Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Organic and non-GE potatoes are considered at low-risk from genetically engineered (GE) potatoes. Since potatoes are propagated vegetatively (from tubers) there is no risk of pollen-caused GE contamination for potatoes grown as seed or tablestock. The highest risk for GE contamination of potatoes is inadvertent […]
Read more →
Cotton (Gossypium spp) Cotton has a relatively low risk of gene flow via pollen in comparison to other GE crops on the market. However low the perceived risk, cotton contamination is still real. In Texas, where over 90% of cotton grown is genetically engineered, most organic cotton farmers acknowledge the […]
Read more →
Papaya (Carica papaya) GE contamination of papaya is classified as either air contamination or seed contamination. Papaya flesh always has the same genetic make-up as the seed of the tree that it came from. Trees grown from GE seeds will have GE leaves and fruit flesh, and at least 75% […]
Read more →
Soybean (Glycine max) Soybeans have the distinction of being the first GE crop deregulated in the US in 1994. Just twelve years later, in 2006, 95% of the U.S. soybean acreage had been converted to GE. Soybean is considered a low-risk candidate for GE contamination due to its nature […]
Read more →
Sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris) Sugarbeets engineered to resist glyphosate were first deregulated in the U.S. in 1998. Market hesitancy, however, stalled the adoption by commercial producers until nearly a decade later. In the U.S., most of the sugarbeet seed production is controlled by a handful of agribusiness corporations and is focused […]
Read more →
Canola (Brassica napus; B. rapa) Canola is a high-risk crop in terms of contamination from GMOs. Its basic biology along with its ability to persist outside of cultivation in disturbed habitats (like field edges and roadsides) presents multiple avenues of potential contamination. And contamination poses threat beyond canola seed […]
Read more →
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) In 2005 alfalfa became the first perennial GE crop to attain approved status in the U.S. Within a year of GE alfalfa’s initial commercial release, contamination had occurred in the commercial sector. The Roundup Ready™ trait was identified in conventional non-GE plantings of alfalfa in Montana, Wyoming, […]
Read more →
Corn (Zea mays) Ninety percent of all corn grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered. This fact, coupled with corn’s outcrossing nature, equals significant risk of GE contamination for organic corn growers. Of course, the individual degree of risk differs based on various factors: the region in which the organic […]
Read more →
