By: John E. Peck,
executive director of Family Farm Defenders
Back in April 2004 Monsanto submitted a federal petition for commercial introduction of “Round-Up Ready” (RR) alfalfa in the U.S, and after a sixty day public comment period the USDA determined that this herbicide resistant alfalfa variety would have no significant environmental impact, formally approving its commercial introduction in June 2005. By fall 2005 Monsanto had obtained approval for export of RR alfalfa into Mexico, and was working to obtain the same from a host of other countries including Canada, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
On March 12, 2007, though, federal judge, Charles Breyer, of the northern CA district ordered an immediate injunction against U.S. sale of RR alfalfa, having earlier ruled back on Feb. 13th, 2007 that the USDA failed to conduct a full environmental impact study. The ruling noted that “…for those farmers who choose to grow non-genetically engineered alfalfa, the possibility that their crops will be infected with the engineered gene is tantamount to the elimination of all alfalfa; they cannot grow their chosen crop.” Commenting further on the USDA’s refusal to consider this risk among many others, Judge Breyer added “nothing in NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act), the relevant regulations, or the case law support such a cavalier response.” A full copy of the 20 pg. federal ruling can be found at: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/Alfalfa%20Decision%202-13-07.pdf
The Center for Food Safety (CFS), along with a host of other family farm groups and alfalfa growers had filed suit back in Feb. 2006 to block the government’s deregulation of GE alfalfa. In Wisconsin where an estimated 13,000 acres worth of GE alfalfa seed was purchased in 2006, the Dept. of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) issued a March 20, 2007 press release, warning farmers to plant any GE alfalfa seed they had by March 30th and that state inspectors would be checking to make sure no more was sold. This successful effort to block commercialization of one of the first genetically engineered perennials (GE papaya is also on the market and has already largely destroyed the organic papaya industry in Hawaii) bodes well for future challenges to other biotech crops now in the corporate pipeline.
Alfalfa is considered the best available animal feed for ruminants and is critical to the dairy industry, providing up to a third of crude protein, half of the calcium, and a quarter of the energy needed on a daily basis by a typical cow. Other livestock sectors that rely upon alfalfa include beef cattle, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and horses. Pelletized alfalfa is a common component of many pet foods for everything from iguanas and parakeets to hamsters and rabbits. Alfalfa also produces a large amount of nectar, up to 1900 pounds per acre, which is why it is so popular amongst beekeepers. In turn, honey bees, alkali bees, and leaf cutter bees are important pollinators for alfalfa producers.
Dubbed "Queen of the Forages," alfalfa is a perennial herbaceous legume, known as Lucerne in many other countries, originally from the European Caucasus and Central Asia. Since its introduction to North America, alfalfa has been among the top four field crops in the U.S. (along with corn, soy, and wheat). In 2004 the USDA estimated that 77.4 million tons was produced on 22.2 million acres, with an additional 88.5 million tons of alfalfa mixed hay produced on another 39.4 million acres. About 7% of alfalfa seed in the U.S. is also eaten directly by humans in the form of sprouts, and these health conscious consumers are naturally quite wary of potential biotech contamination.
Monsanto began its work on GE alfalfa back in 1998 in collaboration with researchers at Montana State University, and within a year there were field trials underway in Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, and Idaho. In 1999, Monsanto officially licensed its RR technology for use on alfalfa to Forage Genetics, Land O'Lakes' primary seed research partner. Land O'Lakes is among the major dairy co-ops in the U.S. and has been a major advocate of GE since the FDA's controversial approval of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) back in the early 1990s.
As of spring 2006 GE alfalfa was already for sale sold under the Croplan Genetics brand through Cenex Harvest States and Land O'Lakes' Farmland Industries, as well as under the brandname “Liberator” through NorthrupKing, a subsidiary of Sygenta. According to an ad in the April 2006 edition of the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PPDW) newsletter, “Liberator combines superior genetics with Round up Ready Technology for more tons of weed free alfalfa. In addition to exceptional yield, quality, and persistence, Liberator offers more enhanced stand establishment, more yield, and better quality in the seeding year and flexible weed control options to keep your stand clean.” The technology fee per 50-lb bag of GE alfalfa was $125 east of the Rockies and $150 per bag west of the Rockies. For Midwest farmer, this annual tech fee alone added up to an extra $30 per acre, assuming a seeding rate of 12 pounds/acre.
Like Monsanto's other biotech varieties, farmers who bought into GE alfalfa would never have owned the plant or the seed. Instead, they only lease the product under a one-sided technology use agreement (TUA) with many restrictions. For instance, Monsanto reserves the right under these contracts to physically inspect (i.e. trespass) and remove crop samples to insure compliance. In North America, Monsanto has a long history of sending "extortion" letters to farmers whose fields tested positive for their other GMO crop varieties, threatening lawsuits if they do not pay for their "use" of the patent.
Savvy farmers also realize that herbicide resistant GE crop varieties are just another way to foster dependence on expensive inputs. Predictably enough, the introduction of RR varieties has led to a five-fold increase in glyphosate use across the U.S. Because alfalfa is perennial and often grown for 3-5 years in a row, the introduction of RR alfalfa would have increased herbicide use - by an estimated 200,000 more pounds per year in California alone. As with other GE crops, the promised yield gains and cost savings would probably have evaporated quickly as weed resistance grew, leaving farmers holding the bag for both higher seed costs and mounting herbicide bills.
For many U.S. alfalfa producers, an even graver concern was the potential loss of foreign markets due to biotech contamination. An estimated 5% of U.S. alfalfa production is exported - 2.9 million metric tones in 2002 alone worth $480 million. About 75% of this forage market is in Japan where consumer awareness of biotech is high. The European Union (EU) is also moving towards labeling and traceability of all genetically modified organisms (GM Os), including animals that consume GE feed . Products derived from animals raised on RR alfalfa would have been subject to this labeling and thus most likely rejected by European buyers.
As has already been well documented in the case of Bt corn and RR canola, there is also the threat of "genetic flow" between fields planted with RR alfalfa and other nearby non-GMO alfalfa fields and pastures, as well as wild alfalfa relatives, such as sickle medic (Medicago sativa spp. falcate), a common naturalized weed in North America Besides wind. Insects are particularly good at transporting pollen over long distance, and bees are known to travel several miles in search of alfalfa. Most alfalfa hay is cut after some of blossoms have already produced pollen. Alfalfa allowed to reproduce also yields some "hard seed" that can remain viable in soil for years. Given the promiscuous genetic dominance of GM Os, the upshot would have been rapid transfer of herbicide resistance traits to other plants, and eventual loss of glyphosate itself. As super weeds emerge, chemical control may well shift to more toxic, persistent, and less desirable alternatives such as 2,4-D and Para
quat
For many Midwest dairy farmers who rely on managed intensive rotational grazing (MIRG), GE alfalfa offered no benefit at all, since a healthy pasture has no "weeds." In fact, straight alfalfa often yields less fodder per acre than more diverse forage systems. Yet, the main rationale offered by biotech boosters for introducing RR alfalfa is that it provided farmers with simpler weed suppression. This is in line with the vast majority of genetic research in agriculture (98% according to one recent USDA survey) geared towards making production easier, not necessarily to improve nutrition or protect the environment. While there are currently 90 weeds identified for U.S. alfalfa (with 20 major herbicides applied in response), the actual adverse impact of weed pressure on alfalfa production is debatable and may be mostly limited to just a handful of specialized large-scale alfalfa operations in western states such as California.
There are yet other possible dangers. Alfalfa has a taproot up to 20 feet deep and complex symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, contributing up to 200 kg of soil nitrogen per acre per year. Researchers in Arkansas, though, have found an adverse impact on symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria after treatment with glyphosate. Scientists have noted an increase in the presence of the toxic fungus, Fusarium, on RR crop varieties. Also largely unknown is the impact on animal health when GM Os constitute such a high percentage of the diet. For instance, RR alfalfa would be added to a total mixed ration (TMR) for livestock that already contains Bt corn, RR canola cake/meal, RR soy, and/or Bt cottonseed cake/meal. What impact the addition of RR alfalfa will have on the intestinal flora/fauna in ruminants, their nutritional uptake, and susceptibility to pathogens is poorly understood and clearly warrants further study before any federal approval.
On May 3rd 2007 Judge Breyer followed up on his earlier rulings by ordering a complete environmental review of Monsanto’s RR alfalfa, including a detailed list of all production sites. Monsanto has been resisting this disclosure, invoking the threat of “ecoterrorist vandalism” as an excuse for noncompliance. For its part, the Center for Food Safety is now actively soliciting photographs from concerned farmers and other citizens of any “illegal” RR alfalfa stands that may still exist anywhere in the United States.
For more information, contact the Center for Food Safety at #202-547-9359
