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 nvironmentalists,
farmers and consumers filed a lawsuit today to force the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to resolve an issue they say the agency
has stalled on for more than a year, risking environmental damage
and the loss of the world's most important biological pesticide.
 The lawsuit was filed by the
Center for Food Safety on behalf of itself, Greenpeace, the International
Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM, with 650
member organizations representing farmers, processors, and certifiers
in 100 countries), and over seventy other U.S. organic farmers,
farming organizations and environmental groups. The groups charge
that EPA violated the law and agency regulations in approving
genetically altered "Bt plants," crops which contain
genes for the production of an insecticide called bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt). The lawsuit follows a petition to the
agency filed by the groups in late 1997. EPA has failed to respond
to this petition despite increasing evidence of the environmental
risks of Bt crops.
"Genetically engineered
crops are a threat to farmers, consumers, and the environment,"
said Charles Margulis, a Greenpeace Genetic Engineering specialist.
"The evidence overwhelmingly backs our concerns, yet the
agency refuses to act. The threat to farmers and the environment
is imminent and requires immediate action."
Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director
of the Center for Food Safety and the lead counsel on the case
stated, "EPA has shown a blatant disregard for federal law
and its own regulations by approving Bt crops without fully assessing
their environmental safety. Their continuing failure to regulate
this untested technology forces us to turn to the courts for
protection." The Center for Food Safety is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to addressing the impacts our food production system
on human health, animal welfare and the environment.
The lawsuit demands that the
court direct EPA to: (1) cancel the registration of all genetically
engineered Bt plants; (2) cease the approval process for any
new registrations, and (3) immediately perform a programmatic
environmental impact assessment under the National Environmental
Policy Act (analyzing the cumulative impacts of all Bt plant
registrations).
Also joining the lawsuit today
were organic farmers from 21 states, who are concerned that the
widespread cultivation of Bt plants will inevitably lead to the
rapid development of insect resistance to the Bt toxin. Organic
farmers are permitted the use of Bt spray insecticides as their
only emergency pest control option, but insect resistance caused
by genetically engineered Bt plants would make Bt sprays ineffective.
The future viability of organic farming is thus threatened by
the agency's approval of Bt crops.
"Organic farmers have
used Bt responsibly for nearly forty years," said Jim Gerritsen,
a plaintiff and potato grower from Maine, "But genetically
engineered Bt crops will lead to insect resistance in just a
few years. My ability to provide consumers with quality, organic
produce should not be compromised for the short-term benefit
of the biotech industry."
Also joining the suit today
is a Wisconsin organic food producer who recently found their
organic tortilla chips had been contaminated with genetically
engineered corn, resulting in product recalls costing the company
over $100,000. Terra Prima, Inc., suffered huge losses when its
Apache Brands organic corn chips tested positive for genetically
engineered corn. An organic farmer that the company has long
relied on supplied the corn.
According to company official
Charles Walker, Terra Prima was forced to pull product from stores
in seven European countries when the contamination was discovered.
"Our customers demand organic food because they want to
know that the food they eat is free from untested genetic manipulation.
We feel that this is their right, yet genetically engineered
crops in the environment threaten our ability to provide them
with pure food."
Greenpeace is the leading
independent organization that uses peaceful and creative activism
to protect the global environment. 
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