May 3, 2000, Wednesday / By PHILIP BRASHER, AP Farm Writer
WASHINGTON -- Governors concerned that opposition to genetically engineered food could
hurt farmers and biotech companies in their states announced plans Tuesday
to use their political muscle to promote the industry.
The 13 governors hope to reassure the public that "these aren't just the
big, bad chemical companies trying to engineer something to jam down your
throats," said North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer.
Schafer, a Republican, is co-chairing the Governors Biotechnology
Partnership with Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat.
The governors have yet to finalize a strategy, but they are patterning the
effort after a governors' ethanol coalition that promotes the corn-based
gasoline additive, in part through sponsoring studies of the product.
Along with Schafer and Vilsack, the governors forming the biotech coalition
include Democrats Mel Carnahan of Missouri and Tom Carper of Delaware,
whose states are home to two of the leading companies in the industry,
Monsanto and DuPont.
The other governors are Republicans Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho, John Engler
of Michigan, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Kenny Guinn of Nevada, Tommy
Thompson of Wisconsin and George Ryan of Illinois, and Democrats Frank
O'Bannon of Indiana, Jim Hunt of North Carolina and Gary Locke of Washington.
Schafer said the governors hope to coordinate their message with the
biotechnology companies, who last month launched a $50 million advertising
campaign to counter criticism of the industry.
Crops have been engineered to stay fresher longer or else to resist pests
and herbicides. The National Academy of Sciences concluded recently that
the biotech food now on the market is safe, but critics say there isn't
enough proof, and some U.S. food processing companies and fast-food
companies have been turning away from the crops.
"I don't think they (the governors) are doing their farmers or their
consumers any benefit by promoting a technology that hasn't proven to be
safe," said Charles Margulis, a spokesman for Greenpeace, an environmental
group that has led the opposition to biotech food. "I don't think it's
going to make much difference to our side."
Vilsack, speaking Tuesday at the National Press Club, invoked the name of
Henry Wallace, a liberal icon who was a pioneer in corn research and later
a tireless promoter of New Deal policies while serving as agriculture
secretary and vice president under Franklin Roosevelt.
Genetic engineering is fundamentally no different than the conventional
plant breeding done by Wallace, Vilsack said. Genetic engineering involves
transferring traits from one organism to another by splicing genes, while
conventional breeding methods include cross pollinating plants and inducing
genetic mutations.
"It's not new science," Vilsack said. "It's simply quicker science."
Jane Rissler, a biotech expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said
genetic engineering is "a very powerful technology, far more powerful than
traditional breeding, just as nuclear energy is far more powerful than
fossil fuels."
(posted without permission)
