[Announce-DAN] Please send an email to County Commissioners on banning genetically engineered organisms

[<bninski@uswest.net>]

Hi,

We've been asking the Boulder County Commissioners to set up a public hearing on the issue of banning genetically engineered organisms on County Open Space since April of this year, but no date has yet been set. Could you please send an email asking them to set up a public hearing soon? There are nine reasons related to the environment below for this ban. It would be good to include some of these reasons in your email.

Many thanks,

Carolyn
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
303-444-6981

Addresses for County Commissioners are:

Paul Danish   pauldanish@aol.com
Jana Mendez   jlmco@co.boulder.co.us
Ron Stewart   rksco@co.boulder.co.us



1) Pollen contamination of organic or non-genetically engineered (GE) conventional crops is a
risk for small farmers.  Corn is clearly the GE crop most likely to be grown on open space
lands.  As a wind pollinated crop, it has the potential to contaminate (cross-pollinate) adjacent
plantings of organic and / or non-GE corn.  Since the harvested part of corn is the seed, the
DNA of GE cross-pollinated corn harvest will contain transgenes.  Already, there have been
documented cases of transgenic contamination of corn, including a case in which several
hundred thousand dollars of organic (but contaminated) tortilla chips were rejected when
exported from the USA to Europe.  It would be a shame to put any of our local farmers who
choose to grow organically (or non -GE) at risk for contamination of their crops.  

2) Bt corn, the most common transgenic type now being grown, presents significant risks of
creating Bt ­ resistant pests, ruining an effective natural insecticide used sparingly by organic
and other responsible growers.  This corn contains the gene for Bt toxin throughout its tissues,
and produces the Bt toxin at much higher concentrations that would be found in occasional-use
Bt sprays.  And, the toxin is present in corn tissue throughout the growing season.  This corn
creates a very strong selective pressure that will eventually result in pests that are Bt resistant.

3)  Researchers have found that bioengineered genes can travel from farmers1 crops to weedy
wild relatives. For example, in many areas, the weedy vines of wild squash grow very near
fields of crop squash, clambering up trees, sprawling along waterways and invading fields of
soy, cotton and corn. The bees that deliver gene-laden pollen from male to female squash
blossoms move indiscriminately from squash blossoms of domesticated plants and those of
wild squash plants  a mile or so away. Ecologists are concerned because genetically engineered
crops have been designed with traits that could be disastrous if transferred to the wild, for
example resistance to herbicides or pesticides and the ability to immunize plants against viral
diseases that can damage leaves and reduce fruit yield (Natural History, 10/99). Gene transfers
to the wild will result in the creation of "superweeds" and "superpests" which are extremely
difficult to control. GE canola (rapeseed) has already been shown to spread its
herbicide-resistance traits to related weeds such as wild mustard plants.

4)  By virtue of their "superior" genes, some GE plants and animals will inevitably run amok,
overpowering wild species in the same way that introduced exotic species, such as the kudzu
vine and Dutch elm disease, which have created problems in North America. 

5) Ecologists are concerned that viruses engineered into plants (called transgenes) and
                                      transferred to wild plants may swamp endangered varieties with a rain
of pollen, reducing genetic variation within the plants that give rise to today1s crops. Such a
reduction would jeopardize not only traditional crop breeding but also, ironically, genetic
engineering which must still turn to nature for its raw materials (Natural History 10/99). 

6) Bt corn has been demonstrated to be toxic to Monarch Butterflies.  There are many other
butterfly and moth species that could be affected, including species listed under the Endangered
Species Act, and there is very little data assessing the damage that might be done.  The Bt toxin
also has effects on other insects, including lacewings, ladybugs, etc.  Finally studies have
shown that the Bt toxin in corn tissues may reside in the soil after being plowed or disked under
­ for hundreds of days.  

7) Insects, birds and wind can carry genetically altered seeds and pollen into neighboring fields
and beyond, creating new species. These unpredicted and unknown species may endanger
wildlife and alter essential ecological relationships between plants and animals. For example a
genetically engineered bacterium developed to aid in the production of ethanol produced
residues which rendered the land infertile. New corn  crops planted on this soil grew three
inches tall and fell over dead. (The New Oregonian, August 6, 1994).

8) Unlike chemical or nuclear contamination, gene pollution can never be cleaned up. New
living organisms, bacteria and viruses will be released into the environment to reproduce,
migrate and mutate. They will transfer their new characteristics to other organisms and can
never be recalled or contained. The effects of genetic mistakes are irreversible and irretrievable. 

9) Genetic engineering has given the world millions of acres of crops with unnatural genetic
uniformity. When a pest, fungus or virus adapts to a genetically engineered crop, it will literally
have a field day. Communities, even nations, could be left with extensive and paralyzing food
losses should one of these elements succeed in undermining the viability of any given
genetically engineered crop. 

For more info, go to www.foe.org or the Union of Concerned Scientists website.






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