*EPF508 06/15/01
Corn Growers React to Consumer Concerns About Biotech
(Cite benefits of biotech, problems with regulation) (1150)
By Wendy Lubetkin
Washington File Correspondent

Geneva - While the United States is the world's largest exporter of corn (maize), accounting for 75 percent of the international trade, consumer unease with the use of biotechnology in the production of new corn varieties has had dramatic repercussions in the industry, particularly in the wake of the StarLink controversy last year.

U.S. farmers still believe biotechnology offers great benefits for food production and the environment, says Ohio corn grower Fred Yoder, but they are also acutely conscious of the need to "listen to the market."

"We may think we have the greatest products in the world in the U.S. with biotechnology, but it doesn't make any difference how great the technology is, the customer is first and foremost," said Yoder, who chairs the Biotechnology Working Group of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).

Yoder, a fifth-generation farmer, spoke at a press briefing here with other members of an NCGA delegation. The group was in Europe to meet with importers, national and EU agricultural officials, World Trade Organization delegates and French corn growers. Their trip included stops in Brussels, Rotterdam, Geneva and Paris.

"We have come here to try and learn more about some of the issues that are constraining us in these markets," said Rick Tolman, NCGA's Executive Vice President. "We are neither strongly pro-biotech nor strongly anti-biotech. We believe that biotech is a tool that ought to be available to farmers if it makes sense in their operation."

The first genetically modified corn introduced in the U.S. was Bt corn, which was engineered for its resistance to the European Corn Borer, a tiny inch worm-like creature that is enormously destructive to crops. The Bt is for "Bacillus thuringiensis," the soil bacterium that is the source of the genes that make Bt corn resistant to the European Corn Borer. Introduced in the U.S. in 1996, Bt corn was rapidly adopted by producers because it reduced the need for spraying with pesticides.

"If biotechnology allows us to reduce our use of pesticides, we are safeguarding our water for future generations," said Nebraska corn farmer Lee Klein, who noted that his own farm sits atop the world's largest aquifer. "We are proud of what biotechnology can do for the environment, and I think that as consumers start to realize the benefits we will get more acceptance for these products."

But concerns and rules about genetically modified organisms or GMOs have continued to rise in Europe.

U.S. corn growers had a 2 million ton market for corn for human consumption in Spain and Portugal, but lost it about three years ago because of biotech issues in the European Union, Tolman said. Spain was willing to import from the United States, but U.S. exporters could not guarantee that their bulk commodities were totally absent of any biotech products, he said.

Then last year an intense public debate over the safety of biotech strains broke out after proteins from StarLink corn were discovered in taco shells. StarLink, a new GM variety of corn, had been approved for animal feed but not for human consumption because of concern that it might trigger allergic reactions. Somewhere along the production line, StarLink and non-StarLink varieties became cross-pollinated or were commingled on grain elevators. Eventually the Cry9C protein specific to StarLink was found in around 300 different human food products that had to be pulled off supermarket shelves.

Subsequent testing has indicated that StarLink is highly unlikely to induce an allergenic response in humans. But the impact on foreign markets persists. Japan, the largest and most important market for U.S. corn, has imposed a complete ban on imports of any corn found to contain StarLink proteins. The StarLink variety has already been withdrawn from U.S. and global markets.

To respond to consumer concerns and the loss of markets, U.S. corn growers have launched a two-pronged campaign to press for increased federal oversight in the United States while reaching out to reassure customers at home and abroad. They are also making their concerns known to the large agribusiness firms that produce genetically modified seeds. Many feel that these companies were too aggressive in the rapid introduction of new varieties.

"We are interested in producing a product that customers want," said Tolman. "We have actually slowed down the release of some products and asked companies not to bring products into commercialization until they are approved in some of the key markets around the world like Japan. And we have met with our regulators and talked about making sure that we have all the holes fixed in our regulatory system."

One major concern is where the content threshold for bulk GMO products will be set in key export markets. The NCGA says "zero-tolerance" essentially stops trade in its tracks since it is impossible under the current system of marketing bulk commodities to prove zero GMO content using existing testing methods. The NCGA is urging that national thresholds for GMO content be set at levels that can be realistically implemented.

Another issue the group has raised is labeling. The NCGA supports voluntary labeling but opposes mandatory labeling. Tolman said the group has seen some "positive evolution" in the European Union proposals, but there are still "significant problems."

There is a misconception that all U.S.-grown corn is genetically modified, said Leon Corzine, a farmer from Illinois, when really only 24 percent of the U.S. corn crop is derived from Bt corn.

Corzine said he lives in an area where the European Corn Borer is less prevalent, so he does not use Bt corn. But elsewhere in Illinois there is more insect pressure on the crops, and Bt use is more common.

Because Bt corn prevents insect damage, it also helps prevent fungi from growing on the corn seeds, Corzine noted. Fungi can produce potent carcinogens known as aflatoxins.

Yoder said U.S. farmers have great confidence in biotechnology, but understand that they will need to be patient. "If the market says you better not have any kind of GM products, then we will try our best to get those other products to you. We are not going to back-off using biotech in the U.S, but 76 percent of our production is still non-GM and there is no reason we can't have the best of both worlds."

"We believe we can meet the EU's needs and the rest of the world's needs, and also keep the technology growing," Yoder added. "This technology is so great and so spectacular we have to protect it and we have to use it in a proper way that will allow the rest of the world to gain confidence in it later on."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Website: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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