Midnight marauders machete Monsanto maize

Monsanto Fields felled in Midnight Maize Raze

Midnight marauders machete Monsanto maize
By MURRAY CARPENTER
Staff Writer
Sept 9, 1999
A plot of genetically altered corn was razed at the University of Maine's Rogers Farm in Old Town last Thursday in an apparent act of protest against genetically engineered foods. The corn, destined for silage and not direct human consumption, was designed to resist Monsanto's popular herbicide, Roundup. DeKalb Seed, owned by Monsanto, donated the seed for the half-acre trial.
Some have called the act "eco-terrorism," while others were pleased to see the crop clipped. Now a group calling itself Seeds of Resistance is claiming responsibility for cutting the corn, and pledging more of the same. The incident is raising already high public interest in genetically engineered crops.
Activist Nancy Oden had scheduled a tour of the corn patch with UM researchers last Thursday. But she arrived to find the corn had been axed sometime in the night. "I was trying to terminate the program," Oden said, "But somebody else did it for me."
Oden is concerned that putting altered genes into the environment will have long-term negative effects. Roundup-resistant canola has spread resistance to other plants, she said, such as wild mustard. "The yields are not better and resistance is developing," Oden said. "Once a thing is loosed into the environment it can't be called back." Oden balks at calling the act eco-terrorism. "Monsanto is the real eco-terrorist here," she said, "for destroying the integrity of earth's life forms, and for forcing us to eat their genetically mutilated foods without our knowledge and consent. We are just guinea pigs so Monsanto can sell more Roundup."
John Rebar of University of Maine Cooperative Extension offered a different perspective. He said the Roundup-resistant corn was just one of 10 current studies at the farm geared toward helping farmers combat weeds. "Our perspective is: How do we help the small Maine farmer raise silage corn in a way that's environmentally and economically sound?" Rebar said. "Our research is dedicated to the needs of the farmers." According to Monsanto, the so-called Roundup Ready crops can reduce the need for tilling, thus saving soil and retaining soil moisture.
Rebar said the Roundup-resistant corn is federally approved and would not have been OK'd if it posed a threat to the environment. The seed is available over-the-counter in Maine. As for the concerns about creating Frankenstein crops, he said genetic engineering is nothing new. "When you breed a donkey and a horse, you get a mule," Rebar said. What's new is the "extreme precision" in modern genetic engineering.
Oden countered that modern genetic engineering is "combining species that would never combine in nature." She said Roundup-resistant corn, for example, contains petunia genes. Genetically engineered crops have incited activists elsewhere. Indian farmers reportedly torched three fields of Monsanto cotton last fall, in an effort called Operation Cremation Monsanto. Seeds of Resistance, in an e-mail circulated Monday, called the Old Town corn-cutting "the first in a series of actions."
"They are only designed to sell more herbicide," the Seeds wrote of the genetically-altered corn. "The idea that companies like Monsanto wish to end world hunger through patenting and genetically modifying the food supply are hollow public relations ploys, especially considering that there is already enough food produced in the world to feed everyone and that the hunger problem is one of distribution, not production."
UMaine spokesman Joe Carr said university police are conducting an "active, aggressive investigation" to find the vandals. He called the e-mail a "useful development." Rebar acknowledged that the clipped corn put the Roundup-resistant corn research back to square one. The experiment may have indicated that the corn is not a good idea for local farmers, said Rebar, but now he won't know, at least until next year. Rebar still looked on the bright side of the incident: "I see it as creating an opportunity for public dialogue." Oden agreed. "What we need is some sunshine here, full public discussion and debate."

Source: http://www.mainetimes.com/newspage.htm