A24-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 27. 2000
SYRACUSE, N.Y. aic
genetically engineered vegeta
bles environmentally friendly or
ecologically threatening? Future
foods or frankenfoods? The key
to preventing starvation in
Third World countries? Good
business? Stupid science? Sus
tainable? Unsustainable?
These and other questions
were addressed in a four-hour
forum held Feb. 7 during the
New York State (NYS) Vegeta
ble Growers Association annual
conference.
The event, which organizers
believe was the first to address
the GMO (genetically modified
organism) issue in a grower set
ting, was attended by more than
100 growers, processors, and ag
ricultural scientists.
The six presenters at the
Becker 2000 Forum offered mul
tiple perspectives on the topic:
“Genetically Engineered Vege
tables: Are They Worth It?” The
Learning To
Market
New York’s
Summer
Tree Fruits
(Contlnuad from Pago A 23)
High-density orchard systems are of particu
lar interest to growers whose key objective is ear
lier cropping and higher early yields. Terence
Robinson, Cornell professor of horticultural sci
ences who specializes in training systems for
fruit trees at the Experiment Station in Geneva,
addressed whether or not orchard systems arc
adaptable to particular crops and, if so, the labor
efficiencies and pest control that can be gained.
Robinson and colleagues are trying out six new
sweet cherry experiments at Geneva designed to
keep trees small and get them to bear earlier.
Rain-induced fruit cracking and bird damage
could be drastically reduced by covering small
trees with frames, nets and retractable plastic
covers.
In talking about stone fruit diversification,
Andersen said there is a keen interest in high
density cherries among New York fruit growers
because like prune plums fresh sweet cher
ries arc particularly healthful. He described “nu
triceuticai” as a term that will dictate marketing
the medical benefits of plants, especially fruits
and vegetables.
Peaches suffer from declining per capita con
sumption because they arrive on New York
tables from distant states too green to ripen with
really good taste. “Locally grown fresh peaches
can be picked riper and will achieve full taste,”
said Andersen.
Processed peaches have also declined in con
sumption, but New York-grown processing
peaches are gaining attention from Canadian
and New York-based processors because of new
varieties being bred for Eastern North American
climates. High-density peach orchards can pro
duce fruit earlier and with higher yields. Locally
processed means reduced transportation costs
an important factor to consider when raw
fruit represents only 20 percent of the final cost.
More Research
Is Needed
Bittner, chairman of the Northeast Stone
Fruit Sponsors, spoke for many of those present,
noting much work needs to be done to support
stone fruit research.
“The Northeast Stone Fruit Sponsors must
find a way to fund the research that needs to be
done to make the growing of stone fruits in the
Northeast a profitable option for growers. Some
options include membership dues, grants, an in
dustry checkoff, and the licensing of plant pat
ents and trademarks that returns funds to
research programs. Once funds are collected, a
program similar to the Apple Research and De
velopment Board would be set up to select and
fund grower-identified research projects.”
Genetically Engineered Vegetables:
six included two genetic plant
breeders from Cornell Univer
sity, a seed company representa
tive for the controversial Bt
sweet corn, a vegetable proces
sor who has decided to drop Bt
corn from its 2000 line, a con
sumer advocate, and a crop pro
duction researcher concerned
about trade policies.
“The goal of the forum was to
educate growers about the po
tential risk and benefits of
genetically engineered crops in
their planting and marketing
schemes, help increase their un
derstanding of the basic science
and technologies involved, and
increase their ability to answer
questions from concerned con
sumers,” said Anu Rangarajan,
a statewide specialist in fresh
market vegetable production,
and Cornell University profes
sor of vegetable science, who or
ganized and moderated the
forum.
U.S. farmers have been placed
squarely in the middle of the
debate between seed dealers,
chemical companies, American
trade policy, and foreign and do
mestic consumers on the GMO
issue. A recent survey conducted
by the American Corn Growers
Association indicated a signifi
cant reduction in the acreages of
Roundup Ready corn, Bt corn,
and Roundup Ready soybeans
being planned for the 2000
season, largely because of con
sumer concerns. Currently,
there are only two commercially
available genetically engineered
vegetables: Bt sweet corn and a
virus resistant squash.
Steve KreSovich, who is a
Cornell plant breeder and direc
tor of the Institute of Genomic
Diversity, talked about scientific
and environmental considera
tions. “His explanation of con
ventional breeding versus
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Are They Worth It?
genetic engineering, was most
valuable to me,” said one
grower. “I didn’t realize how
many intentional and uninten
tional consequences they were in
both types of breeding.”
Dennis Gonsalves, plant
pathologist at Cornell’s New
York State Agricultural Experi
ment Station, in Geneva, N.Y.,
who is responsible for the com
mercialization of two virus resis
tant crops in the U.S. papaya
and squash outlined the 15-
year project that led to the revi
talization of the papaya industry
in Hawaii. “Through the intro
duction of genetically engi
neered papaya that is resistant
to the papaya ringspot virus,
farmers whose livelihoods were
ruined have now been able to re
plant,” said Gonsalves. “If you
ask them if this is a successful
technology, they and their fami
lies will say ‘yes’.”
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Michael Hansen, of the Con
sumers Union, was an advocate
for caution and incredulity on
the part of the consumer. “In
the U.S., at least, there is virtu
ally no regulation of genetically
engineered crops on the part of
the FDA, the EPA and the
USDA,” said Hansen. Accord
ing to Hansen, health risks in
cluded transfer of toxins,
allergens, antibiotic resistance,
and a change in nutrient levels
many of which are uninten
tional and untested risks. He ad
vocated mandatory labeling so
consumers can decide for them
selves which products to buy.
Tom Facer, of Agrilink Foods,
outlined the processor’s decision
to drop Bt sweet corn from their
product line in 2000. “It’s not
that the technology doesn’t
work,”he said, citing as an ex
ample the state of Georgia,
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