The Failed Promise of Agricultural Biotechnology Norwegian Tour September 2012

1. The Failed Promise of Agricultural BiotechnologyNorwegian TourSeptember 2012 Bill Freese, Science Policy Analyst Center for Food Safety

2. Center for Food Safety Civil society organization founded 1997 Support organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture Critically assess new food and agricultural technologies, like GMOs Public education, engagement in regulatory process, when necessary lawsuits

3. Facts vs. Fiction • Focus on GMOs actually being grown, not science fiction • Consult independent studies and data whenever possible, for example: • USDA data on crop yield, pesticide use • Peer-reviewed scientific studies • Union of Concerned Scientists

4. Science Fiction • Despite > 2 decades of experimentation and hype, not a single, commercially grown GMO has: • Higher yield potential • Vitamin enhancement • Salt tolerance • Pharmaceutical production, etc., etc., etc.

5. Herbicide-Resistant (HR) Crops • Herbicides = chemical weed-killers • Herbicides also kill crops, so must be used with restraint, early in season • Herbicide-resistant (HR) crops allow unrestrained use of herbicides directly on the crop, throughout season • “Roundup Ready” soybeans, corn, cotton, canola grown on roughly 135 million ha in the world

6. Roundup-Resistant Weeds • From total reliance on Roundup for weed control in Roundup Ready crops • Weeds evolve resistance to herbicides just as bacteria evolve resistance to overused antibiotics • Populations of 24 weed species now resistant to Roundup (chemical name: glyphosate) • Infest 12-16 million hectares in U.S. alone • How do farmers respond to resistant weeds? • Increase pesticide use and pollution • Increase soil-eroding tillage • Go back to hand-weeding

7. Increased Pesticide Use • Pesticide = any chemical used to kill a pest (weed, insect, disease agent) • GM crops increased pesticide use in U.S. by 144 million kilos from 1996-2008 + Herbicide-resistant: + 173 million + Insect-resistant: - 29 million “Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years,” Dr. Charles Benbrook, The Organic Center, Nov. 2009. http://www.organic-center.org/science.pest.php?action=view&report_id=159

11. Roundup-Resistant Weeds, So What? “Globally, no weed control tools are as good as glyphosate, and its potential widespread loss because of resistance is a looming threat to global cropping and food production.” Dr. Stephen Powles, Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, in Proc. of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(3): 955-56, 1/19/10 “It is the single largest threat to production agriculture that we have ever seen,” said Andrew Wargo III, the president of the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts. “U.S. Farmers Cope With Roundup-Resistant Weeds,” NYT, 5/4/10 “Right now, we are on the edge of a precipice that we could step off of in the next two years.” Dr. Micheal Owen, Iowa State University weed scientist, as quoted in: “Reeling from resistance,” Successful Farming, 1/26/10.

12. "It will be a very significant opportunity" for chemical companies, says John Jachetta, a scientist at Dow Chemical's Dow AgroSciences and president of the Weed Science Society of America. "It is a new era."

13. The “New Era” of More Pesticide Pollution Mortensen et al (2012). “Navigating a critical juncture for sustainable weed management,” BioScience 62(1): 75-84. Dow – corn & soybeans resistant to 2,4-D, part of the dioxin-laced, Vietnam War defoliant Agent Orange, a probable carcinogen and endocrine disruptor, banned in Norway Monsanto - soybeans & corn resistant to dicamba, a chlorinated chemical cousin of 2,4-D linked to higher rates of colon cancer in farmers

14. The “New Era” of Biotechnology (= Pesticide + Seed)

15. Control of Seed Supply

16. Why do farmers grow GMOs? NOT higher yield Convenience, labor-saving Protect from herbicide drift Few alternatives

17. Yield Drag with Roundup Ready Soybeans • Two years of extensive field trials by University of Nebraska researchers • Conventional (non-GM) soybeans yield 5% more than closely related Roundup Ready soybeans Elmore, R. et al (2001). “Glyphosate-Resistant Soybean Cultivar Yields Compared with Sister Lines,” Agron J 2001 93: 408-412.

18. “Failure to Yield” • April 2009 study by Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analyzed peer-reviewed literature comparing yields of GM vs. conventional corn and soybeans • No yield advantage for herbicide-resistant corn or soybeans • “If we are going to make headway in combating hunger due to overpopulation and climate change, we will need to increase crop yields. Traditional breeding outperforms genetic engineering hands down.” Dr. Doug Gurian-Sherman, Senior Scientist, UCS

19. Convenience, Farming without Farmers • Weed control is SIMPLE – use one herbicide over and over instead of DIVERSE weed control tactics • LABOR-SAVING • Allows large growers to become bigger • In South America, “agricultura sin agricultores”

20. Protection Against Herbicide Drift • Tomato farmers with Red Gold, a tomato processor in Indiana, lost over $1 million over 4 years from crop damage due to Roundup drift • Some farmers buy Roundup Ready crops to protect against spray drift or misapplication by neighbor

21. Fewer Seed Choices • “The whole issue of farmers not buying conventional seed goes back to the industry pushing all of the traits into their best genetics. It is a vicious cycle where they put traits into the best corn so we tend to plant more of those varieties so then the company says, "Look we sold more of the corn with traits so we had better offer even more of it!" • Farmer on list serve, March 17, 2008

22. More Problems with GMOs Herbicide-resistant crops  “volunteer” weeds Contamination  market rejection Higher seed prices Patented seeds  lawsuits for seed-saving

23. HR Crops as Weeds “The combination of dormant seed and herbicide resistance makes GM glyphosate-resistant canola a new and difficult California weed which was first observed in the winter of 2009.”

24. Contamination  Market Rejection CFS has documented 293 episodes where unwanted or illegal GE crop material has been discovered in conventional food/feed GM StarLink corn (2000/01) caused $1 billion in losses to U.S. farmers GM LibertyLink rice (2006/07) caused total economic losses of $741 million to $1.285 billion.

25. Flax Contamination GM flax approved 1998 in Canada and US Banned 2001 on pressure from growers fearful of contamination & export losses (60-70% exported to Europe) Eight years later (Sept. 2009), GM flax detected in food items in 30 countries (EU, Norway, Asia) Flax prices dropped sharply EU rejects contaminated shipments, flax growers could lose exports for 3-5 years

26. Organic Canola No More “The introduction of transgenic herbicide-tolerant canola in western Canada destroyed the growing … market for organic canola.” Smyth et al (2002). “Liabilities and economics of transgenic crops,” Nature Biotechnology, June 2002.

27. Contaminate all seeds "The hope of the [biotech] industry is that over time the market is so flooded [with GMOs] that there's nothing you can do about it. You just sort of surrender.” Food industry consultant Don Westfall, of Promar International, speaking of the biotech industry’s atttude to GE crop contamination in the wake of the StarLink corn debacle. As quoted in: “Starlink Fallout Could Cost Billions,” Toronto Star, Jan. 9, 2001, http://www.mindfully.org/GE/StarLink-Fallout-Cost-Billions.htm

28. Seed Prices Rising "The cost of corn seed keeps getting higher and there doesn't appear to be a stopping point in sight." University of Kentucky agronomist Chad Lee GM SmartStax corn costs nearly $300/bag, three times more than conventional seed

30. Monsanto’s Prosecution of U.S. Farmers • 75 employees, $10 million per year devoted to investigating and suing U.S. farmers for alleged patent infringement • Monsanto hires private investigators (McDowell & Associates of St. Louis) and prominent U.S. law firms • Investigates roughly 500 farmers/year • Source: “Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers,” Center for Food Safety, 2005 & 2007 update: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/Monsantovsusfarmersreport.cfm

31. Investigation Tactics According to farmers who have been investigated, Monsanto’s private investigators: • Trespass on farmers’ property to take photos or crop samples • Adopt disguises to win farmers’ trust (e.g. pretend to be farmers or land surveyors) • Issue threats, become physically aggressive • Produce false or fabricated evidence • Encourage farmers to “rat” on neighbors via hotline – breeding suspicion, distrust in rural America

32. Lawsuits Against Farmers • As of January 2010, Monsanto has filed 136 lawsuits involving 400 farmers and 53 small businesses/farm • 9 cases were ongoing as of January 13, 2010 Settlements Highest: $3,052,800 Lowest: $5,595 Median: $75,000 Average: $171,660 Total recorded judgments: $23,345,821

33. Estimates of Coerced Settlements • Most cases settled out-of-court • 2,391 to 4,531 “seed piracy matters” settled • Estimate that farmers paid Monsanto somewhere between $85.7 to $160.6 million

34. Positive Signs Food companies and farming groups reject GMOs Farmers starting to turn away from Roundup Ready soybeans Increased demand for non-GM seed GM labeling initiative in California Organic market continues to grow

35. Food Companies Reject Some GMOs in U.S. McDonald’s and Burger King killed GM potatoes in 2000 Gerber’s (baby foods) – non-GMO policy Del Monte – no to GM sweet corn Popcorn Board – no to GM popcorn Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Trader Joe’s do not use GM ingredients in store brands

36. Farmer/Commodity Group Reject Some GMOs Monsanto shelved Roundup Ready wheat 2004 – farm groups, wheat traders Rice millers and blocked introduction of GM LibertyLink rice Flax Council of Canada forced prohibition of GM flax in 2001

37. Demand for Conventional Soybean Seed Rising • Increased demand for conventional soybeans since 2007 in Missouri, Ohio, Mississippi and Kansas – in some cases outstripping supply • Driven by: • Rising price of Roundup Ready seed • Increased cost of Roundup • Roundup-resistant weeds • Price premium for non-GM soybeans • Legal to save/replant, additional cost savings

39. Court Victories • Farmers and Center for Food Safety have sued USDA for illegally approving several GMOs • Roundup Ready alfalfa and sugarbeets • Established that harms to farmers and environment from contamination and resistant weeds must be taken into consideration

40. GMO Labeling Campaign Campaign to persuade U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration to institute mandatory labeling of GMOs 1.2 million people have signed petition Over 50 countries in world with > 40% of world’s population have mandatory labeling Also campaign in California

41. Organic Market Growing • Organic market in U.S. grows 9.5% overall in 2011 to reach $31.5 billion in sales • Organic food and beverage: $29.2 billion • Organic non-food: $2.2 billion Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) 2012 Organic Industry Survey.

42. Conclusions • Biotechnology = pesticides + seeds • GMOs are mostly herbicide-resistant  more pesticide use, resistant weeds, hand weeding • Contamination rampant  huge losses • Seed prices skyrocketing • Monsanto sues famers for saving seeds Positive signs: • Public and farm groups rejects some GMOs • Farmers turning more to non-GM seed • Citizens demand GMO labeling • Organic market growing

43. Center for Food Safety 660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, #302 Washington, DC 20003 bfreese@icta.org www.centerforfoodsafety.org 202-547-9359