Letter to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

November 13, 2002

Ann M. Veneman
Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20250

Re: USDA Announcement of Contamination of Food Crops by Biopharmaceutical Corn

Dear Secretary Veneman:

The disturbing revelation this week that 500,000 bushels of soybeans destined for human consumption have been quarantined due to possible contamination by a variety of corn genetically engineered to produce an industrial chemical or drug underscores the inadequacy of your policy regarding these crops.

In a written response, dated Oct. 9, 2002, to our letter expressing concern that a contamination incident such as this would occur, USDA stated that, "We believe that the current handling and disposal requirements for crops that produce biopharmaceuticals are sufficient to prevent risk to the environment or to the public." The recent event illustrates that regulations adopted by the USDA are wholly inadequate.

According to the journal Nature Biotechnology, “There is no harvesting system in place in the world that is capable of containing all the seeds produced on a plot of land. Many factors can combine to result in a large number of seeds (> 1000/acre) remaining in the fields."

Along with the food processing industry, we strongly urge that you immediately prohibit the engineering of food crops with prescription drugs and industrial chemicals.

We also request that the USDA disclose specific information on the biocontamination incident in Nebraska this week, including:

1) The name of the genetically engineered drug or chemical

2) Detailed information on how the contamination occurred

3) Information on potential human health impacts the drug or chemical could cause

4) Confinement information

5) The application and contingency plan from ProdiGene—the company that produced the crop

6) Extensiveness of contamination

7) Records of the USDA inspections

As mentioned in our letter to you from the Genetically Engineered Food Alert coalition dated July 10th, 2002, we recommend that you take the following additional steps to protect the American food supply and environment:

1) Stop granting permits for open-air cultivation of all crops genetically engineered with biopharmaceuticals (such as vaccines), industrial chemicals, or other substances with potential human health impacts.

2) Allow, at most, the genetic engineering of chemicals or biopharmaceuticals into those non-food crops that do not pose the risk of food contamination.

3) Require non-food crops engineered with chemicals or biopharmaceuticals to be cultivated indoors and establish a tracking system governing the handling and disposal of byproducts to prevent environmental contamination.

4) Explore contained alternatives to open-air biopharming for production of biopharmaceuticals.

We request that the USDA act promptly on these recommendations and reply in writing.

Sincerely,

Larry Bohlen
Director, Health and Environment Programs
Friends of the Earth

Richard Caplan
Environmental Advocate
U.S. Public Research Group

Matt Rand
Biotechnology Campaign Manager
National Environmental Trust