NEWSGENE MODIFICATION

Few corporations hold a reputation as evil as Monsanto's. The Big Ag behemoth is behind such catastrophic inventions as Agent Orange, DDT, PCBs, and most recently, genetically modified (GM) seeds. How the company is even still in business after decades of mucking up the environment and our health is beyond me — but I digress.

If organic farmers get their way, though, Monsanto won't wreak more havoc with its GM crops. Yesterday, the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) filed a lawsuit against Monsanto on behalf of a group of seed businesses, organic agriculture operations, and more than 60 family farmers. The plaintiffs sued preemptively to prevent Monsanto from going after them for patent infringement should their organic seeds become contaminated with Monsanto's GM canola, soy, cotton, corn, sugar beets, and alfalfa.

The preemptive strike is certainly warranted: Monsanto has a history of suing farmers — even the little guys! — for patent infringement. The worst part is that oftentimes this "infringement" isn't even farmers' faults. GM seeds' DNA makes its way over to organic and conventional crops through processes like pollen transfer — through no fault of the small farmer — yet Monsanto holds these parties accountable for infringing upon the company's patented, GM technology.

Monsanto's genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa is going to Washington. Again.

Attorneys with the Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice recently filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). They contend that if fully deregulted, GE alfalfa, which is engineered to live through regular dousings of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, will contaminate non-GE alfalfa and bring down the organic alfalfa, dairy, and beef industries. This lawsuit aims to have the USDA rescind its decision to completely deregulate GE alfalfa.

Opponents of GE alfalfa claim that the new crop infringes on consumer and farmer rights. The USDA's latest stats show very little use of any herbicide on alfalfa. The decision to deregulate GE alfalfa would dramatically change that.

Unless you produce your own food or buy only organic, there's no way to know if your meals contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Organic Consumers Association, Institute for Responsible Technology, and other activists are understandably pissed about that lack of transparency — and they're planning on going public with their feelings.

The Organic Consumers Association's Millions Against Monsanto campaign aims to get one million people to publicly stand against GMOs by World Food Day on October 16, 2011. In the meantime, the campaign is organizing a rally this coming Saturday, March 26, 2011, to protest the lack of labeling for foods containing GMOs. While the main rally will be held in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., local events are cropping up across the U.S. in places like Colorado, California, Florida, Oregon, and New York, just to name a few.

This week's "Right to Know" rally focuses on one of the biggest flaws in our food system — the fact that GMOs or products containing GMOs don't require any kind of additional labeling. This complete lack of transparency leaves consumers clueless as to whether they're eating all-natural or scientifically altered foods — to the detriment of the environment, the sustainable food movement, and possibly human health. To that end, consumer activists plan to storm the Capitol and cities across the U.S. with one major message: "We have a right to know what, exactly, we are eating."

Genetically engineered (GE) foods have been cropping up like, well, crops. In addition to genetically modified (GM) soy, corn, cotton, and and canola, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently deregulated Monsanto's GE alfalfa and sugar beets. Transgenic salmon and pigs also loom on the horizon, and who knows what kind of weird science will try to invade our dinner tables after that?

So now that the USDA has blatantly disregarded the health of the environment, the organic industry, and consumers by deregulating GE crops like alfalfa, what do we do now? That's where the Institute for Responsible Technology comes in.

The non-profit recently launched its "Alfalfa Plan B" campaign. Because the USDA has already given Monsanto's GE alfalfa the green light, the Institute for Responsible Technology reasons that the best option we have now is to target major players in the food industry. Through a petition on Change.org and its own site, the non-profit is telling dozens of corporations like Sara Lee, Walmart, ConAgra, Kroger, and Kellogg's that if they want to keep us as consumers, they must publicly reject GE alfalfa and keep the Frankencrop out of their supply chains.

In January, the Worldwatch Institute released its report, State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet. The report showed through several case studies in Africa that the world can feed itself through agro-ecology, the application of ecological principles to agricultural systems (read: the antithesis of industrial farming). In fact, the report demonstrates that agro-ecological innovations are crucial to addressing hunger worldwide.

This past Tuesday, the United Nations released a report with the same findings. Olivier de Schutter, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, presented his new report “Agro-ecology and the right to food” before the U.N. Human Rights Council. For those who love to defend conventional farming through the much-touted "scientific evidence," this is a resounding rejoinder. The report sifts through recent scientific literature, including the research not funded by large corporate interests (e.g., most of our GMO research) and concluded that "small-scale farmers can double food production within 10 years in critical regions by using ecological methods."

This is not about nostalgia, and it's not about romanticized notions of farming days of yore. The U.N. report up-ends what has been conventional wisdom for the past century and challenges us with a new paradigm. As De Schutter says, “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available. Today’s scientific evidence demonstrates that agro-ecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live — especially in unfavorable environments.”

I can't believe it's that butter.

When most of us hear "genetically engineered (GE) seeds" we think of Monsanto. But the new Roundup Ready, GE alfalfa seeds that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) just deregulated were actually co-developed by Forage Genetics International, a subsidiary of butter producer, Land O'Lakes. And the company isn't shy about saying so, either: On January 27, Land O'Lakes posted Forage Genetics' press release announcing the deregulation.

Forage Genetics is leasing their seed to Monsanto, so the deregulation of GE alfalfa is probably good news to Land O'Lakes' cooperative members. This kind of vertical integration (GE seeds for alfalfa fed to cows that produce milk for Land O'Lakes butter) is good for their bottom line. But is it good news to consumers?

As if the genetically engineered (GE) food debate weren't heated enough, a new war is brewing in the plant science community over Roundup Ready crops' potential dangers.

Sustainable foodies were already bitter about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) decision to deregulate GE alfalfa and sugar beets, but last week's news really twisted the knife. As Change.org reported, plant pathologist and former Perdue University professor, Don M. Huber, apparently wrote to Tom Vilsack one week before the Ag Secretary fully deregulated Monsanto's Roundup Ready, GE alfalfa. Huber warned Vilsack not to approve the Frankenplant, claiming that unpublished research from him and a group of scientists links Roundup Ready plants to a new pathogen that may be causing plant diseases and miscarriages and infertility in livestock.

The letter quickly cropped up on numerous Web sites, inciting reactions ranging from skepticism to fist-shaking rage. Now Huber's former colleagues — a group of Perdue plant scientists — have released their statement about the professor emeritus's research. Their consensus in a nutshell: It's a load of bull.

As if the list of reasons to be wary of genetically engineered (GE) seeds wasn't long enough, preliminary research links Monsanto's Roundup herbicide to serious reproductive issues in animals.

Monsanto's Roundup Ready seeds are genetically engineered to withstand a heavy dousing of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. But does anyone believe that all that extra Roundup use is a good idea? The chemical in Roundup is called glyphosate, and Don M. Huber, a plant pathologist who deals with protection against biological warfare, thinks there may be a link between glyphosate in feed and a new self-replicating, micro-fungal, virus-sized organism. The organism may be causing spontaneous abortions and infertility in livestock. In addition, it may be linked to plant disease.

Huber composed a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, urging further study of Roundup and its possible connection to this organism before Roundup Ready alfalfa is unleashed on U.S. agriculture. The new pathogen is found in much higher concentrations in GE, Roundup Ready corn and soy than in conventional crops. Alfalfa is frequently used as feed for livestock. Huber's preliminary research shows that pregnant heifers fed feed with high concentrations of the pathogen experience a high level of spontaneous abortion. According to Huber, this feed was likely treated with glyphosate. The People's Voice shows that other research supports Huber's theories.

We've done it before: We've gotten corporate giants like Safeway and Starbucks to carry milk from rBST-free cows. Farmers have responded, and fewer are using growth hormones and non-therapeutic antibiotics in order to meet consumer demand for drug-free milk. Now we need to speak up about genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa and sugar beets.

I recently spoke with organic dairy farmer Albert Straus about his experience with GE-contaminated feed. His story showcases why it's so important for consumers to stand against genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Five years ago, Straus started testing his organic cattle feed for GMOs and actually found some contamination. He was able to address the contamination with the supplier quickly without it impacting his business in a significant way, but it taught him how important testing can be for organic farmers. After all, for a product to truly be considered organic, it must be free of genetically modified materials.

Of course, testing for GMOs is not required in the farming industry, organic or otherwise, and neither is labeling. But Straus is concerned enough about the role GMOs play in agriculture that he wishes more farmers would test for the presence of GMOs. Most don't, he says, because they're not sure how to get started and they're afraid of what they would do if they did find GMOs. The Non-GMO Project helped Straus begin testing and can be a valuable partner, he says.

With the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) green-lighting genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa and now sugar beets, it looks like America's crop fields will soon see an explosion of new GMOs. But amidst this abundance of Frankenfoods lacks one crucial cog — independent scientific research proving that these crops are actually safe. A pretty monstrous oversight, don't you think?

Environmentalists and sustainable foodies created a media firestorm over the USDA's deregulation of Monsanto's Roundup Ready, GE sugar beets and alfalfa. Thousands of Change.org members have written to both the USDA and President Obama, telling them that the unrestrained planting of these Frankenfoods could destroy the organic meat and dairy industries and lead to a greater reliance on chemical herbicides. Doug Gurian-Sherman, a plant pathologist and senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, recently published an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times that paints an even scarier picture: While we're already seeing some of the havoc that GE crops can wreak (like the rise of superweeds), there's still so much we don't yet know about these plants due to the dearth of independent research on them.