A government advisory panel reached a rough consensus Tuesday that growers of genetically engineered crops should try to contain the spread of their genes to organic crops.
But the panel refused to set a threshold level for contamination as would be required by Proposition 37, a California ballot initiative calling for labeling of genetically engineered food.
The panel also refused to hold biotechnology companies that make genetically engineered seeds, including Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta, responsible for contamination.
Instead, the panel will vote by Nov. 8 on a recommendation to use taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance to encourage farmers to corral the genes and compensate organic farmers whose crops are contaminated by drifting pollen, accidental mixing or other gene "leaks."
Biotech represented
Genetically engineered crops are also known as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. They entail the insertion or deletion of genes, often from different species, into a plant to produce a desired trait, most commonly resistance to insects and herbicides.
The Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, included representatives of the organic and biotech industries.
Prop. 37 would permit no more than 0.5 percent contamination of foods by genetically engineered material before requiring a label. After 2019, the initiative would require zero contamination, but organically certified foods would be exempt.
The panel considered a 0.9 percent contamination threshold, roughly the level accepted in most export markets, but rejected it as too specific.
USDA's organic certification does not permit
