Monsanto genetically modified alfalfa may mean the end of organic milk

March 3rd, 2010

Photo via Flickr: Putneypics

This article was originally posted on Jan. 19. But with today being the last day to speak up about GM alfalfa to the USDA, I thought I’d republish.

While the United States has no labeling requirements for genetically modified (GM) foods, it should be moderately comforting that for now, there’s a lot the individual shopper can do to avoid them. I say for now, because all that could change very soon: The Department of Agriculture may be on the verge of approving Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa.

Why is alfalfa such a concern? Well, one of the biggest fears about GM crops is the risk of contamination: Once a farmer plants a crop of GM alfalfa, who’s to prevent the wind from blowing pollen to a nearby organic alfalfa crop, or some hardworking honeybees from doing the same? For those who argue (read: Monsanto) that special precautions are taken by farmers to avoid this type of contamination, I would say that nature is not a controlled environment: Canada’s organic canola market was destroyed after being tainted by Monsanto’s GM canola crop.

The situation is getting complicated: In 2006, the Center for Food Safety sued the USDA for its approval of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa, and won; the federal district court banned all GM alfalfa until the USDA conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIS) evaluating the potential risks of the crop to the environment and farmers. Now, the 60-day comment period for the EIS draft (which was finally released in December) is open until Feb. 16 has been extended until March 3. But in the meantime, Monsanto has pushed the appeal all the way to the US Supreme Court, which decided last Friday on Jan. 15 to hear the case.

You may not care for alfalfa, but organic dairy cows do — it’s their lunch of choice. If we allow the USDA to approve Monsanto’s GM alfalfa, and the forage for those cows becomes contaminated, then we’ll never again be able to trust a carton of organic milk. Or even worse, organic milk may cease to exist altogether.

–Jennifer Grayson