New rice does more than feed, it saves lives

By Kristen Philipkoski
Wired via Checkbiotech.org

California Rice Commission on Monday approved a biotech company's request to grow the state's first crop genetically modified to contain a drug.

The rice commission advises the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which has the final decision on whether Ventria Bioscience of Sacramento can plant its pharmaceutical crop. If the agency approves, the company could be the first to commercialize such a product.

The rice is genetically modified to produce two human proteins that fight infection: lactoferrin and lysozyme. Some rice growers and environmental groups oppose the project, saying the rice could contaminate regular crops and damage the export market.

"Consumers in Japan will not accept (genetically engineered) contamination of any crop," said rice farmer Greg Massa in a statement. "The decision to approve Ventria's guidelines is bad news for farmers and California's rice industry."

Environmental groups and consumer advocates sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture in November 2003 for inadequate oversight of pharmaceutical crops. Companies like Dow Chemical and Monsanto are experimenting with corn, soybeans, tobacco, rice and sugar crops to find a cheaper way to mass-produce drugs.

Opponents say growing the crops in open fields endangers organic and conventional crops, as well as human health. And it's not just an issue environmentalists and consumer advocates are worried about, said Paul Achitoff, managing attorney of Earthjustice in Hawaii.

"Even food-processing corporations are very upset about this as well, because they know all you need is one shipment of corn flakes that has a contraceptive in it and there's a real problem, obviously," Achitoff said.

In 2002, federal officials ordered ProdiGene, of College Station, Texas, to burn 155 acres of corn and 500,000 bushels of soybeans because the crops had been contaminated by the company's pharmaceutical corn, which had been genetically engineered to produce an experimental diarrhea vaccine for pigs.

"Contamination is inevitable under this protocol, and the CRC did not act in the best interests of California rice farmers or consumers," said Renata Brillinger of Californians for GE-Free Agriculture.

The rice commission said the California Department of Food and Agriculture should give the proposal fast-track consideration and make a decision in 10 days. Opponents say the public should have more time to comment on Ventria's proposal.

"Instead of the normal 30-day public comment period that would exist with any other regulation, this fast tracking allows a 10-day review by CDFA," said Rebecca Spector of the Center for Food Safety. "The CDFA level is really the time where we depend on the public to be able to submit comments. We hope that the secretary of agriculture will review the proposal under the normal public review process."

Spector said Ventria has submitted its proposal at a key point in time because federal authorities are taking a limited role in regulating pharmaceutical crops.

"This is kind of a big mess," she said. "We requested that they wait to see how FDA and USDA are going to regulate this before approving this planting protocol. Ventria is taking advantage of this regulatory vacuum and in the meantime has gone through the regulatory bodies in California."

Ventria executives were not immediately available for comment.

Ventria's proposal restricts the production to counties that do not currently grow rice: San Luis Obispo, Kern, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial.

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