[Dialogue] US Rice Industry Opposes Plan to Grow Genetically Modified Rice in US

[Harry Wainwright]

Published on Saturday, March 31, 2007 by the Associated <http://www.ap.org>
Press 

US Rice Industry Opposes Plan to Grow Genetically Modified Rice in US

by Sam Hananel

WASHINGTON - The U.S. rice industry wants the federal government to reject a
plan to grow genetically modified rice in the Midwestern state of Kansas,
saying the country's growers would suffer "financial devastation" if
modified crops contaminate the commercial supply.

 <http://www.commondreams.org/archive/wp-content/photos/0331_04.jpg>
Agriculture Department officials are considering a request by
California-based Ventria Bioscience to grow rice engineered to contain human
proteins on hundreds of acres of farmland near Junction City, Kansas.

The proteins can be turned into medicines to combat diarrhea, dehydration
and other illnesses that kill millions of children in developing countries
each year.

But in comments submitted this week to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, the USA Rice Federation says rice producers cannot risk
the loss of foreign markets that are spooked by the possibility that
genetically modified rice could be mixed with edible rice.

"If Ventria's pharmaceutical rice were to escape into the commercial rice
supply, the financial devastation to the U.S. rice industry would likely be
absolute," the group said. "There is no tolerance, either regulatory or in
public perception, for a human gene-based pharmaceutical to end up in the
world's food supply."

The USDA granted preliminary approval for the Kansas project last month
after concluding it poses virtually no risk. The rice will be grown hundreds
of miles (kilometers) from other rice farms and will use dedicated
equipment, storage and processing facilities to prevent seeds from mixing
with other crops.

Still, the rice growers point to recent instances that call into question
how effective safety precautions can be.

The rice industry is still reeling from the discovery last year of an
unapproved strain of genetically modified rice, Liberty Link Rice 601, found
in grain elevators. In another incident earlier this month, traces of
unapproved genetic material were found in yet another type of rice seed.

Federation spokesman David Coia said both incidents disrupted foreign rice
sales and have forced the industry to insist on stricter regulation. The
rice growers want government regulators to determine potential health
effects if pharmaceutical rice is eventually found in commercial rice.

"The cavalier 'trust us' approach should be considered the relic of a bygone
era," Coia said Friday.

Ventria president and CEO Scott Deeter called comparisons to the Liberty
Link incident unfair because pharmaceutical rice is subject to much more
stringent regulations.

"We have a totally dedicated supply system," Deeter said. "We don't sell
seed and it's a closed system of production. We use dedicated equipment all
throughout."

Deeter points to support from the American Farm Bureau and several Kansas
farm groups that say they are satisfied with safety precautions.

Kansas officials have welcomed Ventria as part of an effort to grow the
state's bioscience industry. No commercial rice is grown in Kansas, but
environmental and food safety groups contend weather or human error could
eventually contaminate rice in other states.

Deeter said he hopes final permit approval will come in the next few weeks
so rice planting can begin in April.

Associated Press Writer John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this
report.

On the Net:

Ventria Bioscience: http://www.ventria.com/

USA Rice Federation: http://www.usarice.com/

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/

Copyright 2007 Associated Press

Article printed from www.CommonDreams.org 

URL to article: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/03/31/230/

 

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