News
September 8
San Antonio Express-News
After seeking permits to plant genetically
engineered pharmaceutical corn in Frio
County, the College Station-based company
ProdiGene abandoned its efforts.
ProdiGene was seeking permits to plant
up to several hundred acres of corn
that have been altered to produce animal
proteins used in medicine.
The company chose Frio County in part
because it is not a major corn-producing
county, lessening the chances its modified
corn would cross-pollinate with conventional
corn, according to information it provided
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
But the APHIS Web site last week listed
the two Frio County permit applications
as withdrawn, and a third that was approved
will not be executed.
ProdiGene Chief Executive Officer John
Reiher did not return phone calls seeking
comment.
The Sierra Club submitted a letter
to the USDA opposing the project, and
the Organic Consumers Association posted
the letter on its Web site.
Problems with the project include incomplete
scientific reviews and insufficient
public notice in Frio County, said Neil
Carman, vice chairman of the Sierra
Club's genetic engineering committee.
"There's some major issues about
the regulatory process," Carman
said, adding that much more stringent
monitoring is called for because "gene-splicing
itself is inherently risky."
The environmental assessment did not
reveal the location but said it was
three to four miles south of the Frio
River and surrounded by open ranchland
and some vegetable farming. It stated
that no other corn was grown commercially
within at least a mile around the site.
