Des Moines, Iowa
June 14, 2007
by Mike Waters,
Truth about Trade and
Technology
Organic activists and environmental extremist groups would have
the public believe that Roundup Ready® (glyphosate tolerant)
alfalfa is a "threat to organic alfalfa and alfalfa export
markets." Reality says otherwise.
Of the 22 million acres of alfalfa grown in the U.S. last year,
USDA estimates that only about 200,000 acres were Roundup Ready
- about 0.01% of the total. And the risk of cross pollination in
forage production is extremely remote. According to the
University of California Davis (http://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu
- click on 'Biotech Alfalfa') for gene flow to occur from one
hay field to another, the following must occur:
1) Fields must flower
simultaneously,
2) pollinators must move between fields;
3) pollen must fertilize plant;
4) embryos must turn into seeds:
5) seed must fall to ground and germinate;
6) germinating plants must compete with existing alfalfa.
Agronomic experts point out that
there are severe environmental limits to each of these steps
happening, and further, most hay is harvested pre-bloom; the few
surviving seeds that may germinate do not contribute
significantly to hay biomass (estimates at <0.001%).
RR alfalfa a threat to export hay markets? Hardly. About 90% of
alfalfa produced in the U.S. is consumed domestically, much of
it consumed on the farm where it is produced. Japan - the
largest recipient of U.S. hay, representing over 75% of all U.S.
alfalfa hay and hay product exports - approved RR alfalfa for
import last year. Over 98% of U.S. alfalfa hay/hay products
exported is concentrated in five countries: Japan, South Korea,
Taiwan, Canada and Mexico. All five countries have a process for
approving import of biotech crops and currently import products
derived from U.S. produced biotech soybean, corn, canola and/or
cotton.
The U.S. court has already accepted the fact that Roundup Ready
alfalfa poses no harm to humans and livestock, and other
regulatory agencies around the world, including Canada and
Japan, have confirmed the environmental safety of RR alfalfa.
Further, farmer stewardship agreements provide an expected level
of responsibility, following proper production practices just as
conventional and organic producers adhere to required production
practices.
Montana is a leading alfalfa producing state in the nation, and
while RR alfalfa isn't a fit for all producers, it offers
distinct advantages for some, including a better chance of stand
establishment in the spring, and for selling into segments of
the hay and forage market that demands a high quality, weed-free
product, such as horses and purebred livestock breeders.
What really happened here is that a bunch of environmental
groups bent on an all organic, no biotech crop agenda went
shopping for a judge friendly to their cause. It's important to
note, however, that the San Francisco judge's ruling halting the
production of RR alfalfa isn't permanent. It's only until USDA
completes an Environmental Impact Statement.
Longtime ag writer Harry Cline, editor of the
Western Farm Press,
was sharply critical about the ruling. "All this to appease a
bunch of radicals bent on destroying the American economy," he
wrote. "(The ag community) must appeal this ridiculous decision
to protect American agriculture from a threat far more insidious
than any transgenic gene or weed." |
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