"Engineered DNA Found in Crop Seeds: Tests Show U.S. Failure to Block Contamination From Gene-Altered Varieties," is the headline to this story today in the Washington Post. The lead:
Much of the U.S. supply of ordinary crop seeds has become contaminated with strands of engineered DNA, suggesting that current methods for segregating gene-altered seed plants from traditional varieties are failing, according to a pilot study released yesterday.The report concludes that "if federal rules and farm practices are not tightened ... the United States may soon find it impossible to guarantee that any portion of its food supply is free of gene-altered elements, a situation that could seriously disrupt the export of U.S. foods, seeds and oils."More than two-thirds of 36 conventional corn, soy and canola seed batches contained traces of DNA from genetically engineered crop varieties in lab tests commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington-based advocacy group.
The 70-page report, titled "Gone to Seed," may be accesed here. A story from Food Production Daily may be accessed here.
The Post has a special page devoted to Biotech Food, linking to all its earlier stories, including this one from January 23rd headlined "Rules on Biotech Crops to Be Revised: USDA Will Examine Environmental Impact of Genetic Engineering."
Posted by Marcia Oddi at February 24, 2004 11:30 AM