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As the new home of ConnPIRG's environmental work, Environment Connecticut can be contacted regarding this report. 

More than 47,000 field tests of genetically engineered crops were authorized by the Department of Agriculture between 1987 and 2004 despite serious environmental threats and inadequate regulations in place to monitor their impacts, according to a new report released today by ConnPIRG. 230 of these tests were conducted in Connecticut.

Although USDA has yet to amend its regulations after being excoriated by the National Academy of Sciences for inadequate expertise, PIRG’s analysis reveals a large increase in crops engineered to produce pharmaceutical and industrial chemicals as well as large numbers of experiments of crops never tested before.

- The report, Raising Risk: Field Testing of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S., highlights potential risks associated with the release of genetically engineered plants. The results of large scale field trials conducted over many years were just published in the March 2005 Proceedings of the Royal Society demonstrating adverse effects on wildlife, but experiments conducted in the United States continue to be piecemeal and short term. Scientists have criticized research in this country as deliberately designed to hide any harm.

“Our environment is being used as a laboratory for widespread experimentation on genetically engineered organisms with profound risks that, once released, can never be recalled,” said ConnPIRG Field Organizer Hugh Williams. “Until proper safeguards are in place, this unchecked experiment should stop.”

Findings of the new ConnPIRG report include:

- As of January 2005, the fourteen states and territories that have hosted the greatest number of field test sites are: Hawaii (5,413), Illinois (5,092), Iowa (4,659), Puerto Rico (3,483), California (1,964), Nebraska (1,960), Pennsylvania (1,707), Minnesota (1,701), Texas (1,494), Indiana (1,489), Idaho (1,272), Wisconsin (1,246), Georgia (1,051), and Mississippi (1,008).

- Since 1991, USDA has received 240 requests for 418 field releases of crops engineered to produce pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, or other so-called biopharmaceuticals; the number of requested field releases of “biopharm” crops increased from 22 in 2003 to 55 in 2004.

- Nearly 70 percent of all field tests conducted in the last year now contain secret genes classified as “Confidential Business Information,” which means that the public has no access to information about experiments being conducted in their communities.

- The ten crops authorized for the greatest number of field releases are corn, soybean, cotton, potato, tomato, wheat, creeping bentgrass, alfalfa, beet, and rice.

- USDA authorized field tests on several crops for the first time in 2003 and 2004, including American chestnut, American elm, avocado, banana, eucalyptus, marigold, safflower, sorghum, and sugarbeet.

-These experimental genetically engineered crops are grown in the open environment to test the outcome and environmental impact of certain gene combinations. The groups charged that field-testing genetically engineered crops in such a widespread way poses serious threats to the environment and neighboring farmers.

“Any new technology must be tested, but there are important scientific issues that must be addressed before genetically engineered foods can be released into the environment even in the context of testing,” said Williams. “To conduct field tests before this has been done is both premature and hazardous. It’s like carrying out clinical trials of a drug before the laboratory tests are complete.”

A major goal of the field tests is to obtain information about potential ecological risks associated with genetically engineered organisms. However, independent reviews of the data collected by the Department of Agriculture demonstrate that very little information has been gathered. As a result, despite the large number of field experiments that have occurred, fundamental questions about their impact remain unanswered, including long-term impacts on the soil and nontarget species.

“The evidence continues to mount that the U.S. regulatory system is based on the principle of ‘don’t look, don’t find,’” said Williams. “Conducting field tests that are poorly designed is taking large risks without any benefits.”

ConnPIRG called for a moratorium on genetically engineered foods unless:

-Independent testing demonstrates safety,

-Labeling for any products commercialized honors consumers’ right to know, and

-The biotechnology corporations are held accountable for any harm resulting from the products.

For over 30 years, ConnPIRG has advocated on the public's behalf on issues concerning environmental protection, consumer rights, and the democratic process.