www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Viewed from the perspective of goats that produce spider silk instead of
milk, cloned sheep, and plants that glow in the dark, genetic engineering
may seem like a frightening smorgasbord of freak-show oddities - but genetic
engineering in the field of agriculture has proven to be a lucrative venture
for Iowa farmers, March 2007 by Matt Nelson.

By selectively manipulating genes through technology, as opposed to
conventional breeding methods, crop developers have created numerous strains
of genetically modified plants with properties unique to the brands. While
they go by many names, these strains are intended to be superior to organic
breeds.

"[Genetically modified crops] work," said Gordon Wassenaar, a 70-year-old
Prairie City farmer. "They save me money; they make me money; they're
profitable."

Genetically engineered crops in the United States have been quickly adopted
since 1996, when they were deemed safe for the public.

A 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that
herbicide-tolerant soybeans made up 87 percent of all U.S. soybean crops.
Insect-resistant breeds, such as those used by Wassenaar, made up 35 percent
of total corn acreage in 2005.

The Iowa Corn Grower's Association has also embraced transgenic breeds,
called "Bt corn," to curb infestations of corn borers and rootworms, two of
the most destructive insects in Iowa cornfields.

"[Genetic engineering] provides them a better yield, it reduces the number
of insects damaging their crop, and it reduces the amount of pesticides they
apply to control those insects," said Rodney Williamson of the Corn Grower's
Association. "Those are the reasons growers have adopted this technology."

But not everyone has warmly embraced the fruits of genetic scientists'
labor.

To prevent the spread of the altered corn, many organic farmers round out
their fields with soybeans, which are genetically incompatible with corn,
preventing cross-pollination by creating a separation distance between corn
and the surrounding plants, according to the Iowa Corn Grower's Association.

In February, a federal judge ruled that the USDA had failed to adequately
assess the effect of a Monsanto brand of modified alfalfa, which could
contaminate organic breeds and increase herbicide resistance.

The brand, approved in 2005, was modified to resist the herbicide Roundup -
also produced by Monsanto. But because of a lawsuit brought against the
Agriculture Department by the Center For Food Safety and other groups,
distribution of the alfalfa will likely be halted, pending a complete
environmental-impact review.

And even though the Monsanto decision won't affect Iowa corn, the issue it
presents - how an ecosystem can be disrupted by engineering - affects the
nation.

"There's been a lot of discussions about herbicide resistance," Williamson
said. "There's been studies at various universities; growers talk about that
at the coffee shop."

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