GM crop debate grows in North Carolina
Lisa F. Smith / Herald-Sun, Durham, North Carolina ?Aug00

When Kraft Foods recalled taco shells it said contained genetically engineered corn from Aventis CropScience last month, a quiet but growing debate over genetically modified crops moved into the Triangle in North Carolina.

Aventis CropScience has its North American headquarters with 600 employees in Research Triangle Park. Other companies in the park — including BASF, Novartis and Paradigm Genetics — also are involved in genetic modification of crops.

The Aventis controversy concerns the company's StarLink corn, which Kraft said made its way into Taco Bell-brand taco shells. The corn was approved only as an animal feed, not for human consumption. There are concerns among experts that the protein used to make the corn crop more resistant to pests could trigger an allergic reaction in some humans.

Aventis has agreed to reimburse the U.S. government for a buy-back program that has farmers across the nation selling the crop to the government at 25 cents per bushel above the posted price for corn. North Carolina farmers planted 384 acres with StarLink corn, according to Aventis. The buyback could cost the company $90 million to $100 million, according to wire reports.

"We are going to act responsibly and be a responsible company about this," said Rick Rountree, spokesman for Aventis CropScience. "We are still in the fact- gathering mode right now. The situation is very fluid."

The corn recall comes at a time when Aventis still is reeling from its birth through the merger of Rhone-Poulenc SA with Hoechst AG. As part of the merger, some RTP employees were transferred to the company's facilities in Frankfurt, Germany, where basic research for insecticides will be conducted. That work previously took place at the RTP research sites, which now will focus on regulatory compliance, according to Rountree.

While Aventis is in the media spotlight now, there are other Triangle companies doing research in the field of ag biotechnology and genetic modification of seeds. BASF has its agricultural products division headquarters in the park with more than 250 employees. Novartis Agribusiness Biotechnology Research has about 260 employees in the park working to develop more productive crops and more effective tools for crop protection.

Paradigm Genetics — a Research Triangle Park-based company that recently made its stock market debut on the Nasdaq — does research that potentially could lead to ag biotechnology products. Paradigm is mining gene function information in plants and fungi for the development of products in human health, nutrition, crop production and industrial products. Paradigm has signed deals to sell plant gene function information to companies such as Bayer AG and Pharmacia Corp. The partnering company can take that information and develop it into a product, which also could provide royalties for Paradigm.

Industrywide, ag biotechnology generated $2.3 billion in revenue last year, according to statistics from Ernst & Young. The corn recall is just the kind of thing feared by those who worry about genetic modification of plants. When proteins are transferred from one plant to another, they can potentially set off an allergy in humans who eat the product, according to experts. For example, the theory is that a person allergic to peanuts may have a reaction to another kind of vegetable that has been enhanced with a peanut protein.

Nationally, biotechnology-enhanced crops represented nearly 60 percent of acres devoted to soybeans, nearly 40 percent of corn acres and more than 60 percent of cotton acres last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Aventis StarLink corn was one of six genetically modified corn seeds on the market.

"The research on the effects of engineered foods is just beginning to be done and it's outrageous that the general public has become guinea pigs for the biotech industry," said Scott Tokar, one of the founders of the grassroots domestic group called Northeast Resistance Against Genetic Engineering.

"We are calling for an end to genetically engineered products unless they can be proven safe," said Tokar, citing European research in animals that he said points to possible health problems related to genetically engineered foods.

Environmentalists also fear that genetically modified traits could find their way into unintended plant recipients through cross-pollination. That would mean, for example, a trait that makes a crop resistant to a herbicide could also make weeds resistant to the chemical.

"Those are concerns that are legitimate scientific concerns," said Margaret Daub, a professor and head of the botany department at N.C. State University. But scientists are researching these issues and the potential for enhanced crops is great, she said. The benefits for the environment could include reduced use of pesticides and higher yields on less land. For farmers, research holds the promise of growing heartier plants with specific characteristics, such as disease resistance or the ability to sprout in places where they wouldn't naturally grow. For people in developing countries, some experts look at genetically modified food as a way to feed more nutritious products to hungry masses.

Ag biotechnology is the next step in a century-old continuum of advances in plant breeding, Daub said. "This is simply a continuation of our normal plant breeding process," she said. Where farmers once crossed whole plants with desirable traits, researchers now are moving specific genes from one plant to another. "It's actually a more controlled step forward," Daub said.

Tokar disagreed. He looks at genetic engineering as a "radical departure from traditional breeding," which was constrained by natural limits on which plants and animals could breed with each other.

While some organizations in the United States and even more in Europe are concerned about the commercial spread of genetically engineered foods, Wall Street didn't seem phased by the Aventis corn scare.

Aventis' stock has held steady and even increased slightly in the days since the recall was announced. Aventis closed down 81 cents at $70.69 on Wednesday.

Part of that seemingly counterintuitive movement on Wall Street can be traced to the fact that agricultural research is a fraction of Aventis' total revenues, said Mark Ravera, an analyst who covers Aventis for Mehta Partners. This year, Aventis will generate about $4 billion or 25 percent of its revenue from agricultural products, including genetically modified seeds, according to Mehta's estimates. The seeds are one of many ag products that also include herbicides, insecticides, animal health and animal nutrition products.

Even the multi-million-dollar buy-back program for StarLink corn is just a drop in the bucket compared with Aventis' revenues, Ravera said.

"It's a PR thing — a somewhat proactive move to make sure the regulatory agencies don't get too upset," he said. "It's partially PR and also good neighbor. They are making the effort to get the product off the shelf."