The inevitability of GM
contamination
Dr Janet Cotter
Greenpeace Science Unit
Exeter University, UK
Outline
• Cases of GM contamination
– from experimental field trials
– from commercial plantings
• Impossibility of coexistence: canola
Rice LL601 (Bayer, US 2006)
• Bayer reported US rice was contaminated
with an experimental herbicide tolerant GE
variety, LL601.
• The following year, a similar contamination
incident was discovered with LL604,
another type of experimental GE rice from
Beyer.
• Route of contamination
unknown. Bayer suggests
“Hand of God”
Costs : US 1 billion –
mostly to farmers
who then have to
sue the developer
for compensation
Other cases of GM contamination
• GM pharm crops (2002)
– Traces of GM corn for pig vaccine were found in
soy grown on former test plots in Nebraska.
– USDA imposed a $250,000 fine.
• Papaya in Thailand (2004)
– Government undertook extensive testing and
destruction programme
• Maize Bt10 (2005)
– Syngenta's illegal Bt10 GE maize entered the
European feed chain. Syngenta’s quality control
procedures unable to differentiate between Bt10
(approved) Bt11.
GM Contamination from
field trials
• Several cases of contamination from field
trials.
• In many cases, route of contamination not
known, but mix ups and human error
important.
• Expensive!
Contamination cases also
from commercial GM crops:
Starlink (2001)
• GM corn approved only for animal feed
found in hundreds of food products.
• Forced to remove StarLink from sale.
Formal recall order for all 350,000 acres of
StarLink corn planted. Exports to Japan
and Korea were contaminated.
• Costs are estimated to have been around
$1 billion US.
21
Impossible Co-existence
Problems with GM maize in Spain
Even though a mall acreage, there are conflicts:
“The liability scheme is perceived as transferring
the problem to the organic farmers. As a result,
many farmers are reluctant to publicly report
cases of contamination in a context where there
is a need for social cohesion, as in small
villages….Consequently, data on admixture
cases are not systematically registered,
although the organic certification is
withdrawn in these cases”.
Problems of with GM maize in Spain
(cont.)
• Organic farming is diminishing as a result
of GM contamination:
“the area devoted to organic maize was
reduced by 75% in Aragon [where GM Bt
maize is concentrated].”
Oil seed rape (canola)
+ wheat
Canola- impossible to control
Many scientific studies
• Documented feral populations of GM
canola in US and Canada
• Persistence of seeds means difficult for
farms to be free of GM canola once grown.
• Cases in Australia: floods, spillages and
mix ups.
Importance of feral populations
• Appear within a few years of starting GM
cultivation
• Stacked traits where more than one type
of GM herbicide tolerant canola grown
– difficult to control
• Act as a reservoir for GM genes for
contamination
• Year-on-year contamination increases
In Japan, escaped GM
oil seed rape formed
feral populations.
Can form reservoir of
GM genes to
contaminated any
neighbouring crops
Although predominately self-pollinating,
there will be contamination of wheat
“Adventitious presence of nontransgenic herbicide
resistant wheat seed was detected from both certified
and farm-saved seed producers… higher levels of
adventitious seed presence were associated with
volunteer plants from previous crops of the resistant
cultivar and mechanical mixture during harvesting.”
Summary
• Many cases of GM contamination, including
from experiments.
• Cross-pollination may be one route, but
there are many more: mixing of seed,
spillages etc.
• Co-existence is impossible
•There will be GM contamination if GM
crops are grown.