DOHA,
Qatar-This is Tom Wiley's first time out of
the United States. The 49-year-old farmer
traveled from South Dakota to Chicago to London
to Dubai then sailed upon Greenpeace's Rainbow
Warrior ship to Doha. He's here for one reason
and that's to tell his story how genetically
modified organisms (GMO) is ruining his livelihood.
A
farmer whose family has been in agriculture for the
past 100 years, Wiley is a non-GMO farmer and is determined
to remain so. But last year, his soybean crops were
returned to him and his contract with the brokerage
firm that sells his beans to the Asian market, was
broken. His 15,000 bushels of soybeans were found to
contain 1.37 percent GMO. The information came as a
great shock to Wiley who has been resisting planting
GMO seeds. "The soybeans have to fit a certain
criteria to qualify for Korean and Japanese markets," he
said. The farmer lost between $6,000 to $10,000 dollars
on his crops.
Wiley believes
that pollen from modified crops from surrounding
farms blew onto his property and
contaminated his harvest. "No one wants to
accept responsibility for this. And this is a farming
community," he said. "We don't sue each
other." At the moment he is waiting anxiously
for the results of his current harvest. He has
planted another crop of non-GMO soybeans this year.
The seeds are currently being examined for any
GMO contamination.
"The results should be in anytime," he
said with an anxious look. "I have to call
my wife to find out." If his soybeans prove
again to be contaminated by cross-pollination,
Wiley could lose up to $40,000 on this harvest.
Worse yet, he may if impossible to keep growing
non-GMO crops-thanks to the continuing cross-pollination.
According to the Organic Consumers Association,
there are currently more than four dozen genetically
engineered foods and crops being grown or sold
in the US.
The biotechnology
industry reported that almost 100 percent of
US food and fiber will be genetically
engineered within 5-10 years. Products include
soybeans, soy oil, corn, potatoes, squash, canola
oil, cottonseed oil, papaya, tomatoes, and dairy
products. Greenpeace which brought Wiley to Qatar
to testify as a witness of GMO impact on his livelihood
has condemned GMO crops and food-deeming them unsafe
for human consumption. It has been demanding a
stop of GMO releases ever since the first GMOs
had been introduced to the market from the United
States in 1996. Many organizations are calling
for a moratorium on GMO crops and food. "That," said
Wiley, "is one solution."
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