The myth and necessity of GM free zones

By Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception

While organizing a recall of GM fish from the ocean or GM insects from the air (planned for the future) is not yet an issue, widespread contamination by GM plants is. On September 9, 2004, citizen groups announced that tests of nearly 20,000 papaya seeds on the Big Island of Hawaii revealed that half were genetically modified. Eighty percent were taken from organic farms and not supposed to be GM. Twenty percent were from home gardens and wild papaya trees. Contamination was also found in Thailand, where the Department of Agriculture had accidentally sold GM papaya seeds.[2] After foreign buyers cancelled orders for Thai Papaya, the government pledged to destroy any GM tree it finds and quarantine the area.

In late September 2004, a government study reported that the light-weight pollen of a GM variety of bentgrass had cross pollinated with natural bentgrass nearly 13 miles downwind.[3] The GM variety, developed by Monsanto and Scott corporations for use on golf courses, does not die when sprayed with Monsanto's Roundup® herbicide. Although designed to aid golf course managers control weeds (and Monsanto to sell herbicide) if this hard-to-kill grass spreads via pollination, it could itself become a weed. The Forest Service opposes its approval and says that the grass "has the potential to adversely impact all 175 national forests and grasslands." Scott had expected pollen to travel only about 1000 feet. The 13 miles was described by one researcher as "a paradigm shift in how far pollen might move."[5] Responding to the study, a September 30 New York Times editorial stated, "We must ensure that the genes from genetically engineered plants do not escape into the wild and wreak havoc in natural ecosystems." It said that the finding "virtually demands a careful reassessment of how such plants are regulated."