GMOs v. Organic: Is Coexistence Possible?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits the use of GMO material — including enzymes, seeds, or veterinary treatments — in any product that carries the agency’s “certified organic” label. Certified organic farmers can face significant economic hardship if any GMO traits contaminate their organic crops or organic livestock feed. Contamination can occur either when GMO seeds are inadvertently mixed with non-GMO seeds during storage or distribution, or when GMO crops cross-pollinate non-GMO crops. It is well documented that a farmer’s field can be inadvertently contaminated with GMO material through cross-pollination and seed dispersal. However, the USDA has never actually looked at the number of farmers that have been contaminated by GMO presence and the costs associated with buyer rejections or lost value of crops.

Food & Water Watch partnered with Organic Farmers’ Agency for Relationship Marketing to gather information from organic producers on coexistence and GMO contamination. 1,500 organic farmers in 17 states received surveys that attempted to quantify some of the costs associated with preventative measures taken by farmers to keep GMO presence off their farm and the financial burden of farm-level GMO presence. The vast majority (84 percent) of respondents were concerned about GMO contamination affecting their farm, with 59 percent saying they were extremely concerned. And about one-third of farmers answered that they had experience at least one case of GMO contamination on their farms.