The shortage of U.S. grain has been a recurrent headline lately, yet a portion of this shortage – the organic grain industry – is not a new story.

Though part of the organic grain scarcity is attributed to a dearth of producers, part of the problem is the increasing contamination of organic grain by genetically engineered (GE) crops – patented organisms now pervasive in much of the American landscape.

This week, organic industry players are meeting in Anaheim, California to discuss testing for transgenic material in organic products and possibly coming up with standards for certification. (Testing is currently not mandatory.)

You might recall that the organic movement fought hard to exclude GE organisms from the organic label a decade ago. Now an additional certification is needed to relay that this product is truly organic?

In 2007, 73 percent of U.S. corn and 91 percent of soybeans were a GE variety. At the same time, organic crop acreage continues to expand in all 50 states, and certified organic livestock (the consumers of all that organic grain) jumped more than 70 percent between 2000 and 2005.

Although the National Organic Program prohibits the use of GE seeds, if an organic farmer's corn, say, becomes contaminated, it can still bear the USDA organic seal – as long as the GE product was not intentionally used. Many organic farmers say this isn't acceptable, that the exclusion of GE crops in organic systems implies a zero tolerance. And consumers agree: more than 75 percent say they are purchasing products without GE ingredients when they buy organic.

Contamination of organic and conventional seeds and crops is widespread and documented around the world. A recent report by Greenpeace International documents 39 cases in 2007 alone, and more than 200 in the last decade.

Still, many organic farmers are working hard to maintain the integrity of the organic label, bearing the cost of expensive tests to ensure that contaminated harvests are not entering the organic food supply. But why should organic producers bear the cost of protecting their fields from an unwanted technology?

USDA continues to ignore the reality of contamination, which can happen at any stage of the convoluted path crops follow – from storage and shipment, to cross-pollination in fields.

The agency needs to protect the public interest by conducting a comprehensive study to evaluate the extent of contamination in the seed supply and then implement measures to prevent the day when transgenic material in certain crop types becomes completely unavoidable.

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