1.U.S. Approves Corn Modified for Ethanol - New York Times
2.World's First Genetically Engineered Biofuels Corn Threatens Contamination Of Food-Grade Corn - CFS
3.Obama administration criticized for reckless boosting of dirty corn ethanol industry - Friends of the Earth

NOTE: 3rd controversial GM variety approved by USDA in just a couple of weeks.
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1.U.S. Approves Corn Modified for Ethanol
ANDREW POLLACK
New York Times, February 11 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/business/12corn.html?_r=1&src=tptw

A type of corn that is genetically engineered to make it easier to convert into ethanol was approved for commercial growing by the Department of Agriculture.

The decision, announced Friday, came in the face of objections from corn millers and others in the food industry, who warned that if the industrial corn cross-pollinated with or were mixed with corn used for food, it could lead to crumbly corn chips, soggy cereal, loaves of bread with soupy centers and corn dogs with inadequate coatings.

"If this corn is comingled with other corn, it will have significant adverse impacts on food product quality and performance," the North American Millers' Association said in a statement on Friday.

The corn, developed by Syngenta, contains a microbial gene that causes it to produce an enzyme that breaks down corn starch into sugar, the first step toward making ethanol. Ethanol manufacturers now buy this enzyme, called alpha amylase, in liquid form and add it to the corn at the start of their production process.

Syngenta says that having the crop make the enzyme for its own breakdown ”” self-processing corn, as it were - will increase ethanol output while reducing the use of water, energy and chemicals in the production process. The company, a seed and pesticide manufacturer based in Switzerland, said it would take various measures to prevent the corn from getting into the food supply.

The corn, which is called Enogen, is one of the first crops genetically engineered to contain a trait that influences use of the plant after harvest. Virtually all past biotech crops have had traits like insect resistance, aimed at helping farmers more than manufacturers or consumers.

Enogen is also one of the first to be engineered solely for industrial purposes.

The Agriculture Department said the corn met the statutory requirements for approval, in that it was not a pest that would harm plants. The Food and Drug Administration had previously found the corn safe to eat.

The Agriculture Department said the food processors should work with Syngenta to address their concerns. "We are pleased that these segments of industry continue to dialogue with Syngenta on research and testing efforts," the department said in a press release.

The corn approval is the third recent one in which the Agriculture Department has had to weigh the risks of the spread of a genetically engineered trait.

Two weeks ago, it approved the unrestricted cultivation of biotech alfalfa over the objections of some environmental groups and the organic food industry. Last week, it cleared biotech sugar beets for planting, with some restrictions. Both the alfalfa and beets have a gene making them tolerant of the herbicide Roundup.

With Syngenta's corn, however, the opponents are not only the usual anti-biotechnology groups but also a powerful industry that is normally receptive to biotechnology. The millers’ association, which has led the opposition, represents 43 companies, including giants like General Mills, ConAgra Mills and ADM Milling.

The association said that Syngenta's own data indicated that as little as one amylase corn kernel mixed with 10,000 conventional kernels could be enough to weaken the corn starch and disrupt food processing operations.

Another concern of some in the food industry is that if the amylase corn is found in food supplies it could lead to recalls or disrupt exports.

Syngenta says the amylase enzyme is not active when the kernel is intact. It is most active, the company said, at certain levels of temperature, acidity and moisture found in ethanol factories but rarely in factories that make corn starch, corn syrup or corn chips.

Syngenta also said the corn would be grown only in the vicinity of ethanol plants. Farmers would be under contract and have financial incentives to sell their output only to that plant. Other steps would be taken to limit cross-pollination or inadvertent mixing in grain elevators.

But food processors and environmental groups said that some spread was inevitable.

"This is StarLink all over again," said Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists. She was referring to the situation in 2000 when a genetically modified corn approved only for animal use got into the human food supply, prompting huge recalls and disrupting American exports.

One difference, however, is that unlike StarLink, Syngenta's new corn is approved for food use. Other alpha amylase enzymes are already used in food processing.

The Center for Food Safety, an advocacy group, said it was preparing to sue. The group persuaded a court to temporarily revoke the approvals of the biotech alfalfa and sugar beets because the Agriculture Department had not done a full environmental impact statement. The department, which has been reviewing Syngenta’s application since 2005, did not prepare such a statement for Syngenta's corn.

Syngenta said that this year it expected the corn to be grown on fewer than 25,000 acres, in the western parts of Kansas and Nebraska. However, use could expand greatly in the future. As much as 40 percent of the nation’s corn crop last year is going into ethanol production.

The National Corn Growers Association applauded the corn’s approval.

The corn contains a synthetic gene derived from micro-organisms that live near hot-water vents on the ocean’s floor. The enzyme is stable at the high temperatures used in making ethanol. The liquid amylase now used by ethanol plants is made in other micro-organisms.

Syngenta said that use of its corn increased ethanol production by 8 percent and reduced natural gas consumption 8 percent in a test at an ethanol plant in Oakley, Kan.

“We don’t ever want to go back to a liquid amylase product,” Steve McNinch, the chief executive of Western Plains Energy, the owner of the plant, said in a statement issued by Syngenta.
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2.World's First Genetically Engineered Biofuels Corn Threatens Contamination Of Food-Grade Corn
Center for Food Safety, February 11 2011
http://bit.ly/h292rw

*Impacts on Human Health, Environment, and Farmers Not Fully Assessed

*DESPITE RISING GLOBAL FOOD PRICES, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES MISGUIDED BIOFUELS AGENDA

The Center for Food Safety criticized an announcement today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it will approve the world's first genetically engineered (GE) crop designed specifically for biofuel production. The Center maintains that this GE "biofuels corn" will contaminate food-grade corn, and has not been properly assessed for potential adverse effects on human health, the environment, or farmers' livelihoods.

"The USDA has once again put the special interests of the biotechnology and biofuels industries above the clear risks to our nation's food system," said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director for the Center for Food Safety. "The Obama Administration is well aware of the costly effects that Starlink corn contamination had on farmers and the food industry, and now it is poised to repeat the same mistake.”

The GE corn - known as Event 3272 - is genetically engineered to contain high levels of a heat-resistant and acid-tolerant enzyme derived from exotic, marine microorganisms. The enzyme breaks down starches into sugars, the first step in conversion of corn to ethanol, and has not been adequately assessed for its potential to cause allergies, a key concern with new biotech crops.  In fact, leading food allergists consulted by CFS indicated that Syngenta's assessment of the potential allergenicity of this enzyme was inadequate, and called for more careful evaluation. Agronomists suggest that unharvested corn will deposit large quantities of this enzyme in the soil, which could adversely affect soil carbon cycling. At present, ethanol plants add a different and familiar version of this enzyme to accomplish the same purpose. The corn was developed by Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemical and biotechnology firm.

"Syngenta's biofuels corn will inevitably contaminate food-grade corn, and could well trigger substantial rejection in our corn export markets, hurting farmers” said Bill Freese, science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety

Though this industrial corn is supposed to be used only for domestic ethanol plants, Syngenta has sought import approvals in nations to which the U.S. exports corn.  These approvals are being sought because Syngenta knows that food-grade corn shipments will inevitably be contaminated with Event 3272, and hopes to thereby avoid liability for such episodes.  While some markets have granted import approvals, South Africa denied import clearance on health grounds in 2006.  Whatever the import policies of governments, corn traders might well test and reject U.S. corn supplies contaminated with industrial corn that contains a potentially allergenic enzyme.

USDA acknowledges that serious concerns about food system contamination remain, yet deregulated the GE corn anyway, citing a Syngenta-led "advisory council” and so-called "closed-loop” system for amylase corn. That Syngenta "invited USDA to participate” in this Council is not consoling to farmers, consumers or food companies who remember the Starlink corn debacle. In addition, Syngenta's capacity for and commitment to stewardship are called into question by past mishaps. From 2001 to 2004, the company accidentally sold seed of an unapproved GE corn variety (Bt10) to American farmers, a variety which contained an antibiotic-resistance marker gene for resistance to ampicillin, an important human antibiotic, presenting the risk of exacerbating the serious medical problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

"The resemblance to StarLink is uncanny,” continued Freese. “Much like StarLink, Syngenta's biofuels corn poses allergy concerns and is not meant for human food use. It's hard to believe that USDA has forgotten the substantial harm StarLink caused to farmers and the US food industry, but apparently it has."

StarLink was a GE corn variety approved only for animal feed and industrial use because leading food allergists thought it might cause food allergies if used in human foods. Despite measures to keep StarLink separate from food-grade corn, it contaminated the human food supply in 2000-2001. Hundreds reported allergic reactions they believe were linked to StarLink. Food companies recalled over 300 corn-based products, export markets sent back StarLink-contaminated corn shipments, and farmers suffered substantial economic losses as a result. Seventeen state Attorneys General sued StarLink's developer, Aventis CropScience, to partially recover damages.

The Center also believes it is irresponsible to engineer corn for fuel use at a time when massive diversion of corn to ethanol has played a significant role in raising food prices and thus exacerbating world hunger. Leading food experts have blamed excessive conversion of corn to ethanol for exacerbating the world food crisis by driving up prices of corn and other staples. The World Bank reported an 83% rise in food prices from 2005 to 2008, and estimates that 100 million additional people have been pushed into hunger and poverty as a result. USDA data show that 23% of US corn (3 billion bushels) was converted to ethanol in 2007, jumping to over 30% (3.7 billion bushels) in 2008, with further increases expected as more ethanol refineries are constructed.

The Center is currently reviewing all materials related to today’s decision and is planning litigation.
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3.USDA Approves Use of Genetically Engineered Corn for Ethanol
Friends of the Earth, February 11 2011
http://www.foe.org/usda-approves-use-genetically-engineered-corn-ethanol

*USDA Approves Use of Genetically Engineered Corn for Ethanol

*Decision risks contamination of human food supply and threatens environment

*Obama administration criticized for reckless boosting of dirty corn ethanol industry

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that it has approved a form of genetically engineered corn created by the biotechnology corporation Syngenta Seeds, Inc. for use in ethanol production.

The USDA deregulated the crop, meaning it is not subject to a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement or any restrictions on where and how it can be planted.

Eric Hoffman, biotechnology policy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, criticized the USDA's decision as "an irresponsible move that puts the interests of the biotechnology and polluting corn ethanol industries above public health and our environment."

Hoffman warned, "This new strain of genetically engineered corn is not meant for human consumption, but, as we learned in the StarLink corn fiasco, contamination is bound to happen. The USDA decision threatens the safety of our food supply and the biodiversity of American agriculture."

Eleven years ago, Friends of the Earth discovered that StarLink corn, which was not approved for human consumption, had contaminated the U.S. food supply. This discovery resulted in the recall of tens of millions of supermarket items. In 2003, a group of farmers was awarded a $110 million settlement due to the loss of foreign markets because of StarLink contamination.

Syngenta engineered its corn variety to more easily break down corn starch for ethanol production.

Kate McMahon, biofuels campaign coordinator at Friends of the Earth, noted, "This type of genetically engineered corn would have no reason to exist if it were not for the massive mandate for biofuels consumption passed by Congress in 2007."

The Renewable Fuel Standard, the law passed by Congress in 2007, requires the consumption of 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022, 15 billion gallons of which is projected to be met with corn ethanol. The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a report detailing the harmful impacts that this law continues to have on water, soil and air quality.

McMahon concluded, "The Obama administration is giving the green light to dirty and dangerous forms of corn ethanol despite significant health, food security and environmental concerns. Instead of continuing to risk the health of people and the planet, we should reexamine the existence of the biofuel mandate."

Contact:
Nick Berning, 202-222-0748, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Kelly Trout, 202-222-0722, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Friends of the Earth and our network of grassroots groups in 76 countries fight to create a more healthy, just world. Our current campaigns focus on clean energy and solutions to climate change, keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.