Hope Not Hype - Third World Network

40 Hope Not Hype
makes its way into the general food supply, it may take many years and enormous effort to
get rid of it (Marvier and Van Acker, 2005, p. 103).
[US/creeping bentgrass:] The results show that the CP4 EPSPS transgene [conferring
glyphosate tolerance] escaped from the [glyphosate-resistant creeping bentgrass] fields and
continued to spread for 3 years after the fields were taken out of production. As we
hypothesized, it was unrealistic to think that a transgene could be contained in an outcrossing,
wind-pollinated, small-seeded, perennial crop, even with expanded isolation distances and
stringent production practices. This fact has implications for the deregulation and production
of GE crops in the future, especially those for pharmaceutical or industrial uses (Zapiola et
al., 2008, p. 490).
Unwanted or unsafe GMOs could persist in nature or agroecosystems (Heinemann,
2007).
Regardless of how effective regulations or contracts are, some producers (either deliberately
or inadvertently) will misappropriate these new technologies, diluting the benefits and creating
potential new risks and liabilities. Furthermore, even if all “cheating” (producers’ illegal use
of technology protected in a patent) could be controlled, many plant species are promiscuous
sexually, creating natural gene flow to related species (Smyth et al., 2002, p. 537).
No amount of regulation can guarantee that [GM] crops will not escape and multiply (Ledford,
2007, p. 132).
Table 4.1: “Some past escapes” (Ledford, 2007, p. 132)
1997 Canadian canola contaminated with unapproved HT canola.
2001 An unapproved Monsanto GM corn pollinated a commercial crop.
2002 ProdiGene’s corn producing a veterinary pharmaceutical found in neighbouring food
or feed corn.
2002 ProdiGene’s corn found growing among commercial soybean plants.
2004 Transgenic bentgrass found outside containment area.
2005 Syngenta’s unapproved Bt10 transgenic corn found in commercial food/feed supply.
2005 Unapproved varieties of GM rice found circulating in China.
2006 BASF planted regulated corn outside of approved areas.
2006 Bayer CropScience’s unapproved transgenic rice varieties found in US food supply.
2006 Chinese GM rice not approved for food or feed found in Europe.
2008 Unapproved Monsanto GM rice found mixed with commercial varieties in Texas
(Hananel, 2008).