Organic farmers have been dealt a blow with the USDA’s deregulation of  Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa. The genetically engineered seeds will be ready for unlimited planting across the nation this spring. The announcement was a disappointment as it was hoped that the GM alfalfa would at least only be partly deregulated. That would have offered some protection from the now likely contamination by pollination between GMO and non-GMO or organic strains.

Now that the crop has been fully deregulated there are a few issues that obviously need to be addressed. First, this just serves as another reminder of where politics stand right now and that is behind GMO’s.

Our government is pushing these foods onto us while studies continually show the health and environmental risks and also that GMO crops don’t deliver on larger yields or heartier plants. Consumers saw the GMO alfalfa threat coming for the last few years and have actively been fighting against it it. (http://healthfreedoms.org/2010/06/02/obamas-usda-to-deceive-americans-over-gm-crops/).  Now we need Monsanto and the government to hear with our pocketbooks as consumers and continue to be mindful as citizens of the legislation and politicians that are promoting the GMO takeover. Also, reach out and support the organic farmers who are going to be left picking up the tab on defending their crops from contamination.  Which bring us to another issue. GMO contamination of conventional alfalfa seed stock is going to happen, just like with corn and soybeans, if strict precautions are not taken. Unfortunately, with full deregulation the strict precautions are not going to have to be taken by Monsanto alone, but by the small farms who make up the 1% of organic alfalfa grown in the U.S.

The organic community is continually working to put policies, restrictions and protective measures in place to minimize the risk of contamination of seed stock and to protect their farmers. The price to plant alfalfa seed could sky rocket if there was to be cross-pollination, which would mean less planted or a huge increase in cost of production.

There are a couple of things that can be done to protect farmers. Congress should modify the Federal Crop Insurance Act as currently GMO contamination is not a covered item under the act; organic farmers should never be the ones to pay if GM strains cross-pollinate.  Also, when the USDA made their announcement, they conveyed that they are willing to work with non-GMO stakeholders. USDA’s secretary Tom Vilsack said in the statement that two subcommittees are being reestablished; the National Germplasm Resources Advisory Committee (NGRAC) and USDA’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture. If you are an advocate for organics it is in your best interest to contact your national legislators and let them know you demand the USDA  put a fair number of organic farmers and organic stakeholders on both those committees.

You can remind them also of the poor economics of it all as Japan, the largest importer of U.S. grown alfalfa, along with South Korea, have threatened to stop importing the crop if the GE variety is grown in the U.S. due to fears of cross contamination.  Talk about making an impact with money! If American consumers don’t have a strong enough influence in boycotting GMO foods, perhaps these countries will help our government realize that engineered food is bad news.

~Health Freedoms

Despite impassioned lobbying from organic consumers and organic dairies and grass-fed beef ranchers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on January 27 approved the use of genetically engineered alfalfa created by Monsanto. As a result of the deregulation, the chemical company’s Roundup Ready alfalfa—which can withstand heavy spraying of Monsanto’s Roundup pesticide—will be available for unlimited planting this spring.

Alfalfa is one of the most widely used forage crops for dairy and beef farmers around the world. The ruling by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack provided no restrictions against planting GMO alfalfa next to organic crops. This substantially increases the risk of cross-contamination given that alfalfa is pollinated by bees and other insects.

The USDA’s decision ignited an outcry within the U.S. organic community. “Organic and others are now left, once again, having to take all the precautions while biotech takes little responsibility,” said  Liana Hoodes, director of the National Organic Coalition.

“We’re disappointed with USDA’s decision and we will be back in court representing the interest of farmers, preservation of the environment and consumer choice” said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director for the Center for Food Safety.

“Last spring more than 200,000 people submitted comments to the USDA highly critical of the substance and conclusions of its Draft EIS on GE Alfalfa,” added Kimbrell.  “Clearly the USDA was not listening to the public or farmers but rather to just a handful of corporations.”

As Christine Bushway, executive director of the Organic Trade Association (OTA), sees it, deregulation of GMO alfalfa threatens the growing organic industry. “Preserving market and farmer choice and agricultural diversity are central to USDA’s mission and the future of rural American livelihoods,” Bushway said. “This failure to do so will make it increasingly difficult to meet the growing demand for U.S. organic crops.”

According to the OTA, the U.S. organic industry generates $26.6 billion a year in product sales and employs tens of thousands of people around the country. The organic industry supports at least 14,540 family farms operating in rural areas.

“Unrestricted commercialization of genetically engineered crops—86 percent of the country’s corn and 93 percent of soybeans—has resulted in widespread unlabeled presence of GE (genetically engineered) materials in mainstream food products unbeknownst to the average consumer,” the OTA reports. According to California’s Department of Food and Agriculture, at least 70 percent of processed foods in American supermarkets now contain GMO ingredients.

More than 20 million acres of alfalfa are grown in the United States, making it the country’s fourth-largest crop by acreage, behind corn, soybeans and wheat, The New York Timesreports. About 1 percent of alfalfa grow in the United States is organic.

By: Carlotta Mast

http://newhope360.com/organic-farmers-lose-usda-s-move-deregulate-gmo-alfalfa?page=1

Sources:

http://www.justmeans.com/GM-Alfalfa-Deregulted-An-Organic-Farm-Responds/43159.html

http://zweberfarms.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/gmo-alfalfa-deregulated-by-usda-and-what-it-means-to-our-farm/