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P A N U P S
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
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Bayer Backs Out of GE in India
December 20, 2004
Greenpeace India announced in November 2004 that Bayer Crop Science
has ended efforts to commercialize genetically engineered (GE)
crops in India. Bayer's announcement came after weeks of protests,
including an eleven hour protest in Mumbai, during which Greenpeace
activists chained themselves to Bayer headquarters and unfurled
banners proclaiming, "Bayer Poisons Our Food." Bayer's
intention to withdraw from GE research in India was expressed
in a letter to the environmental organization on November 4, 2004,
in which the agrochemical giant admitted that "the future
lies in conventional breeding." Greenpeace termed Bayer's
withdrawal "an admission of immense significance for the
entire genetic engineering industry."
Bayer is one of the leading agro-chemical companies of the world,
holding nearly one-fourth of the market share in the Indian pesticides
industry (22%) with 52 products, including formulations.
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in India disclosed earlier
this year that Pro Agro (a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer) had
conducted field trials of cabbage and cauliflower that were genetically
modified with the controversial Cry9C gene. This gene is one of
a family of crystalline (Cry) endotoxin proteins produced by Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt), a naturally occurring soil bacterium. The
Bt gene is inserted into GE crops to kill pests by disrupting
their digestive system. Because Cry9C is less affected by heat
than other Cry proteins, and is resistant to degradation by gastric
juices, it is considered likely to cause allergic reactions in
humans and was certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) as unfit for human consumption.
The Cry9C gene protein is present in StarLink corn, which was
widely grown in the U.S. for animal feed and industrial purposes
and in 2000 was found in 300 corn food products in U.S. grocery
stores. The contamination caused massive recalls and lawsuits
that may ultimately cost Aventis, StarLink's developer and a subsidiary
of Bayer, as much as $1 billion in damages.
In the last few years, the Bush Administration has moved to loosen
U.S. regulations regarding contamination of food with experimental
genetic material, reducing the liability of biotech companies
for transgenic contamination. Most recently, on November 19, 2004,
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a new guidance
for industry that would allow companies to voluntarily consult
with the FDA in order to have their experimental biotech traits
deemed "acceptable" as contaminants in food. The draft
guidance states, "FDA believes that any potential risk from
the low level presence of such material in the food supply would
be limited to the possibility that it would contain or consist
of a new protein that might be an allergen or toxin."
However, Friends of the Earth and others argue that no level
of this contamination is safe, noting that after StarLink was
found in the food supply, expert scientific advisors to the EPA
concluded, "there was no minimal level of StarLink's Cry9C
insecticidal protein that could be judged safe for human consumption."
While FDA regulations may encourage GE experimentation in the
U.S., the difficulties encountered by biotech companies in other
parts of the world appear to be having an effect. Bayer's retreat
from testing GE crops in India is only its most recent demur.
In March the company pulled out of GE crop research in the UK,
and in June it dropped plans to commercialize GE canola in Australia.
Monsanto has also limited its research and testing of GE foods,
discontinuing plans for GE wheat in the U.S. and Canada and for
GE canola in Australia earlier this year.
Greenpeace credits consumers for this turnaround, "It is
clear that popular resistance to genetic engineering is not diminishing
as the industry had hoped it would," said Doreen Stabinsky,
of Greenpeace International. "No matter what country we're
talking about, consumers are on the same page. They don't want
to eat genetically engineered food. That's good news for farmers
and good news for the environment."
Sources: Giving Up on GE: Greenpeace Exposes Truth About Bayer's
Crop Science, Nov 15, 2004, Greenpeace India, http://www.greenpeace.org/india_en/
; Coalition against BAYER-dangers, http://www.CBGnetwork.org ;FDA
Proposes Draft Guidance for Industry for New Plant Varieties Intended
for Food Use, Nov 29, 2004, http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2004/ANS01327.html
; Friends of the Earth, Briefing Paper, November 2004, http://www.foe.org.
Contact: PANNA, Greenpeace India, email, namrata.chowdhary@dialb.greenpeace.org.
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