In Thailand, rice traders have similarly echoed the demand to stop the propagation of GE rice, even in field trial applications, warning that the potential contamination of Thai rice varieties would ruin access to markets in the EU, Japan and other places where rejection against GE rice is snowballing.
“EU is the new market opportunity for Thailand because they require GE free rice. We must follow the market’s demand. We don’t have to care about the US market which supports GE, so our association has agreed on the policy of selling non-GE rice, and we oppose the growing of GE rice even in field trials as it could contaminate our rice” said Rut Subniran of the Thai rice exporters association .
The report ‘Rice Industry in Crisis’ carries extracts of company statements covering Asia, Europe, Australia, and North and South America. (1) and includes a commitment from the world’s largest rice processor, Ebro Puleva, to stop buying US rice. This follows a major contamination incident in 2006, when the world’s rice supply was contaminated with an experimental and illegal variety of GE rice produced by biotech company Bayer.
“This global contamination and global market rejection of GE rice clearly shows the need for Bayer to withdraw from any further GE rice development,” said Patwajee Srisuwan, GE campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “Bayer proves that GE rice is too risky. Through field trials alone Bayer caused massive financial damage to the global rice industry. The commercial growing of GE rice must never become a reality; the impact on the world’s most important food crop would be disastrous.”
The report also examines the significant economic implications of the Bayer contamination, including when rice futures prices plummeted $150 million -- the sharpest one-day decline in years. Experts have predicted that US rice exports may decline by as much as16% in 2006/2007. (2) Several multi-million dollar class action lawsuits have been filed by US farmers who refuse to bear the financial burden of Bayer’s irresponsible and negligent conduct. The farmers claim that Bayer is responsible for the contamination of rice supplies and the economic losses the U.S. rice farmers have suffered as a result and must compensate farmers for the monetary and other losses that they have sustained as a result of Bayer’s improper conduct. (3)
In addition to the class action lawsuits, several individual lawsuits have also been filed and there are also anecdotal reports that European traders contemplating legal action. As a result of the contamination of the rice supply with Bayer´s GE rice farmers, millers, traders and retailers around the globe are facing massive financial costs, including testing and recall costs, cancelled orders, import bans, brand damage and consumer distrust – distrust that could last for years.
For his part, Ubon Yuwah, Representative of Alternative Agriculture Foundation said that
“Thailand should not follow the US where GE pushers in the business and government sectors take advantage of consumers and farmers by promoting the unwarranted contamination of their food supply. The Thai government should not enact biosafety laws which will pave the way for GE field trials. This will put Thai farmers and agricultural products at risk.”
“Governments from around the world must respond to the economic, market and environmental damage caused by the 2006 GE rice contamination and reject outright any GE rice food and cultivation applications currently on the table,” added Patwajee. “GE rice should not be developed as genetic engineering is an unnecessary, unwanted and outdated technology that threatens the world’s most important staple food.”
Greenpeace campaigns for GE-free crop and food production grounded on the principles of sustainability, protection of biodiversity and providing all people access to safe and nutritious food. Genetic engineering is an unnecessary and unwanted technology that contaminates the environment, threatens biodiversity and poses unacceptable risks to health.
