Gee,Stop the presses.Here's some big news.The USDA ruled in favor of Corporate ag over the farmer. And although this 'little' mistake by Bayer cost more than a few farmers more than simply income it doesn't cost Bayer a dime.How assinine. No, far worse than that. Criminal negligence, really. What's the difference between this and stealing?
original-nwanewsUSDA report: (GM)Rice tainting a mysteryBY
NANCY COLEPosted on Saturday, October 6, 2007
More than 14 months after the U. S. Department of Agriculture began investigating how traces of an unapproved genetically engineered rice entered the U. S. commercial long-grain rice supply, the government has concluded that it cannot explain how the contamination occurred and has no plans to take any enforcement actions.
Cindy Smith, the administrator of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said Friday that the agency is considering some changes, including a requirement for better record keeping by researchers and developers.
That was hardly enough to satisfy the industry, members of which roundly condemned the effort.
“Once again USDA has let the American farmer down,” said Ray Vester, a Stuttgart rice farmer who served on the State Plant Board last winter when the agency banned the planting this year of the two rice varieties — Cheniere and Clearfield 131 — that tested positive for trace amounts of the protein that makes Bayer CropScience’s LibertyLink rice resistant to the herbicide Liberty, also known as glufosinate.
“They didn’t have the protocols in place to keep this from happening or to find out how it happened,” Vester said.
“It appears to me they just whitewashed over
and went on,” he said.
“They spent all these months trying to find reasons not to blame anybody or make a decision, and I think that’s what they accomplished,” Vester said.
Darryl Little, director of the State Plant Board, said, “They really didn’t tell us a whole lot.”
Preventing future transgenic contamination is the most important point to keep in mind, said Kenneth Graves, president of the Arkansas Rice Growers Association.
“We obviously need more stringent regulations with some tough penalties and accountability,” Graves said.
Both U. S. rice industry trade groups, USA Rice Federation in Washington and US Rice Producers Association in Houston, Texas, expressed disappointment with the results of the USDA investigation.
Although the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration have said that Bayer Crop- Science’s LibertyLink rices pose no health, food safety or environmental risks, many foreign countries shun all genetically engineered foods.
Because about half of all U. S. rice is exported, news last year of the contamination negatively affected almost half of all U. S. rice export markets. U. S. rice sales to the 27 member nations of the European Union have nearly halted, while increased testing of U. S. rice shipments has been required elsewhere.
The fallout from the LibertyLink problem has been particularly acute in Arkansas. The state’s farmers produce about half of all U. S. rice. In 2006, Arkansas’ rice harvest was worth $ 892 million, making it the state’s single most valuable crop.
~snip~
.
.
.
complete article here
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
