Institute Calls on State Attorneys General To Investigate StarLink Corn Disaster

Farmers Vulnerable to Extensive Economic Losses and Legal Liability

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy 9nov00

Minneapolis - The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) sent a letter to Attorneys General in seven states calling for immediate action to protect farmers from extensive economic harm in relation to the genetically engineered StarLink corn.

The letter (See Below) charged that farmers are vulnerable to significant financial losses and legal liability because of irresponsible and reckless corporate behavior by StarLink manufacturer Aventis CropScience. Specifically, Aventis violated the terms of its StarLink registration by allowing it to enter the human food supply.

"Aventis did not live up to its obligations, and it has levied a heavy cost on all of those involved in the corn stream," said IATP President Mark Ritchie. "Legal questions are being raised, liability lawsuits are being prepared - we need the Attorneys General to step in and make sure farmers are treated fairly."

StarLink corn was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for animal feed, but not human consumption because of concerns that it might cause food allergies. Additionally, farmers were required to plant a 660 foot buffer zone around StarLink corn to limit cross pollination with neighboring non-StarLink corn. Numerous reports indicate that many farmers were not informed about the need to segregate StarLink, or about the required 660 foot buffer zone.

IATP is part of the coalition, Genetically Engineered Food Alert, which commissioned the initial testing that discovered StarLink in Taco Bell, Safeway, and Western Family taco shells. StarLink has been mixed together with non-StarLink corn on a mass scale and has contaminated much of the 2000 corn crop. In Iowa, conservative estimates are that 50 percent of the corn has been contaminated with StarLink. The Food and Drug Administration has issued a recall alert for nearly 300 products (see www.safetyalerts.com/recall/f/00/023261) because of StarLink contamination.

Costs related to the recall of StarLink will likely escalate into the hundreds of millions of dollars as it affects farmers, grain elevators, food processors, food companies and retailers. Aventis is quietly negotiating on an individual basis with farmers to buy back the StarLink corn. The company has not made clear the precise terms of the buy-back plan, or set uniform terms for all farmers and elevators. At the same time, Aventis is attempting to limit the company's liability by getting the EPA to reverse its previous ruling and allow StarLink into the food stream.

The letter to state Attorneys General lays much of the blame for the StarLink disaster on the USDA and EPA which should have known that: 1) there is no current system to segregate animal feed corn from corn eaten by humans; 2) there is no system to educate or monitor farmers on proper growing and handling practices; 3) there was no testing to identify where contamination was taking place.

"We've had to reach out to State Attorneys General because the USDA is clearly more interested in protecting Aventis than farmers," said Ritchie. "The USDA has taken the unprecedented move of participating in a corn recall to aid a private company. The USDA has

allowed Aventis to keep the terms of the buy-back murky, weakening the position of farmers. They have sought to limit Aventis' liability by calling on EPA to allow existing StarLink in food. And they are encouraging the export of StarLink to other countries around the world."

Attorneys General from the seven states with the most StarLink corn were sent letters which detailed a series of still unresolved issues. Those states include Iowa (134,910 acres), Nebraska (41,529 acres), Minnesota (35,091 acres), South Dakota (34,290 acres), Kansas (21,390 acres), Missouri (18,702 acres), and Illinois (17,466 acres).

The full letter to the state of Minnesota Attorney General can be read below. Letters to the other states are comparable. Contact IATP for copies of letters to the other states.

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy.

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
2105 First Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Contact: Ben Lilliston, 612-870-3416
http://www.iatp.org/

November 9, 2000
Attorney General Mike Hatch
102 State Capitol
St. Paul, MN 55155

Dear Attorney General Hatch:

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) is writing to request immediate action to protect farmers’ from extensive economic harm in relation to the genetically engineered StarLink corn. Currently, farmers in Minnesota are vulnerable to significant financial losses and legal liability because of irresponsible and reckless corporate behavior by StarLink manufacturer Aventis CropScience. Specifically, Aventis violated the terms of its StarLink registration by allowing it to enter the human food supply.

StarLink corn was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for animal feed but not human consumption. IATP is part of the coalition, Genetically Engineered Food Alert, which commissioned the initial testing that discovered that StarLink was present in taco shells and thus the human food supply.

As more information becomes available on StarLink several things have become evident. Aventis did not adequately inform farmers about two mandatory requirements in the handling of StarLink: 1) that StarLink be segregated only for animal feed; 2) that farmers must plant a 660 foot buffer zone around their StarLink crop to address pollen drift and subsequent contamination. Additionally, there is reason to believe that the 660 foot barrier agreed upon by Aventis and EPA may not be enough to prevent contamination.

Also clear is that StarLink has entered the food supply on a massive scale and has contaminated much of the 2000 corn crop. In Iowa, conservative estimates are that 50 percent of the corn has been contaminated with StarLink. The Food and Drug Administration has issued an alert and information on nearly 300 products that have been recalled due to StarLink contamination. (Details at: www.safetyalerts.com/recall/f/00/023261.htm). Thus far, costs associated with handling the StarLink recall are conservatively estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and litigation to recoup losses has already begun.

At risk are Minnesota farmers and country elevator operators who were sold StarLink seed corn without being adequately advised of StarLink’s unique handling requirements. Last year, Minnesota farmers planted over 35,000 acres of StarLink corn. It is difficult to calculate the amount of corn in adjacent fields contaminated by StarLink, but as further testing of stored crops is undertaken, we can expect to learn that a significant portion of the corn crop destined for human consumption has been contaminated with StarLink corn. IATP is proposing to the EPA that an expert panel on genetic drift estimate the amount of non-StarLink land and corn contaminated by cross pollination.

Minnesota corn growers, grain elevators, food processors, retailers and consumers are all at risk from the negligent and possibly fraudulent actions of Aventis CropScience and the Federal agencies responsible for regulating, inspecting, testing and labeling food products for human consumption. We believe there is evidence that Minnesota citizens and businesses have been lied to, misled, and endangered by both the Aventis CropScience and Federal regulatory agencies.

We are calling on you investigate the following issues surrounding this disaster and provide Minnesota farmers, manufacturers and consumers with answers to these questions:

• What did US regulatory agencies, specifically the US Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration know about the economic, public health, environmental and legal consequences of StarLink entering the food supply? And when did they know it?

• Where was StarLink planted? Aventis has this information but has refused to make it public. It is critical to notify farmers in adjacent fields that their corn may be contaminated. Aventis is taking advantage of this exclusive information to contact farmers next to StarLink growers on its own in order to reach a confidential financial settlements. Information on drift is relevant to the EPA’s current re-consideration of StarLink.

• Why won’t the USDA and Aventis make the terms of the StarLink buy-back plan transparent and uniform for farmers to consider? Questions about the buy-back program include: Will the buy-back program extend to those non-StarLink farmers whose fields bordered StarLink corn and have had their fields contaminated? Will a farmer who has already co-mingled StarLink with other corn in storage be compensated for the entire co-mingled amount? Will additional transportation costs be compensated? How will non-StarLink farmers be compensated for loss of markets and reputation due to cross pollination of their corn with an illegal use corn?

• Will the EPA convene an experts meeting to determine the likely extent of contamination beyond the 660 foot "barrier" in advance of any further deliberation on the October 25^th petition from Aventis to EPA for full commercialization of StarLink?

• To what extent is the StarLink patent holder liable for crop loss, market loss and loss of reputation due to contamination, whether in fields of a StarLink user or in fields of non-StarLink users whose fields have been contaminated by StarLink?

• When did Aventis know that StarLink was not being segregated? And what assurances do we have that Aventis is not destroying records related to the company’s knowledge of StarLink entering the food supply?

• Since taxpayer money will be used to finance the buy-back, shouldn’t there be a public comment period on terms of the buyback? Shouldn’t the USDA and state agriculture departments host public information meetings for those states in which StarLink has been planted?

• Has Aventis agreed in writing to reimburse USDA for all costs associated with the buyback, including transportation, warehousing, staff time, communications costs, legal costs, and detection costs? Should this agreement also be a matter of public record for public review? Similarly, has Aventis agreed to reimburse states for the costs associated with the StarLink buyback?

• Would you support "True Liability" legislation (legislation that explicitly holds the owner of the genetic material responsible for damage) in Minnesota.

Thank you for considering the above questions and looking into this critically important matter. We have sent letters outlining the same issues to Attorneys General in Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, and South Dakota – states where a significant amount of StarLink corn was planted. We would strongly encourage you to confer with your colleagues in these states and work together to answer these questions.

If you need any additional information, or would like to speak with us on these issues, please give us a call at 612-870-3400.

Sincerely,

Mark Ritchie, President
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy