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Bill Would Hold Makers of Modified Crops Liable for Damage
Summary posted by Meridian on 2/28/2007
Source: Associated Press
Author: Steve Lawrence
A draft bill that has been introduced into the state assembly in California would make biotechnology companies liable for any significant losses experienced by conventional or organic farmers that results from "contamination" by genetically modified (GM) crops. The bill would also ban outdoor field trials of GM plants modified to produce pharmaceuticals, and it would require that county commissioners be notified at least 30 days in advance of other types of field tests. California Assemblyman Jared Huffman, who introduced the legislation, says it is needed to protect farmers in the U.S. state. Huffman says the need for such a bill is "underscored" by the incident last year when rice from the U.S. states of Arkansas, Missouri, and Louisiana was found to contain traces of an unauthorized GM rice variety from Bayer. Hundreds of U.S. rice farmers have sued Bayer over resulting financial losses. The Rice Producers of California, a group of 200 California farmers, has welcomed Huffman's legislation, but other California farming groups have been more reticent. The California Farm Bureau Federation, which represents 91,000 farmers and others in the agriculture industry, opposes the bill "as it stands now" but has expressed willingness to work with Huffman. Richard Matteis, executive vice president of the California Seed Association, which represents some companies involved in genetic engineering, comments that "In California, I'm not aware of any growers being damaged because of the presence of biological crops in their crops . . . I think the system is working." The article can be viewed online at the link below.
The original article may still be available at www.agbios.com/main.php?action=ShowNewsItem&id=8258
As tagged by Meridian Institute:
Topics:
Regulations, policies, guidelines, and international treaties, Liability and redress, Biosafety, Globalization and Trade
Regions:
North America
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Industry
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