Companies Ramp up Pharma Production

For the 2007 growing season, SemBioSys Genetics, Inc. applied to plant 1,000 acres in Washington State of a genetically engineered crop that produces a fish growth hormone. A few weeks later, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that Ventria Bioscience had applied to plant up to 3,200 acres in Kansas of genetically engineered (GE) rice that uses human genes to produce lactoferrin, lysozyme, and serum albumin. The company plans to market these products for a variety of food and pharmaceutical purposes, including supplements for yogurt, granola bars, meal replacement and performance drinks, and oral rehydration solutions.

Both of these proposed plantings represent huge increases in the production of pharmaceutical ("pharma") crops. Pharma crops grown outdoors pose serious risks to humans if they contaminate our food supply—which they are likely to do.

Experience shows that neither the USDA nor biotechnology companies can be trusted to prevent contamination. For example, USDA’s assessment of Ventria’s application does not take into account that Kansas is in a tornado zone. According to the National Climatic Data Center, between 2001 and 2006, five tornadoes touched down in or tracked through Geary County, where this pharma production would take place. The assessment does not mention the possibility of a tornado or any other severe weather event other than flooding. Yet, it is easy to see how a tornado or other severe storm could transport pharma rice plants or seeds into a neighboring field, where they may grow undetected amidst next year’s corn, soybean, or wheat crop.

This kind of contamination is more than hypothetical. In 2002, a pharma crop company allowed vaccine-producing corn to contaminate a half million bushels of soybeans. Incidents like this have given the public good reason to question the USDA’s or the companies’ ability to prevent contamination, particularly as pharma crop acreages increase dramatically. Moreover, USDA documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that neither the department nor Ventria, even after the 2002 contamination incident, is adhering to pharma crop requirements.

More broadly, the USDA has been overseeing GE pharma crops for over 15 years and still does not have a program in place to protect against their risks. Recently, three court judgments and internal auditors have criticized USDA for its poor management of field trials of GE crops, which include pharma crops. In 2006, three different GE rice contaminants (not pharma rice) were found in the U.S. rice supply.

Farmers around the country are worried about the potential contamination of their product. Rice engineered with human genes discovered in wheat or corn shipments bound for the export market could have serious economic implications for farmers in Kansas and elsewhere. The gaps in USDA oversight need immediate fixing to avoid a disastrous outcome for America’s farmers.

UCS opposes all outdoor production of pharmaceutical and industrial compounds in food crops. Learn more about our campaign to persuade USDA to ban this practice at www.ProtectOurFood.org.