GREENPEACE EXPOSES GENETICALLY ENGINEERED DRUG CORN  

CONSUMER AND ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS URGE BUSH TO BAN DRUG-CROPS

November 19, 2002
Greenpeace Press Release

AURORA,NEBRASKA,–Two Greenpeace activists unfurled a banner on a silo
containing 500,000 bushels of soybeans contaminated by genetically
engineered drug-producing corn. The banner read, "This is your food on
drugs. Ban genetically engineered drug-crops." Greenpeace publicly
demarcated this huge, contaminated food mound to expose the inherent
dangers in conducting genetically engineered crop experiments in open
fields near food crops.

"The biotech industry is playing genetic roulette with our food," said
Margulis."This crazy experiment of growing drugs in one of our nation's
most important staple foods must cease immediately. We urge President
Bush to take swift action to protect our food."

In a letter faxed to President Bush today, Greenpeace, the Center for
Food Safety, National Family Farm Coalition, and several other national
organizations urged the President to ban open-field planting of
genetically engineered drug crops, and to prohibit drug production in
food crops because it risks contaminating our nation's food supply.

The genetically engineered drug that contaminated soybean stocks is a
protein that is intended to vaccinate pigs. Anthony Laos, CEO of
ProdiGene, the company that caused the contamination, admits that no
human health tests have been conducted on the pig drug to date.
According to Doreen Stabinsky, Staff Scientist for Greenpeace's Genetic
Engineering Campaign, "All allergens are proteins, and any food
contaminated with the GE drug poses an unacceptable risk to the people
who unwittingly eat it."

Environmentalists and scientists, including the U.S. National Academy of
Sciences, have repeatedly warned that growing drug-producing crops in
open fields and not in laboratories would inevitably contaminate our
food supply. Drug-crops grown on farms across the U.S. today include
corn that produces compounds such as untested AIDS and hepatitis B
vaccines, a blood clotting agent, and other compounds not meant for
human consumption.

"These unregulated drug crops threaten our nation's food security," said
Charles Margulis, Genetic Engineering Specialist with Greenpeace. "Even
though genetic engineers said it could never happen here, Americans have
narrowly escaped eating GE contaminated food twice in three months. We
must stop taking chances with untested drug-crops that could poison our
corn flakes, tacos, and baby food," said Margulis.