Tales of Roundup

As printed in Earth Island Journal, fall '98*

New Zealand vs. Monsanto

New Zealand - in 1997, Monsanto assured the New Zealand public that the introduction of genetically engineered crops like its Roundup Ready soybean would help reduce the use of chemical herbicides. (Monsanto's beans are genetically engineered to resist damage from applications of Monsanto's Roundup pesticide.) But despite its promises, earlier this year, Monsanto applied to the New Zealand Food Authority to increase permitted levels of Roundup residue in soybeans 200-fold.

"Soybeans now contain dramatically elevated residues of the herbicide," claims Guy Hatchard of the New Zealand Natural Law Party. "[and] are used in up to 60 percent of processed foods such as baby foods, chocolate, bread, pasta sauces [and] ice cream."

Roundup resistant soybeans have been genetically engineered to contain genetic fragments of soil bacteria and cauliflower mosaic virus, a fact that concerns scientists like Joseph Cummmings, Professor Emeritus of Genetics at the University of Western Ontario, who has warned that "Probably the greatest threat from genetically altered crops is the insertion of modified [plant] virus and insect virus genes into crops. It has been shown in the laboratory that genetic recombination will create highly virulent new viruses from such constructions." The cauliflower mosaic virus is a potentially dangerous gene, Cummings added. "It is a pararetrovirus, meaning that it multiplies by making DNA from RNA messages. It is very similar to the Hepatitis B virus and related to HIV. Modified viruses could cause famine by destroying crops or cause human and animal diseases of tremendous power."

Roundup Resistance Backfires

US - Researchers at Ohio State University and the Risoe National Laboratory in Denmark have discovered that genetically engineered herbicide-resistant oilseed rape plants (Brassica napus, aka canola seed) can easily pass their resistance to a closely related weed (Brassica rapa).

In a presentation at the August 6 meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Allison Snow, associate professor of plant biology at Ohio State, reported finding that herbicide resistance was communicated to half of the wild weeds. "By the third generation," Snow stated, "the weeds that carried the gene for herbicide resistance looked exactly like normal weeds."

Because cultivated crops are typically less robust than wild plants, transferring increased resistance to closely related weeds will make the weeds more competitive. "If farmers spray their crops with the same herbicide every year," Snow observed, "the only weeds to survive will be the transgenes" and the surviving weeds will spread even faster. In the process, Snow added the weeds could develop resistance to several different herbicides.

What makes it worse is that Monsanto's genetic engineers altered the genes in the nucleus of the canola seed cells, meaning that the transgenic DNA is carried in every piece of pollen blown by the wind or collected by pollinators. Had the scientists altered the genes in the plant cell's cytoplasm, the DNA could only have been transmitted through the seeds. Studies have shown that the pollen from oilseed rape can travel as far as a mile in all directions.

*stories not yet on the EIJ website as of this date

Monsanto Prosecutes U.S. Seed Violators

===================================== P A N U P S *** Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service http://www.panna.org/panna/ email panna@panna.org ===================================== December 14, 1998
Monsanto is tracking down U.S. farmers who are replanting seed from Monsanto's genetically engineered crops. In the company's own words, "Monsanto is vigorously pursuing growers who pirate any brand or variety of its genetically enhanced seed, such as Roundup Ready soybeans and cotton and Bollgard cotton."* The company has hired five full-time investigators to follow up on seed saving leads that it receives. To date, Monsanto has at least 475 cases in the U.S., generated from over 1,800 leads. More than 250 of these cases are under investigation in at least 20 states. Monsanto maintains that seed saving is illegal even if a farmer did not sign an order or invoice statement for the seed at time of purchase.
In one case, an Illinois farmer admitted saving and replanting Roundup Ready soybeans and also acknowledged that he traded the seed with neighbors and a local seed cleaner in return for other goods. The farmer's settlement with Monsanto included a US$35,000 fine plus full documentation confirming disposal of his soybean crop. In addition, the farmer and all other parties involved must allow Monsanto to inspect their soybean production records and provide full access to all of their property, both owned and leased, for inspections, collection and testing of soybean plants and seed for the next five years.
Other cases include:
-- A Kentucky grower who was fined US$25,000 for illegally saving seed;
-- An Iowa farmer who paid US$16,000 for seed saving; and
-- Two Illinois farmers who settled with Monsanto for US$15,000 and US$10,000.
Each of these growers will also undergo on-site farm and record inspections for at least five years.
No one knows exactly how many farmers in industrialized countries save seed from their harvest each year. By some estimates, 20% to 30% of all soybean fields in the U.S. midwest were typically planted with farmer-saved seed, a practice now threatened by Monsanto.
Monsanto adds a US$6.50 "technology" fee to each 50 pound bag of Roundup Ready soybean seed, which is enough to plant just under one acre. Monsanto introduced Roundup Ready soybean seed three years ago, and by next year, analysts estimate that at least half of the 70 million acres of soybeans grown in the U.S. will be Roundup Ready. Based on these figures, Monsanto will collect approximately US$200 million in technology fees alone on the seed next year.
Worldwide plantings of Monsanto's genetically engineered crops more than doubled this year to approximately 55 million acres (22 million hectares). In 1997, some 23 million acres were planted, and in 1996 Monsanto's transgenic crops were grown on only three million acres. In 1998, the vast majority of these crops were grown in the U.S. -- primarily Roundup Ready soybeans (25 million acres) and YieldGard maize* (11 million acres).
*"Roundup Ready" crops are engineered to withstand application of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide (glyphosate). Bollgard cotton and YieldGard maize are engineered to contain an insecticidal toxin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which is used as a biological pesticide.
Sources: "Monsanto Releases Seed Piracy Case Settlement Details," Monsanto press release, September 29, 1998; "Monsanto Tracks Down Seed Violators," Evansville Courier, October 28, 1998; "Terminator Technology Prevents Farmers from Saving Seed," Global Pesticide Campaigner, June 1998; Agrow: World Crop Protection News, November 27, 1998. Contact: PANNA. ====================================================== Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) 49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco, California 94102 Phone (415) 981-1771 Fax (415) 981-1991 Email: panna@panna.org web site www.panna.org/panna/ To subscribe to PANUPS, email to majordomo@igc.org with the following text on one line: subscribe panups To unsubscribe send the following: unsubscribe panups ======================================================

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	New Zealand vs. Monsanto New Zealand - in 1997, Monsanto assured the New Zealand public that the introduction of genetically engineered crops like its Roundup Ready soybean would help reduce the use of chemical herbicides. (Monsanto's beans are genetically engineered to resist damage from applications of Monsanto's Roundup pesticide.) But despite its promises, earlier this year, Monsanto applied to the New Zealand Food Authority to increase permitted levels of Roundup residue in soybeans 200-fold. "Soybeans now contain dramatically elevated residues of the herbicide," claims Guy Hatchard of the New Zealand Natural Law Party. "[and] are used in up to 60 percent of processed foods such as baby foods, chocolate, bread, pasta sauces [and] ice cream." Roundup resistant soybeans have been genetically engineered to contain genetic fragments of soil bacteria and cauliflower mosaic virus, a fact that concerns scientists like Joseph Cummmings, Professor Emeritus of Genetics at the University of Western Ontario, who has warned that "Probably the greatest threat from genetically altered crops is the insertion of modified [plant] virus and insect virus genes into crops. It has been shown in the laboratory that genetic recombination will create highly virulent new viruses from such constructions." The cauliflower mosaic virus is a potentially dangerous gene, Cummings added. "It is a pararetrovirus, meaning that it multiplies by making DNA from RNA messages. It is very similar to the Hepatitis B virus and related to HIV. Modified viruses could cause famine by destroying crops or cause human and animal diseases of tremendous power." Roundup Resistance Backfires US - Researchers at Ohio State University and the Risoe National Laboratory in Denmark have discovered that genetically engineered herbicide-resistant oilseed rape plants (Brassica napus, aka canola seed) can easily pass their resistance to a closely related weed (Brassica rapa). In a presentation at the August 6 meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Allison Snow, associate professor of plant biology at Ohio State, reported finding that herbicide resistance was communicated to half of the wild weeds. "By the third generation," Snow stated, "the weeds that carried the gene for herbicide resistance looked exactly like normal weeds." Because cultivated crops are typically less robust than wild plants, transferring increased resistance to closely related weeds will make the weeds more competitive. "If farmers spray their crops with the same herbicide every year," Snow observed, "the only weeds to survive will be the transgenes" and the surviving weeds will spread even faster. In the process, Snow added the weeds could develop resistance to several different herbicides. What makes it worse is that Monsanto's genetic engineers altered the genes in the nucleus of the canola seed cells, meaning that the transgenic DNA is carried in every piece of pollen blown by the wind or collected by pollinators. Had the scientists altered the genes in the plant cell's cytoplasm, the DNA could only have been transmitted through the seeds. Studies have shown that the pollen from oilseed rape can travel as far as a mile in all directions.
stories not yet on the EIJ* website as of this date

	Monsanto Prosecutes U.S. Seed Violators ===================================== P A N U P S *** Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service http://www.panna.org/panna/ email panna@panna.org ===================================== December 14, 1998 Monsanto is tracking down U.S. farmers who are replanting seed from Monsanto's genetically engineered crops. In the company's own words, "Monsanto is vigorously pursuing growers who pirate any brand or variety of its genetically enhanced seed, such as Roundup Ready soybeans and cotton and Bollgard cotton."* The company has hired five full-time investigators to follow up on seed saving leads that it receives. To date, Monsanto has at least 475 cases in the U.S., generated from over 1,800 leads. More than 250 of these cases are under investigation in at least 20 states. Monsanto maintains that seed saving is illegal even if a farmer did not sign an order or invoice statement for the seed at time of purchase. In one case, an Illinois farmer admitted saving and replanting Roundup Ready soybeans and also acknowledged that he traded the seed with neighbors and a local seed cleaner in return for other goods. The farmer's settlement with Monsanto included a US$35,000 fine plus full documentation confirming disposal of his soybean crop. In addition, the farmer and all other parties involved must allow Monsanto to inspect their soybean production records and provide full access to all of their property, both owned and leased, for inspections, collection and testing of soybean plants and seed for the next five years. Other cases include: -- A Kentucky grower who was fined US$25,000 for illegally saving seed; -- An Iowa farmer who paid US$16,000 for seed saving; and -- Two Illinois farmers who settled with Monsanto for US$15,000 and US$10,000. Each of these growers will also undergo on-site farm and record inspections for at least five years. No one knows exactly how many farmers in industrialized countries save seed from their harvest each year. By some estimates, 20% to 30% of all soybean fields in the U.S. midwest were typically planted with farmer-saved seed, a practice now threatened by Monsanto. Monsanto adds a US$6.50 "technology" fee to each 50 pound bag of Roundup Ready soybean seed, which is enough to plant just under one acre. Monsanto introduced Roundup Ready soybean seed three years ago, and by next year, analysts estimate that at least half of the 70 million acres of soybeans grown in the U.S. will be Roundup Ready. Based on these figures, Monsanto will collect approximately US$200 million in technology fees alone on the seed next year. Worldwide plantings of Monsanto's genetically engineered crops more than doubled this year to approximately 55 million acres (22 million hectares). In 1997, some 23 million acres were planted, and in 1996 Monsanto's transgenic crops were grown on only three million acres. In 1998, the vast majority of these crops were grown in the U.S. -- primarily Roundup Ready soybeans (25 million acres) and YieldGard maize* (11 million acres). *"Roundup Ready" crops are engineered to withstand application of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide (glyphosate). Bollgard cotton and YieldGard maize are engineered to contain an insecticidal toxin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which is used as a biological pesticide. Sources: "Monsanto Releases Seed Piracy Case Settlement Details," Monsanto press release, September 29, 1998; "Monsanto Tracks Down Seed Violators," Evansville Courier, October 28, 1998; "Terminator Technology Prevents Farmers from Saving Seed," Global Pesticide Campaigner, June 1998; Agrow: World Crop Protection News, November 27, 1998. Contact: PANNA. ====================================================== Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) 49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco, California 94102 Phone (415) 981-1771 Fax (415) 981-1991 Email: panna@panna.org web site www.panna.org/panna/ To subscribe to PANUPS, email to majordomo@igc.org with the following text on one line: subscribe panups To unsubscribe send the following: unsubscribe panups ======================================================