The 2007 corn planting season is under way, and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) advises growers Syngenta’s Agrisure™ Rootworm trait (MIR 604) has not received full approval in Japan. NCGA’s biotechnology policy only supports events that have received full regulatory approval in the United States and Japan.

”We have requested Syngenta not release hybrids containing this trait this planting season,” said NCGA President Ken McCauley. ”Growers planting the Agrisure™ Rootworm trait should be aware that if Japanese regulatory approvals are not granted by harvest, there will be serious restrictions on the marketability of the grain.”

”The public will always believe a simple lie rather than a complex truth.” Dr. Gary Bannon ’76 says that paraphrase of French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville’s aphorism sums up public fears concerning Monsanto Corporation’s genetically modified (GM) crops. ”Of course, I’m from Monsanto.” The company’s lead researcher in global regulatory science smiled as he welcomed the audience on hand to hear him deliver this year’s Haines Biochemistry Lecture. ”But my aim here is to offer you a scientific view.” That science-based approach is often lost in the debate over GM crops.

The small paddies of rice that are expected to sprout this year near Junction City hold much promise for Kansas. As the first crop of commercial rice in the state, the genetically altered grain and the arrival of the company that is growing it is seen as a boon to the local economy. The plant would be used to produce pharmaceuticals, not food. ”We all think this is huge for the city, the county as well as the state,” said Terry Heldstab, mayor of Junction City, a town of 20,000 with an economy that relies on agriculture and its proximity to Fort Riley. But not everyone is backing the rice crop. The issue has produced a worldwide debate with some farmers, scientists and environmental groups claiming the rice is a threat.

Richard Cotta, CEO of California Dairies Inc., the nation’s second-largest dairy cooperative, is guided by a simple business philosophy: ”If you want milk with little blue dots, you’ll have it, as long as you are willing to pay for it.” So, when a string of major customers, including supermarket giant Safeway, came to his co-op saying they would no longer accept milk from cows treated with a genetically engineered growth hormone, the co-op bowed to the inevitable. In January, California Dairies’ board voted to ask its members not to inject synthetic bovine growth hormone into their cows. If they do, their milk will have to be segregated and they’ll pay a surcharge. ”Consumer demand is obvious,” Cotta said.

The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announces Émer ÓBroin, Vice President Environmental Safety, Health and Human Rights, Monsanto Company, as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors. She assumed the position on March 6, 2007, during the biannual Board meeting, which took place in Concord, California. She is the first woman to lead the organization in its 19 year history. ÓBroin has served on the WHC Board of Directors since 2003 and previously as Secretary-Treasurer.

As the coordinator for the organization Preserving the Integrity of Napa’s Agriculture, or PINA, I discovered that UC Davis and Cornell University have permits to field test up to five-and-a-half acres of experimental GE grapes anywhere in California. The U.S. Department of Agriculture did not require applications or environmental assessments for these permits, only notification by the institutions. Are these universities conducting field trials in Napa County? Are they taking steps to ensure that commercial and native grapes are not contaminated through cross-pollination, and that the environment and public health are protected? One cannot find out this information unless the researcher agrees to make contact with you and is willing to tell you. There is a veil of secrecy around these field tests which prevents growers from being able to take measures to protect their vineyards from genetic contamination that could result in a tarnished image and market loss from consumers who reject GE products.

Like many organic farmers, one of Jeff Fiorovich’s biggest fears is that the apples, pumpkins and other crops he grows in Watsonville one day might be contaminated by genetically engineered varieties from a neighboring farm. [...] Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, has introduced a bill, AB 541, that would require farmers to notify local county agricultural commissioners within 30 days of planting or testing genetically altered crops. It also would declare gene-manipulated plant contaminations that cause more than $3,500 in losses to be a nuisance, making it easier for organic farmers and others to sue.

Monsanto Co. has asked a San Francisco federal court to allow it to continue selling its genetically modified Roundup Ready Alfalfa while the USDA conducts a court-ordered environmental impact study. Monsanto, its seed distributors and growers stand to lose up to $250 million if the alfalfa, which was designed to survive the company’s Roundup herbicide, is taken off the market for the two years it takes to complete the study, the company said in court papers filed late Friday. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer halted the sale of the modified alfalfa at the request of farmers, environmentalists and consumer advocates who say that it could harm the U.S. economy and the environment.

A watchdog group is challenging the US government’s stance on food from cloned animals, accusing regulators of downplaying evidence of health risks in order to serve industry interests. A report released yesterday by the Center for Food Safety, a research and advocacy organization that supports a federal ban on cloning livestock, says the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has selectively applied the research tying cloning to genetic abnormalities.

Biotechnology was first applied in medicine, then farming. Today, dozens of lifesaving drugs are on the market, while many crops are genetically engineered to withstand weed killers. Now, a 2-year-old push to develop alternative fuels is driving biotechnology’s growth into the industrial sector. Thousands of corporate executives and scientists gather this weekend in Orlando, Fla. for an industry trade show specifically aimed at touting biotechnology’s so-called third wave, industrial applications. The word on everyone’s lips: ethanol.