GMO Blog: So Long, Organic Dairy?

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USDA decision could make it tough for you to find organic products

Organic dairy consumers, a decision yesterday by the US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) is likely to impact you in a big way.

Yes, it’s happened: the USDA recently ruled that anyone can grow Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) alfalfa anywhere he or she likes, an unhappy ending (for organic folks) to a hard-fought battle that began in 2005 when the USDA deregulated GE alfalfa for the first time. The organic industry and consumers fought back hard, but it was a classic David and Goliath battle with a twist – Goliath won after spending an estimated half billion dollars lobbying Congress.

So now more farmers, including those trying to grow organic alfalfa for feed for cows giving organic milk, have a problem: GM products are not allowed in USDA-certified organic foods, so it could become nearly impossible to produce organic milk and meat in many areas, unless organic farmers switch to less desirable feed sources ... or that the term "organic" becomes so compromised that it is meaningless.

Here come the gene police

Farmers trying to grow organic alfalfa (or any conventional alfalfa, for that matter) can expect an unfriendly knock on their door.

Here’s how it works … and why we expect that Monsanto will come to dominate the majority of the world’s farming.

A roving band of Monsanto representatives – let’s call them the gene police – scours farmlands in search of a plant that the company holds the patent on, such as GM alfalfa. One plant is found growing on the field of a farmer who hasn’t signed a contract with Monsanto. Pow! The farmer is slapped with a lawsuit from one of the richest and most powerful companies in the world.

And it is virtually guaranteed that GM alfalfa will contaminate much of the country's conventional alfalfa. Any alfalfa crop within five or so miles will easily be contaminated by a breeze or a visiting bee.

It gets worse. Even if no plant has actually been found, some farmers have gotten letters from Monsanto saying “We have reason to believe that you might be growing Monsanto’s GM canola or soybeans without a license.” The letter estimates the size of the farm – say 200, 300 or 500 acres – then tells the farmer that Monsanto will be kind enough not to sue them, but only if they send the company $100,000 or $200,000.

We’re not making this up. You can read about a Canadian canola farmer’s Monsanto nightmare here.

USDA’s Secretary Tom Vilsack has long been a darling of the biotech industry. Some of his best friends are lobbyists for Monsanto, in fact. Vilsik began a PR campaign before this decision that called for, in old Cold War rhetoric, “peaceful coexistence” between biotech firms and regular farmers, GM crops and organic crops, etc. How does one “coexist” with a crop that will invade yours, its seeds carried into your fields by the wind. How do you “coexist” with a company that then seeks to extort money from you for that windblown seed, and sue you into nonexistence, taking your livelihood away?

We’re awaiting comment from various producers of organic dairy products. Stay tuned.

Read more of James Townsend's health blogs here.

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