Last month, 300 consumer, health, trade and agricultural organisations from 48 countries announced the launch of a world-wide boycott of genetically engineered soy and corn produced in the US. Monsanto's glyphosate-tolerant soybeans and Ciba-Geigy's Bt corn will be commercially harvested this season for the first time.
Organisations participating in the campaign will urge consumers to boycott targeted products containing soy and corn including Green Giant Harvest burgers, Nestle crunch, Similac infant formula, McDonald's french fries, Kraft salad dressings, Fleischmann's margarine, Fritos, Karo corn syrup, Quaker oats corn meal, and Coca Cola.
Monsanto's herbicide tolerant soybeans contain a gene that makes the soybean plant resistant to glyphosate (brand name Roundup), Monsanto's top selling herbicide. Critics maintain that the potential exists for herbicide tolerant genes to be transmitted to weeds, thereby exacerbating weed control problems. They also point out that glyphosate is toxic, (it is the third most commonly reported cause of pesticide poisoning in farm workers in California) and that herbicide tolerant plants merely perpetuate use of toxic pesticides.
Ciba-Geigy's genetically engineered corn produces an insecticidal toxin derived from the naturally occurring soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt. Bt is a valuable tool for organic farmers, and critics state that Bt crops such as corn will speed development of insect resistance and reduce its effectiveness.
Corn and soybeans, two of the most important US field crops, were planted on 144 million acres this season. Only 1 or 2% of this year's soy crop is genetically engineered but officials expect this to increase by a factor of 10 by next year.
Earlier this year, the European Union moved to allow limited importation of genetically engineered soybeans. A majority of European ministers, however, recently refused to authorise import of Ciba-Geigy's Bt corn, citing concerns about possible health and environmental effects. In response, the US Secretary of Agriculture sent the department's trade counsellor to Brussels to argue against restrictions on genetically engineered crops. The secretary stated that European objections to Ciba-Geigy's corn were based on "unsound science", and that maize could become a trans-Atlantic trade issue. Approximately 40% of the US soy crop is exported to Europe annually.
US agribusiness representatives and grain distributors maintain that labelling is not necessary since key US agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture, have already approved the crops. They state that labelling would involve high costs.
Greenpeace activists blocked harvesting of a field of genetically engineered soybeans in Iowa on October 10 using a bright pink non-toxic, milk-based paint to spray a Monsanto soybean field with a 100 foot "X" and the words: "Biohazard! Monsanto."