Wrong Side Of The Law? Critics Say Biotech Crops Could Land You In Court

 (Posted: 04-Feb-02)

 Progressive Farmer | By Dan Miller | February 2002

 The law surrounding genetically engineered crops is far from being
 clear. And that opens a number of legal risks for growers, says a
 new paper sponsored by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade
 Policy and Genetically Engineered Food Alert, in collaboration
 with the Farmer to Farmer Campaign on Genetic Engineering. Each of
 these groups has been critical of biotech crops and the way they
 are being commercialized.

 "Farmers assessing the costs and the benefits of growing
 [genetically modified] crops should base their decisions not only
 on production costs and expected yields, but also on the legal
 liability they may incur by planting, growing and marketing [GM]
 crops," says David Moeller, a staff attorney with the Farmers'
 Legal Action Group Inc., St. Paul, Minn., and author of this
 report. Moeller says FLAG has taken no position on genetically
 engineered crops, but adds that there are a number of unsettled
 legal questions involving these crops that growers should consider.

 Moeller's paper, GMO Liability Threats for Farmers, details a number of
 these risks.

 "Farmers and seed companies who are responsible for genetically
 contaminating neighboring fields might be liable for a neighbor's
 damages based on tort claims of trespass to land, nuisance,
 negligence or strict liability," Moeller writes.

 Moeller tells Progressive Farmer that growers might also find
 themselves in legal hot water. That could happen if
 cross-contamination with biotech crops causes them to be unable to
 fulfill the terms of a commitment to deliver grain of a certain
 quality. Or there could be a problem if they even inadvertently
 contaminate a supply of grain with their own grains,
 cross-pollinated or mixed with biotech grains.

 He suggests that growers should closely examine their insurance
 policies to determine if their insurance covers instances of lost
 production, contract violations or contamination of nonbiotech
 grain supplies with biotech grains.

 Moeller adds that close communications with neighbors is
 important. They need to know what you are growing and vice versa
 to ensure that proper distances are created between grains
 biologically enhanced or not. This paper is the first in a series
 of papers published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade
 Policy and Genetically Engineered Food Alert on legal and economic
 issues related to GMOs.