After biotech contamination of 80 U.S. seed companies yesterday... now Monsanto is withdrawing its gm contaminated GM seed (see article below)..
Meanwhile, guess what?...
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Will Bio-Corn Get to the Plate?
http://www.wirednews.com/news/technology/0,1282,43266,00.html
Reuters April 24, 2001
WASHINGTON -- Aventis SA, the maker of a genetically engineered corn prohibited in human food because of concerns about allergies, wants the Bush administration to allow some residue to occur in products to prevent more recalls of chips, snacks and other foods.
"THE HOPE OF THE INDUSTRY IS THAT OVER TIME THE MARKET IS SO FLOODED [WITH GM] THAT THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT, YOU JUST SORT OF SURRENDER." Don Westfall, vice-president of Promar International - big-time food industry consultants based in Washington DC quoted in The Toronto Star, January 9, 2001, Tuesday, STARLINK FALLOUT COULD COST BILLIONS, By Stuart Laidlaw
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Monsanto replacing GM canola seed in Canada
Wednesday April 25, 9:03 am Eastern Time
WINNIPEG, April 25 (Reuters) - Monsanto Co. (NYSE:MON - news) said it will replace its Quest canola seed variety in Canada this spring after quality tests on the genetically modified seed showed trace levels of an alternative version of the seed.
The St. Louis, Missouri-based biotechnology company, a unit of Pharmacia Corp. (NYSE:PHA - news), said it was working with Agricore and the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the local distributors of Quest, on the voluntary withdrawal and replacement of the seed for spring planting.
“Routine quality testing this spring determined that some Quest seed lots contain trace levels of an alternate version of the Roundup Ready trait,'' Monsanto said. ``Both versions are fully approved in Canada and completely safe, but the companies are acting to avoid any trade issues with other countries.”
Monsanto has been the biggest booster globally for the use of genetically modified (GM) crops. Its ``Roundup Ready'' soybean and canola seeds, engineered to withstand the company's popular Roundup herbicide, are the most widespread GM oilseeds planted in the United States and Canada.
Late last year, discovery of traces of a GM corn variety, StarLink, in some food products caused a massive recall of tacos and other foods in the United States and Japan. StarLink, made by Aventis SA unit Aventis CropScience, is not approved for use in foods, pending more tests to see if it could cause an allergic reaction in some people.
The StarLink recall has cost Aventis millions of dollars, hurt U.S. corn exports and disrupted world corn trade. Vocal opponents to GM crops have also used the StarLink debacle to raise consumer demands for more testing, segregation and labeling of GM seeds and foods.
Monsanto said the quality tests on canola seed had produced traces of a newer variety, GT-200, in seed lots designated as the normal commercial version, GT-73. The two seeds are ``virtually identical'' but GT-200 has not yet been approved in all countries where Canadian canola is exported.
``The lack of uniform global standards for seed quality means even trace levels of an event approved in Canada can create issues for farmers in export markets,'' Monsanto Vice President Kerry Preete said in a statement.
Canola seeding in Canada is just getting under way. Canada farmers are expected to plant 9.27 million acres to canola this year, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. The government agency did not provide a breakdown of the amount of GM canola to be seeded.