Chemically Speaking - September 2006

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Liberty Link Rice Uproar

Bayer CropScience notified the USDA in mid summer regarding the presence of trace amounts of the company’s unapproved Liberty Link 601 rice variety found in harvested long-grain rice throughout the Southeast.  Several weeks after being informed by the company, the USDA publicly released the information, setting off a series of events similar to those for StarLink corn. 

Because the immediate ramifications of the detection were importing nations either rejecting shipments or requiring testing to show no presence (which can range from $200-300 per test), as well as a drastic drop in rice futures, lawyers for six southern and western states filed class-action lawsuits in late August against Bayer CropScience.  A rice processor (Riceland) was also named in one suit in Arkansas.  At a meeting of USDA’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and the 21st Century in early September, the director of the Organic Trade Association said that shipment of U.S. organic rice had “virtually stopped” and west coast growers “face losing everything” if that rice is found with traces of 601.  Another meeting member pointed out that no farmer has lost organic certification because of biotech contamination despite rumors to the contrary.  Greenpeace International called for a global ban on U.S. rice imports. 

For its part, the USDA stressed the absence of health or environmental concerns surrounding the variety.  Bayer has submitted a petition to legitimize 601 in the food supply, and APHIS will conduct a deregulation process with opportunity for public comment.  (Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, 8/28/06 & 9/4/06). 

Editor’s note: The National Organic Program states that organic commodities must be grown using GM-free propagules.  It does not address incidental presence.  There is a misconception that organic produce with incidental traces of GM is not organic - it is.