Posted on 12-6-2002
General
Orders - No Mill GM Corn
The American Corn Growers Association (ACGA) warned today that
the future
marketing of genetically modified (GMO) grains has taken a major
setback
due to the recent announcement by General Mills, the second
largest cereal
maker, that it plans to introduce a new line of organic cereals.
"Food
items must be free of GMO materials in order to be labeled organic,"
says
Larry Mitchell, CEO of the ACGA. "That means that the issue
of raising pure
organic grains, uncontaminated from genetically modified crops,
must be
addressed. "Since ACGA introduced its Farmer Choice - Customer
First
educational program, we have consistently cautioned that American
farmers
should seriously consider growing the crops that the market
dictates. The
growth in demand for organic and natural foods suggests positive
market
opportunities for non-GMO commodities will grow into the future,"
said
Mitchell. "While the growth trend in demand for organic foods
presents
exciting potential for American farmers, it also presents some
major
challenges regarding issues of pollen contamination, commodity
segregation,
and identity- preservation on the marketing side and compliance
with
tighter traceability, labeling, and liability regulations on
the legal
side," says Dan McGuire, ACGA Program Director. "Recent action
by the
European Parliament calling for the labeling of food and fodder
processed
from GMOs and for keeping GMO-derived food and fodder separate
from non-GMO
varieties, along with a reduction from 1 percent to 0.5 percent
in the
threshold for accidental contamination and the level at which
mandatory
labeling would kick in, is just one example of the more restrictive
trend."
General Mills is not the only major food company getting into
organics.
Other companies including Kraft, Kellogg, H.J. Heinz, Coca-Cola
and Adolph
Coors, are becoming players in the organic market. PepsiCo recognized
this
consumer-driven market potential by announcing two years ago
that Frito-Lay
snacks would be non-GMO. "Market prices for corn and other U.S.
commodities
remain near historic lows while U.S. grain export markets have
suffered
severely since the introduction of GMOs. The recent growth in
demand for
organic products offers positive news for American agricultural
producers,
but only if farmers are able to meet market and customer demand.
The
biotechnology industry seems unconcerned about what pollen drift
from its
GMO varieties will do to consumer choice and market demand,
either for
organic or for non-GMO commodities (about 80 percent of the
U.S. corn crop
is non-GMO varieties) and products It also appears to lack concern
for the
loss of U.S. export sales, not to mention the various liability
issues that
could develop. Add in the fact that the loss of export markets
increases
domestic grain inventories, lowers grain prices, and raises
the cost of the
farm program, U.S. farm program expenditures move closer to
being
non-compliant with World Trade Organization (WTO) spending limitations,
potentially causing U.S. farmers even more public relations
problems well
into the future," concluded McGuire.
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