Safe Food_ Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism - Marion Nestle [138]
When Monsanto attempted to buy Delta and Pine Land, it appeared as if the true purpose of terminator technology was to protect private property and make farmers even more dependent on seeds and chemicals controlled by corporations. Critics feared that use of this technology would devastate farmers in poor countries who typically save their seeds from one year to the next. On this basis, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research recommended in 1998 that its 16 member institutes ban research on terminator genes. The following year, U.S. rural development groups, alarmed about the possible effects of the technology on global food security and biodiversity, organized their constituents to demand that USDA cease sponsorship of terminator research.23 This research evoked vivid images—and street theater—of corporate science conducted for profit rather than for the good of society (see figure 26).
The already high profile of critics of this research rose even higher in June 1999 when the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, Gordon Conway, challenged Monsanto to stop work on terminator genes. In his view, this work was so controversial that it placed the entire food biotechnology enterprise at risk—including its potential to feed the developing world. The use of this research, he said, “particularly by the poor and excluded, is being threatened by the mounting controversies in Europe and to some extent in the United States. There is a real danger that the research may be set back, particularly if field trials are banned. . . . The agricultural seed industry must disavow the use of terminator technology to produce seed sterility.”24 Mr. Conway also suggested that Monsanto invest more in research to solve food problems in developing countries, and voluntarily label its products. In response, Monsanto officials issued a “terse statement” terming their conversations with Mr. Conway “frank and productive. We will continue to reach out to people like Prof. Conway to discuss the challenges and opportunities of biotechnology applications in agriculture.”25
Nevertheless, his remarks hit home. In October 1999, Monsanto announced that the company would “make no effort to market” terminator seeds (even though the possibility of doing so was still years away), thereby averting “a public relations disaster in an industry already under attack on other, more serious fronts.”26 Earlier that year, a Monsanto spokesman said that “seed sterility has become a surrogate for the entire debate on biotech. . . . We are recognizing now though that there is something psychologically offensive about sterile seed in every culture.”27 Other motives, however, may have influenced Monsanto’s retreat on this issue. The Justice Department’s antitrust division had delayed Monsanto’s purchase of Delta and Pine Land. When Monsanto merged with Pharmacia and Upjohn late in 1999, it withdrew the purchase offer (lawsuits ensued). The USDA, citing the many beneficial applications of the ability to turn genes on and off, continues to conduct terminator research, leaving plenty of room for ongoing distrust—and outrage—about how government and industry plan to use this technology.28
FIGURE 26. This flyer advertises a play produced by the San Francisco Mime Troupe in summer 2000: “In her laboratory, Dr. Synthia Allright-Bloom is hard at work on a bio-genetic engineering discovery that could feed the world.” The Mime Troupe presents free plays in public parks.
Genetic “Pollution”
A third major issue of distrust arises from the inadvertent transfer of transgenic pollen to organically grown or native plant species. The high level of public concern