ONLY ONE BIOTECH BEAN: Only one biotech soybean was commercially grown in 1999. More than half of the soybean seedstock planted in the United States this year contained the Roundup Ready® gene event that makes the plant resistant to glyphosate herbicides. The soybeans grown from this seedstock have been approved for planting in the U.S., are approved for domestic consumption, and have been approved for importation into all major international markets by government regulators in those foreign countries.

ASA SUPPORTS BIOTECHNOLOGY: America’s soybean farmers are confident in the regulatory review process that has determined crops and products enhanced by agricultural biotechnology are safe to grow and safe to eat. ASA is a strong supporter of biotechnology because ASA’s farmer-leaders believe that biotechnology is a tool for producing safer, more nutritious food more efficiently and more abundantly. Agriculture biotechnology benefits not only producers, but also consumers and the world's environment. Regulatory agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), have declared these crops safe after completing rigorous reviews of scientific testing. Soybeans grown from Roundup Ready seedstock are the same in composition, nutritional profile and safety (including allergenic potential) as any other commercially available variety.

FARMERS EMBRACE BIOTECHNOLOGY: Agriculture biotechnology has been embraced by farmers because it offers the potential to reduce input costs and provides increased production flexibility in conservation tillage practices. Work also is under way to produce soybeans with output traits that will directly benefit consumers. U.S. soybean producers have swiftly adopted the planting of biotech soybean seedstock. In the United States, where 70 million acres of soybeans were planted in 1997, the use of Roundup Ready seedstock increased from zero in 1995 to 1 million acres in 1996; then it grew to 10 million acres in 1997; 20 million acres in 1998; and an estimated 40 million acres in 1999. Soybean farmers also recognize the need for consumer understanding and acceptance of agriculture biotechnology, and ASA continues to advocate open communication among consumers, producers, researchers, industry leaders and the regulatory community.

DELIVERING NON-BIOTECH CROPS: Announcements by some U.S. processors and exporters encouraging suppliers to segregate non-biotech crops is consistent with ASA’s expectations that there will be specialty markets this fall, and in the future, for soybeans grown from non-biotech seedstock. Some consumers desire food products that do not contain ingredients derived from biotech crops, and ASA supports the marketing of Identity Preserved (IP) soybeans to meet that demand. Premiums will be needed to source and deliver non-biotech crops to customers, just as premiums are needed to source and identity preserve organically grown crops. The size of premiums paid for IP crops will be market-driven, and influenced by the tolerance levels allowed for the unintentional commingling of biotech with non-biotech varieties that may occur in agricultural production, processing, and transportation chains.

SELLER BEWARE: ASA advises soybean growers to closely calculate the additional costs, as well as any potential liabilities, they may incur in certifying the delivering of non-biotech varieties. Knowing these additional costs and any potential liabilities is an important factor to be used by individual growers as they evaluate the adequacy of marketplace premiums. If the first purchaser asks for a promise that the crop is non-genetically engineered, growers should be careful in what they sign or say about the crop. For each delivery, a grower can realistically state only that the soybeans delivered in a particular load were grown from seedstock that the seed company represented as non-genetically engineered and that the grower has taken care in avoiding commingling in bins, augers, dryers and in the combine.

NON-BIOTECH DEMAND CURRENTLY SMALL: ASA, through its network of soybean checkoff and FAS funded international marketing offices is working with foreign buyers to determine their needs. Japan, the largest single country customer for U.S. soybeans, has historically purchased about 300,000 metric tons (11 million bushels) of IP food-grade beans annually. This year, out of Japan’s total U.S. soybean purchases of 4 million metric tons (147 million bushels), ASA estimates that Japan will purchase about 700,000 metric tons (25.7 million bushels) of additional IP beans for the tofu market. Japanese buyers are now in the process of contracting with U.S. soybean producers to deliver the IP, non-biotech soybeans they need. So far, EU customers have been slow to commit to the specific quantities of non-biotech soybeans they intend to purchase, and slow to indicate whether they will pay the premiums needed to generate a supply of non-biotech soybeans. In the U.S., the number of customers requesting non-biotech soybeans is limited.

IDENTITY PRESERVATION AT A PREMIUM: Some specialty varieties are kept separate and sold to food manufacturers who prefer not to use the commodity crop. These specialty crops are generally more costly and are used to produce premium-priced food items. Identity Preservation (IP) is a process by which a crop is grown, handled, delivered and processed under controlled conditions. This assures the customer that the crop has maintained its unique identity from farmgate to end-use. IP crops are usually grown under a contract that is negotiated prior to harvest.

SCIENCE-BASED LABELING: ASA agrees with the Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines on labeling for food biotechnology. These guidelines require special labeling only if the crops derived from agricultural biotechnology differ in composition, nutritional profile, safety, or allergenicity. ASA agrees with the FDA’s approach because it is based on sound science and good public health practices. Thanks to these science-based labeling and regulatory practices, American consumers enjoy the safest food supply in the world. ASA does support guidelines for the voluntary labeling of foods that do not contain biotech ingredients, as long as the manufacturer’s claim is accurate and verifiable.

VARIETIES NOT APPROVED FOR EXPORT MUST NOT BE COMMERCIALIZED: ASA's leadership in keeping out of export channels varieties of biotechnology-derived soybeans that haven’t been approved for export to key foreign markets is a huge win for soybean farmers because it directly affects their profitability. ASA worked closely with AgrEvo and lauded AgrEvo’s eventual decision not to commercialize Liberty Link® Soybeans because these soybeans, while approved for production in the United States, have not been approved for importation into any foreign markets. If unapproved Liberty Link Soybeans were commingled, U.S. soybean farmers could have lost their largest export markets. At stake is over $2.5 billion in soy sales to the EU, and over $1 billion to Japan. New varieties of biotechnology-derived soybeans must be kept out of export channels until approvals for importation are obtained in major export markets.

STRONG TRADE RULES NEEDED: Strengthened rules governing biotech trade must be included in the next WTO round in order to ensure science-based regulatory reviews and trade rules. Rules providing for efficient, science-based regulatory reviews of new biotech varieties must be part of the next WTO agreement. Additionally, existing WTO rules should be clarified in order to prevent countries from impeding trade of biotech commodities for reasons that are not science-based. ASA leaders will participate as advisors to the U.S. Trade Representative in the WTO discussions schedule for late November and early December in Seattle, Wash.

SEED SUPPLY ADEQUATE FOR 2000: At the present time, ASA does not anticipate that there will be any significant shortage of soybean seedstock for either biotech or conventional varieties.

Prepared by the American Soybean Association, October 6, 1999.