Reuters, The Washington Post | November 23, 1999
WASHINGTON - Gary Goldberg, head of the American Corn Growers Association, described as a small activist group, was cited as estimating that GM crops planted next spring in U.S. fields would fall by 20 to 25 percent because of market uncertainties, based on conversations with farmers and local seed company salesmen, adding, "We believe that farmers in mass exodus are moving away from planting GM crops next year."
Farmers typically begin ordering seeds now to use for spring planting.
Mainstream farm groups and the U.S. Agriculture Department have taken a neutral stance, urging farmers to get as much information as they can before making their planting decisions.
The stories say that during the past three years, U.S. growers eagerly embraced GM seeds, which are somewhat more expensive to plant, because of their built-in pesticides. This year, more than half of the soybeans and one-third of corn harvested from American fields were grown from bioengineered seeds.
Seed suppliers say the products offer better, hardier crops that require fewer chemicals. Today's varieties are the first wave of bioengineered plants that will soon offer significant health and nutrition benefits to consumers, the companies say.
Spokesmen for seed companies Monsanto Co, Novartis AG and DuPont Co were not immediately available for comment on seed sales.
Bill Christison, a Missouri farmer who heads the National Family Farmer Coalition, was cited as saying that one major U.S. grain buyer may kick off 2000 by slashing prices paid to farmers for genetically altered soybeans, adding, "I have heard that one grain buyer is planning a 35 cent a bushel discount in January for GM soybeans." The Reuters story says he declined to elaborate, saying only that the information came from an executive with a major grain company, but stated, "We farmers are not supposed to know about this yet."
The National Family Farm Coalition opposes the use of GM crops, saying regulators should require rigorous testing and monitoring to ensure no health and environmental risks exist.
The coalition according to these stories, demanding that the U.S. government halt approval for genetically altered crops or foods. They also want an "independent and comprehensive" assessment of the health, environmental and economic impacts of the crops.
In September, Archer Daniels Midland Co shook up the grain industry by telling suppliers to keep genetically altered crops separate from conventional ones. The move was interpreted by farmers as setting the stage for premiums to be paid for crops grown with old-fashioned seeds.
Keeping bioengineered commodities completely separate, however, has proven to be difficult.
Trucks, grain bins and ships often have tiny amounts of residue left from GM crops. And the wind blows pollen from altered crops into nearby fields.
The family farm coalition said it would join a lawsuit planned by other activist groups next month accusing a handful of international firms of amassing too much control over the commercial seed business.
The 30 farm groups called on chemical companies engaged in bioengineering to promote the sale of traditional seed varieties for the coming crop year until an independent assessment of the environmental, health and economic impacts of gene-altered seeds is available. In their first coordinated declaration on the potential impact of planting genetically engineered seed, the groups held a teleconference with reporters in Washington in which several Midwestern farmers and the heads of farm groups representing tens of thousands of producers said their chief concern was the marketability of foods created through biotechnology. Many of the farm groups represented, including Farm Aid, which convened the conference, have been active in the fight to preserve family farming and curtail the growth of corporate agribusinesses.
Val Giddings, vice president for food and agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, was quoted as saying it "wouldn't be surprising if there was some slacking off" in the sale of biotechnology seeds this season, but he said the farm groups' market assessment was grossly distorted, adding, "Fears of a market impact are nil."
He also said numerous independent studies of bioengineered foods had proved them to be safe. One farmer at today's news conference, Rodney Skalbeck of Sacred Heart, Minn., said he has planted genetically engineered corn and soybeans on his 750 acres for the last two years but doubts if he will this spring. "There's no problem, except how are you going to sell them?," Skalbeck said. "They haven't told us the truth about what's really happening. Are we going to lose the European market? Are we going to have a market here?"
The Post story cited some seed dealers as saying they were bracing for a falloff in anticipated sales of genetically altered seeds, which last year topped $1 billion nationally and which, according to some estimates, had been expected to double this year.
Ken Hintzsche, a dealer in Maple Park, Ill., was quoted as saying, "I think we're going to see them stepping away from GMOs, particularly corn. I don't know how much, but there's a lot of concern out there." Jerry Bertrand, a grain dealer in Grant Park, Ill., was quoted as saying, "Farmers are pretty confused, and with good reason. I can't tell them with any certainty that I'll take their GMO corn and soy next year because I don't know if there'll be a market for it." Bertrand said that a year ago, most farmers he knows thought that gene-altered seeds were "the next best thing to sliced bread." Now, he said, "all of this misinformation and hysteria is going to hurt the market."
Bertrand was cited as saying he thought that biotechnology companies such as Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co.'s Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., which in recent weeks have been sending representatives to farm regions to reassure producers about the market, "didn't do a very good job of selling this to the public in the first place."
Another grain buyer, Robert Seegers Jr. of Crystal Lake, Ill., was quoted as saying, "I think there's going to be a reluctance to plant [gene-altered] corn. I don't think they'll risk it this year."
Seegers said that while he does not agree with the widespread public perception that genetically modified food is unsafe, "often perception is more important than reality."
Dean Urmston, executive vice president of the American Seed Trade Association, was cited as saying that while it is too early to define a trend, "I do know that our members are concerned because of the emotional things being expressed by the media and others." To counter the fears, the association has put on its World Wide Web site a grain handlers' database in which farmers can enter their Zip codes and instantly view a list of buyers who will take their genetically altered crops even if they don't meet the safety specifications of the European Union, which has led the resistance against agricultural biotechnology. Urmston was cited as saying 80 percent of the U.S. grain crop is purchased domestically and 54 percent of that is bought by about 2,000 grain handlers who say they will accept gene-altered crops. "So, the market is here. ... Where's the panic?" Urmston asked.
