11/15/2007
from the Kennebec Journal
Rep. Pingree hears varied proposals for health-care solutions
HALLOWELL Fire that cut communications labeled arson
MONMOUTH Police defended after slim budget rejection
State's schools chief to parley
Wasser will lead newsrooms at KJ, Sentinel and in Portland
BRIEFS
Hockey still in picture for Harrington
Portland boxer to face legend's son
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
$1.3 MILLION FOR HEALTHREACH
Families Matter grows to meet special needs
Chellie Pingree listens to ideas on health care reform
FARMINGTON Rain alters plans for 4th of July
District regroups after budget failure
Vote on county budget hits snag
Burnham driver wins checkered flag at 2 tracks on same day
Maine boxer gets unique opportunity
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
For Maine's organic farmers, the choice to farm organically is being threatened by regulation recommendations soon to be submitted to the state Legislature. Citizen voices can help ensure that solid regulations protect farmers' right to choose how they farm, including farming organically.
On Friday, the Board of Pesticides Control will consider recommendations for rules governing the use of corn that is genetically modified to incorporate Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Depending on Board of Pesticides Control's recommendations, the livelihood of Maine's organic dairy farmers could be at risk.
Until this past summer, Maine had proudly been the last state to refuse the sale of Bt corn. It's part of a decades-long tradition the state has maintained of support and promotion of organic farming. Maine has been at the forefront of the organic movement, with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association setting roots in Maine more than 35 years ago.
Today, Maine is home to nearly 100 organic dairy farmers and a variety of about 140 other organic operations throughout the state.
Bt corn poses a threat to Maine's organic future through the possibility of cross-contamination. Because all corn is wind-pollinated, organic farmers are at risk if the genetically modified Bt corn cross pollinates with any organic variety.
So, if the Bt corn drifts over to an organic farm and pollinates corn on that farmer's soil, the organic farmer's crop is contaminated, his efforts to avoid genetically modified corn are wasted and his choice to farm organically is taken away from him.
Because of Maine's location at the far northeastern corner of the United States, organic farmers struggle to produce or purchase certified organic feed for their animals. It's hard to produce here and expensive to import from other states.
Contamination of Maine's organic feed crops with transgenic varieties will have a devastating economic effect on Maine's organic dairy industry, which relies on home-grown feed. Legislation needs to be in place to protect Maine's organic producers from contamination.
Organic farms have the right to be legally and physically protected from the threat of cross-contamination, and organic farmers are hoping for a reasonable compromise: A buffer zone of 660 feet, provided by the Bt corn grower, should be in place between all transgenic and organic crops and should be the minimum buffer zone allowed. That 660 feet is the recommended isolation distance required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for keeping seed varieties pure and thus allows organic farmers to save their own seeds.
The responsibility to protect against contamination needs to be placed on the farmers choosing to plant the Bt corn -- not on the organic grower.
Maine citizens, including Maine's organic dairy farmers, have the right to know where Bt corn is being grown near their property. While the draft rules require seed dealers and farmers to keep records of where, and how much, Bt corn is being planted in Maine, the rules also provide that this information will be kept confidential, ostensibly to "protect" the identity of farms using Bt corn.
That information should be reported to the government and open for public access. Existing laws entitle any neighbor owning a "sensitive area" within 500 feet of a farm to request notification of pesticide use on that farm. The burden of notification should lie with the transgenic user.
In order to maintain the integrity of Maine's organic dairy industry, the market and consumers expect -- and organic farmers want to provide -- organic farms that operate without the presence of genetically modified organisms and pesticides.
The Board of Pesticides Control should protect Maine's organic farmers by setting strong guidelines to prevent cross-contamination and should state that the responsibility of contamination lies with the transgenic grower.
Melissa Hughes is general counsel for Organic Valley Family of Farms, America's largest cooperative of organic farmers. Organic Valley produces more than 200 organic foods that are sold in supermarkets, natural foods stores and food cooperatives. For more information, visit www.organicvalley.coop, www.organicprairie.com or www.farmers.coop.
Reader comments
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we put in our bodies!! We are what we eat!! If we eat food that has chemicals then our body will
be poisened and eventually die. Back before man
decided to change the natural way of food, people
lived longer. If we don't protect organic farms
then we aren't protecting ourselves from those who want to make a buck from hurting us!! We need to think of families and our children. What kind of future are our children going to have if we don't protect our world against what is hurting it and us!! We need to make a difference for them!! For me, I can't knowingly feed my family something that will hurt them!! I love them too much for that!! I Praise God everytime more Organic food shows up on the shelf
of the stores!!!! It is a true blessing and answered prayers!! I Commend all the farms who care enough about mankind to go the extra mile for our health!!!! I am deeply saddened by how
many farms don't care what they are selling, just so that they can make a profit!!!!
God bless,
MomtwofromMEreport abuse
First, I don't see why this has to be a one way street. For example, in the case of peanuts, whose ingestion causes great risk to some, many restaurants will, out of concern for the danger, take actions to inform consumers of their food. So, while the organic farmer could (and probably does) make some effort to create a buffer zone around their crop, it would not be much of a burden for the Bt corn producer to do likewise.
Indeed, independent of an enforced law, consideration for our neighbor, protection from law suits, and crop purity would council such behavior.
Secondly, it is unclear that the sensitivity of organic farming, esp. in Maine, could be classified as "rare." Already, there are laws regarding the use of pesticides and their potential damage to neighboring crops. We are all concerned of the danger imposed by large scale hog farms, and other farming practices and their resultant effect upon ground water. It is not only the organic corn producer who is concerned for their crop. A large number of organic farmers rely upon organic corn for livestock (egg production, dairy production, to name just a few).
Finally, Doug Johnson says, "Why is it that organic farmers around the country have been able to co-exist with Bt corn for over ten years without 660 ft. buffers, while Maine organic growers are claiming they can’t?" This is, as far as I know untrue. I am a member of a organic egg production coop. We no longer use corn in our feed because it is impossible to verify that anyone in SD or MN can grow organic corn.
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No it shouldn't. Generally, the law also says that the organic grower is the one who needs to protect their crops.
http://www.reason.com/news/show/34893.html
The key point:
"Second, Kershen notes that U.S. law generally does not allow those with special sensitivity to an activity to declare that they have been harmed by it. It is their responsibility to protect themselves from the activities they dislike. "You do not have a claim based on your assertion of increased sensitivity," Kershen explains. "If you don't like to hear rock music, you can't prohibit your neighbors from playing it at reasonable levels. You have to protect yourself. Stay away from concerts. Soundproof your home." Similarly, organic farmers could perhaps grow borders that would insulate their crops from their neighbors' pollen flow."report abuse
Why is it that organic farmers around the country have been able to co-exist with Bt corn for over ten years without 660 ft. buffers, while Maine organic growers are claiming they can’t? And why is it that organic growers in Maine want their neighbors to provide buffers when the National Organic Program requires the buffer to be maintained by the organic grower? From the NOP: “In order to become a certified organic operation, a producer must submit an Organic System Plan (plan) to a USDA-accredited certifying agent for approval. That plan must include, among other things, evidence that sufficient buffer zones have been incorporated into the operation to ensure the integrity of the organic crop operation.”
Conventional Maine farmers are being held hostage to a well organized lobby in the state that sees organic farming as the only important farming activity in the state. The last USDA census reported organic sales were 0.9% of Maine farm sales. Certainly, organic sales have grown some since the 2002 census, but even if it has tripled it still would account for less than 3% of farm sales. Conventional farmers have rights too. It’s time state regulators stood up for them.
Douglas R. Johnson, Ph.D.
Maine Biotechnology Information Bureau
www.mainebioinfo.org
http://bioblog.mainebioinfo.org
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