Farmers Raise Concerns Over New GE Seed Contamination

On Friday the Washington Department of Agriculture verified that a farmer’s alfalfa seeds indeed contain genetically engineered (GE) material. The farmer had never purchased genetically engineered seeds and the source for the contamination is still unknown.

After the GE wheat contamination in Oregon this spring, an additional contamination case is raising major concerns for farmers whose export markets refuse to buy any GE crops due to customer resistance.

 “We are very concerned about another contamination of genetically engineered crops in a matter of months,” said Walter Archer, Northern Plains Resource Council chair and a farmer from Powder River County. “Montana’s biggest markets for agricultural commodities refuse to purchase genetically engineered crops. Clearly the manufacturer, Monsanto, has failed to prevent contamination of people’s crops. The USDA must implement tighter regulations on these genetically engineered crops to protect farmers and our markets, or not allow them at all.”