nature dated April 2001 (MAFF consultation on adventitious presence of GM seeds in seed of conventional varieties) and August 2002 (DEFRA consultation on Commission proposals on thresholds for the adventitious presence of approved GMOs in seeds). 41 Reuters Nov. 16th , 2000. US exports hurt by StarLink bio-corn chaos. http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/cornsalesdown.cfm 42 Schuff, S. 2001. Major seed companies say they have StarLink isolated. 12 March. Feedstuffs. 43 Madigan, K. 2003. Risky business. Los Angeles, CA: State Public Interest Research Groups, As You Sow Foundation. http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:GBD32fPY6hMJ:www.gefoodalert.org/library/admin/uploadedfiles/showfile.cfm%3FFileName%3DRisky_Business_Financial_Risks_that_Geneticall.pdf+Madigan,+K.+2003.+Risky+business.+Los+Angeles,+CA:+State+Public+Interest+Research+Groups,+As+You+Sow+Foundation&hl=en&lr=lang_en 44 International Franchise Association. Taco Bell Franchisees Receive Financial Assistance From Taco Shell Suppliers. 8 June.2001 http://bizjournals.bison.com/press/pr6-8tacobell.html 45 U.S. Judge Approves $9 Mln StarLink Settlement – 8th March 2002 Reuters http://www.fass.org/fasstrack/news_item.asp?news_id=208 46 Elias, P.. Biotech firms pay $110 million to settle StarLink lawsuit, 7th 2003 February, Associated Press. http://ipm.osu.edu/trans/023_071.htm

Design

GE Contamination: The Ticking Time-Bomb