Contamination From Genetically Modified Alfalfa Certain, Experts Say

Many farm­ers had been push­ing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to approve the use of genet­i­cally mod­i­fied alfalfa. Monsanto devel­oped the seed to resist the weed­killer Roundup, allow­ing farm­ers to use the two together to save time and labor on weed­ing. Supporters also say the use of the genet­i­cally mod­i­fied seeds lets farm­ers grow more alfalfa on each acre and helps keep food prices low.

Opponents, many of them organic farm­ers, say wide­spread plant­ing of genet­i­cally mod­i­fied alfalfa will result in pollen from those plants con­t­a­m­i­nat­ing organic and tra­di­tional crops, destroy­ing their value. While alfalfa is mostly used as hay for cat­tle, some con­sumers don’t want to eat foods, such as milk or beef, from ani­mals that have con­sumed genet­i­cally mod­i­fied plants.

Alfalfa is grown on about 20 mil­lion acres in almost every state in the U.S. and is the fourth-largest field crop behind corn, soy­beans and wheat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s deci­sion late last month to dereg­u­late genet­i­cally mod­i­fied alfalfa was the lat­est step in a long court fight over its use. A fed­eral court barred its plant­ing in 2007, say­ing the USDA had not given enough con­sid­er­a­tion to the effects it could have on the envi­ron­ment and human health. The U.S. Supreme Court lifted the ban last year, say­ing the lower court’s deci­sion had gone too far. It kicked the mat­ter back to the USDA.

In announc­ing the agency’s deci­sion, Vilsack said steps would be taken to ensure genet­i­cally mod­i­fied alfalfa wouldn’t cross-pollinate with organic and unmod­i­fied crops. USDA offi­cials declined to answer ques­tions about what those steps would entail, point­ing to a doc­u­ment posted on the agency’s website.

The text of Vilsack’s announce­ment says the agency plans include expand­ing a pro­gram in Washington state to pro­duce more unmod­i­fied alfalfa seed and main­tain a pure supply.

It also says crop geneti­cists have been told to iden­tify ways to pro­tect unmod­i­fied alfalfa from genet­i­cally engi­neered vari­eties, like they are doing for corn. And, Vilsack has pro­posed research to improve detec­tion of mod­i­fied genes in alfalfa and hay. He also promised $1 mil­lion for research on the flow of pollen to bet­ter deter­mine how big buffer zones between mod­i­fied and unmod­i­fied fields must be to pre­vent contamination.

None of that will be enough to pre­vent con­t­a­m­i­na­tion, said Jeff Wolt, an agron­o­mist with Iowa State University’s Seed Science Center.

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