Does Bt pollen spread?

[Danfosha at aol.com]

>From the Organic Consumers Association <www.organicconsumers.org>

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 New Study Finds GE Threat to Organic
 
A startling new unpublished report from Britain concludes
that it is inevitable that genetically engineered crops will
contaminate organic food. The report by biotechnology and
agriculture experts at the John Innes Centre found that
pollen from engineered plants can spread far beyond the
boundaries of fields. 
 
The report recommends that organic farmers set a standard
for acceptable levels of genetically engineered content, and
that a system for checking for contamination be put into
place. 
"Neither source of contamination, either pollen or seed, can
be entirely eliminated, so acceptable levels have to be
decided on," says the report, Organic Farming and Gene
Transfer from Genetically Modified Crops. 
 
Current organic standards in the US and around the world
require zero levels of genetically engineered content in
organic food. 
 
The authors of the British report reached their conclusions
after examining data from trials of engineered crops to see
whether the proposed "buffer zones" between fields of GE and
organic crops would protect them from contamination. The
report found that pollen from genetically engineered crops
can travel large distances on the wind, and is also carried
by insects. With maize pollen, "in normal weather
conditions, pollination could occur at sites remote from the
source (e.g. 180 kilometres)," the report found.
 
In Britain, official genetically engineered crop trials
operate with only a 200-yard buffer zone. The Soil
Association, which regulates organic farming in Britain,
says a six-mile barrier is the minimum needed to guarantee
organic crops are not contaminated. 
 
In the US, genetically engineered crops have already
contaminated a shipment of organically grown corn for chips
produced by the Wisconsin company, Terra Prima. The chips
were found to be contaminated after they were shipped to
Europe and tested there - costing the company several
hundred thousand dollars.
 
In Canada, the National Farmers Union (NFU) is calling on
the Canadian government to make agricultural biotechnology
companies financially responsible for "genetic pollution" of
organic and traditional crops.

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Dan Fosha
C. Springs, CO USA