Destroying Organic Agriculture in Iowa
by Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception
Iowa Bills Fight GM Free Zones and Farmer Choice $$$
-Organic agriculture is the only sector bounding ahead at a double
digit growth rate. Iowa has about 900 organic grain farmers — one of
the largest contingents in the Midwest. $$$
* * * * * * * * *
Whenever
large agribusiness or their political representatives come up with a
new farm strategy to save local farmers, watch out. It seems that more
small farmers suffer while agribusiness prospers. The latest proposal
is a bill before Iowa legislators that would prevent local
jurisdictions from creating identity preservation zones.
Using identity preservation (IP), farmers keep crop varieties separate from others to meet purity requirements of their buyers.
Iowa farmers, for example, may earn an extra $8.50 – $15.50 per bushel
for organic soybeans. Non-GM beans bring in about $0.50 more than GM
varieties, and non-GM food grade raise that to $2.00. Several specialty
varieties comprise the approximately 5 percent of total US corn acreage
that is IP, including an extractable starch corn grown for Japanese
breweries by 60 southeast Iowa farmers.
*These
bills are being debated this coming week. Please contact your state representatives on this
issue immediately. An Iowa-specific letter and email technology is available at www.seedsofdeception.com/iowa.
While
low commodity corn and soybean prices contributed to the 22 percent
reduction of Iowa’s mid-size farms between 1997 and 2002, IP niche marketing keeps many profitable. IP crops also can bypass the “normal” big agribusiness marketing channels.
Contamination is a key challenge to IP growers.
Unwanted varieties may cross-pollinate or get mixed up in the seed,
harvest equipment, or during storage and transport. Some farm regions
create entire zones that exclude unwanted varieties, where all the
farms, and if possible all collection and distribution points, only
handle approved grain.
The
current bills before the Iowa house and senate – Iowa HF 202 (amended to HF 642) and SBS 1144 (now SF 259) – would
disallow local jurisdictions from regulating the sale or production of
seeds. The reason? They are trying to prevent Iowa farmers from
creating GM-free zones. These zones, which do not allow the cultivation
of genetically modified crops, are being created at an accelerated rate
on all continents, including the US. They provide farmers easier access
to the significant world markets that avoid the controversial
technology.
The introduction of GM crops in 1996 was heralded by agribusiness as the key to greater profits, but the opposite ensued.
Europe cut off its $300 million corn purchases. Japan soy orders
dropped by nearly 25 percent. Lowered prices for GM commodities boosted
U.S. subsidies by an estimated $2-3 billion per year. Even the threat
of GM wheat being introduced rallied the industry to try to make North
America a GM-wheat-free-zone.
If
Iowans knew before 1996 about the loss of GM markets, they could have
created GM-free zones. If they knew before 1999 that A.E. Staley and
ADM would not take varieties of GM corn not approved in the EU, they
could have created EU-approved zones. If they realized that StarLink
was not approved for human consumption, they could have created
StarLink-free zones before its discovery in taco shells prompted the
recall of more than 300 brands and massive economic damage to the farm
sector.
It’s hard to predict the future, but there are clear trends. Organic agriculture is the only sector bounding ahead at a double digit growth rate. Iowa has about 900 organic grain farmers—one of the largest contingents in the Midwest—and many others are testing the waters.
GM
markets continue to dry up with the consistent finding that the more
people learn about the technology, the less they trust it. Now, even GM
animal feed markets are shrinking overseas due to consumer demand for
GM-free meat. Many EU retailers promise this to their buyers and as of
February 10, 2005, three major Australian poultry producers are also
refusing GM feed. An ISU economist projected that if GM wheat were
introduced here, 30-50 percent of our foreign markets would go
elsewhere and wheat prices would drop by a third. This could put wheat
into competition with corn as a feed grain.
And we
also know that Iowa hosts field trials of GM varieties unapproved for
the market. The most threatening of these is the corn engineered to
create pharmaceuticals. In 2002, 155 acres in Pocahontas County had to
be destroyed because of “pharm” corn contamination. If drug-producing
corn got mixed up in the food supply, the debacle could eclipse
StarLink.
Looking
at current trends, farmers may decide to create a pharm-corn free zone,
an organic corridor, an approved-variety-only sector, a non-GM
marketing zone, or any one of a number of zones to capitalize on any
future trend, GM-related or not. Zones can give farmers greater
control, greater profits, and better protection. The Iowa bills,
however, would prevent all that. If they pass, biotech companies would
be the winner and Iowa farms and communities would be the loser.
These
bills are being debated during [this coming] week (in March, 2005). For Iowans wanting to contact state representatives on this
issue, visit www.seedsofdeception.com/iowa.
To view a sampling of possible future news stories with and without
these laws in place, go to www.seedsofdeception.com/iowafutures.php
Submitted by Larry Hanus of Waterloo.
Blog For Iowa 