</smaller></fontfamily><smaller><smaller>=20
</smaller></smaller><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param>ADM Joins Staley in
Rejecting Some Transgenic Corn=20
</fontfamily><smaller><smaller>=20
</smaller></smaller><fontfamily><param>Georgia</param>The Archer Daniels
Midland Co. (ADM), Decatur, IL, yesterday joined its crosstown
competitor, A.E. Staley Mfg. Co., in rejecting any genetically modified
corn that is not accepted in European Union (EU) markets.
In a statement to the media obtained by Grainnet, ADM said: "ADM supports
the position of the Corn Refiners Association and National Grain and Feed
Association in regard to transfenic corn in that we will not participate
in the commerce of the varieties that are not approved by the European
Union. If and when the varieties are approved by the European Union, we
will participate in the marketing of those grains."
Covered under both companies' policy are Roundup Ready corn, which has
been genetically engineered to resist damage from Monsanto Co.'s
broad-spectrum Roundup herbicide, and certain varieties of Bt corn, which
has been modified to produce a toxin that kills certain pests such as
European corn borer. Approvals of these products have been held up in the
European Union (EU), where public opposition to genetically modified
plants is stronger than in the United States.
Meanwhile, a front-page article in the Decatur Herald & Review newspaper
this morning quoted Pat Mohan, executive vice president at Staley, as
saying: "Farmers are being told by their seed suppliers which seed
varieties are accepted. We're just asking them to follow that advice." He
referred to contracts that state the farmer has agreed not to sell the
crop to any outlet that sells overseas.
Roundup Ready corn is not expected to be widely grown across the Corn
Belt this year. Last year, the product was grown only in test plots, and
seed supplies are limited. Doug Wilson, president of the Illinois Corn
Growers Association, said he expects 3% of the state's corn crop this
year to be of the Roundup Ready type.
Depending on who's giving the estimate, Bt corn is being planted on 20%
to 40% of U.S. corn acreage this year. Some Bt corn varieties have been
approved for import into the EU, but others have not.
In his interview with the Herald & Review, Mohan did not say that Staley
would test corn that is brought to the plant in Decatur. "Based on our
experience with farmers, we don't think that's going to be an issue," he
said. "This is nothing that they shouldn't have been doing in the=20
past."
Meanwhile, Randy Krotz, director of public and industry affairs for
Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO, which developed the Roundup Ready gene for
both corn and soybeans, downplayed the importance of the announcement by
Staley and ADM. "In reality, based on our education, Staley should not
have been a recipient of Roundup Ready corn, anyway," he said, noting
that seed companies have always required farmers to sign contracts for
purchasing transgenic seed.
Roundup Ready soybeans are accepted by the EU and other U.S. trading
partners.
</fontfamily>
<fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><smaller>Email:
<underline><color><param>0000,0000,fefe</param>webmaster@grainnet.com
</color></underline> 3065 N. Pershing Ct. =95 Decatur, IL 62526
800-728-7511 =95 Fax: 217-877-6647</smaller></fontfamily> =20
<bold>Dan Anderson
</bold>Agroecology/Sustainable Agriculture Program
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
W-503 Turner Hall
1102 S. Goodwin
Urbana, IL 61801 MC-047
217/333-1588
217/333-7370 fax
aslan@uiuc.edu
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