Pharmaceutical Corn Debate Continues

11/15/2002, Edited by Willie Vogt, E-Content Director, Farm Progress

Two cases of follow-crop soybeans - one in Iowa and the other near Aurora,
Neb. - continue to stir controversy for the biotech world this week. The
USDA continues its investigation of an October incident where corn from a
previous-year experimental trial by ProdiGene, a College Station, Texas,
biotech firm, found its way into this year's soybeans. A September incident
in Iowa ended with 155 acres of soybeans being destroyed to keep them out
of the food system.

Organizations made up of food companies and food distributors are most
concerned. While they acknowledge that in this instance regulators caught
the crops before they were released into the food supply - a far cry from
the problems created by StarLink two years ago - they want better oversight.

"These incidents reaffirm [the Grocery Manufacturers Association's]
concerns about the use of food crops for the development of plant-made
pharmaceuticals," says Karil Kochenderfer, director of new technologies and
environment for GMA. "The food industry requires complete assurance from
regulators and the biotech industry that the safety and integrity of the
U.S. food supply remains intact."

The group recommends that efforts on crop pharmaceuticals focus on non-food
crops.

The Friends of the Earth issued a statement on the controversy this week
calling USDA policies "reckless" and calling for better regulation. In a
press statement the group says that 500,000 bushels of soybeans that were
destined for human consumption have been quarantined due to contamination
by "a corn crop genetically engineered to produce a pharmaceutical or
industrial chemical. The USDA refused to reveal what chemical or drug was
grown in the biopharmaceutical corn, or divulge the exact location where
the contaminated food crop is being held."

The group notes that it had warned the ag agency earlier this year that
"this was going to happen. If the USDA continues to allow biopharm food
crops to be planted, someone is going to get prescription drugs or
industrial chemicals in their corn flakes," says Larry Bohlen, Friends of
the Earth director of health and environment programs. Bohlen was
instrumental two years ago in finding StarLink in store-bought tacos; the
incident that sparked the whole StarLink controversy.

Friends of the Earth demands that USDA disclose specific information
concerning the biocontamination including:

The name of the genetically engineered drug or chemical
Detailed information on how the contamination occurred
Information on potential human health impacts the drug or chemical could cause
Confinement information
The application and contingency plan from ProdiGene - the company that
produced the crop
Extensiveness of the contamination
Records of USDA inspections

Friends of the Earth asserts in its press statement that with more than 300 field trials across the country since 1991, "it is probable that contamination of the U.S. food supply with genetically engineered pharmaceuticals has already occurred - we have no way of knowing due to the extreme degree of secrecy surrounding the locations of biopharm field trials and the nature of the drugs and chemicals they are engineered to produce."