When they say the GM acreage is growing, this is what they mean. It's not just consumers who are denied choice - it's all the way from source to fork.
See also : North Dakota organic farmers worry about biotech contamination: http://www.connectotel.com/gmfood/cc060201.txt
EXCERPT: "Our investigations thus far from the 2000 harvest lead us to believe that virtually all of the seed corn in the United states is contaminated with at least a trace of genetically engineered material, and often more," says David Gould, a member of the certification committee of Farm Verified Organics in North Dakota and California Certified Organic Farmers. "Even the organic lots are showing traces of biotech varieties."
An industry spokesman wasn't recently quoted as saying biotech's best hope was that it would soon be everywhere and so everyone would just give up!
---
Farm News from Cropchoice An alternative news service for American farmers http://www.cropchoice.com
2/14/01 A farmer sounds off on his experience with GM soybeans
-------------------------------------------
(February 14, 2001 -- Cropchoice) --
Dear Cropchoice:
I have been offered $1.25 a bushel over market for 100% pure non-GMO soybeans of certain varieties that happen to be popular varieties in my area.
This contract is being offered through a local grain elevator near Fargo, ND. I thought it sounded too good to be true. I immediately went to work to try and purchase at least 1 of these varieties. I then learned the disappointing news. Not 1 of the seed companies could guarantee non-GMO purity. In fact, one of the seed dealers actually laughed at me when I told him I needed the seed to be certified as 100% pure non-GMO. He told that would be impossible and that he didn't think any seed company selling soybean seed today would attempt or be able to make such a guarantee. The buyer offering the contract later told me he realizes this problem. He was simply stating that this market offering the premium was an Asian market and that was the price that he could offer me if I could supply the non-GMO crop.
Up here in North Dakota, we have essentially only been growing GMO soybeans commercially for 2 years and already it appears nearly all varieties are too contaminated for some markets. As if things weren't bad enough in farming today, now we have this mess--limited markets and government bailouts to farmers.
All this so the big biotech seed companies can continue to develop and sell more seeds that are resistant to their own chemicals. In my opinion, paying 5 times as much for soybean seed as compared to binrun (saved) seed, then raising a crop that yields less than non-GMO varieties and then finally selling that crop at a discount at the elevator on top of having the whole market depressed due to the GMO issue doesn't pencil out very good on my farm.
I would think that the taxpayers in this country would not stand for this much longer.
Sincerely,
Rodney Nelson
Amenia, ND
---
"After reviewing Monsanto's 2001 Technology Agreement, I would discourage any farmer from signing this document." Oklahoma's Secretary of Agriculture, Dennis Howard, December 1 2000
"Farmers are really starting to question the profit-enhancing ability of products that seem to be shutting them out of markets worldwide" Cory Ollikka, Canada's National Farmers Union president calling for a moratorium on GM crops, December 2000
"The only farmers making any money off GMOs have been those who are growing non-GMO stuff and can prove it." Linda Edwards, a Canadian farmer, November 27, 2000
"The only truly safe seed selection will be seed corn free of any genetic modification" A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co. in a letter to 1,200 of its corn suppliers, November 2000
"....you guys [US Government] created this monster; you clean it up. I have learned my lesson. No more GMO crops on this farm ”” ever." US farmer and GM seed salesman, Nebraska, Dec 2000
"GM organisms have become the albatross around the neck of farmers" Gary Goldberg, American Corn Growers Association