October 1, 1999
No Scientific Basis for Segregating Biotech from Conventional Soybeans
America's soybean farmers are confident that crops and products enhanced by agricultural biotechnology are safe to grow and safe to eat. Regulatory agencies, including the FDA, EPA and USDA, have declared these crops safe after completing rigorous reviews of scientific testing.
The Roundup Ready( soybean has undergone more extensive safety and compositional testing than any crop in history. More than 1,800 scientific evaluations in the United States have come to the same conclusion: soybeans produced through agricultural biotechnology are safe for consumers and for the environment.
Roundup Ready soybeans are approved for export in all major markets. They are just as nutritious and safe as any other commercially available variety.
ASA anticipates 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.
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.
| SELLER BEWARE If the first purchaser asks you to promise that the crop is non-genetically engineered, you should be careful in what you sign or even what oral comments are given. Here's what you can realistically do:
Here's what you should be careful not to do-
Reprinted with permission Doane's Agricultural Report 09/09/99. |
The following Certification documents are based on documents proposed by the Office of the Iowa Attorney General and Iowa State University.
| OPTIONS: View and print Adobe PDF document file (Acrobat Reader software required.) View and print Microsoft Word DOC file (MS Word 97 software required.) |
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UNIFORM CERTIFICATION OF SOYBEANS* (PART 1 OF 2 PARTS: PRE-DELIVERY PORTION OF CERTIFICATION)
I, _______________________________, residing at
_____________________________
_________________, have delivered soybeans in the amount of ________ bushels.
The delivery(ies) are represented by scale ticket numbers and sample numbers which will be specifically identified after delivery is completed in the "Post-Delivery" portion of this Certification. With regard to the above-referenced grain, by placing my initials in the corresponding blank hereby certify and affirm the following:
______ c. ____________________ _____________________
______ 2. I used ordinary care to clean my harvesting
equipment prior to ______ 3. I used ordinary care to clean my on-farm
facilities prior to ______ 4. I used ordinary care to clean the
transportation delivery vehicles ______ 5. (Other)___________________________________________________________
No other warranties, express or implied, including implied warranties of fitness and implied warranties of merchantability, are made as to the commodity in question with respect to the commodity's nature, genetic composition, fitness for a particular purpose or use or otherwise.
____________________________________
___________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
_____________________________ *As proposed by the Office of the Iowa Attorney General and Iowa State University
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UNIFORM CERTIFICATION OF
SOYBEANS* (PART 2 OF 2 PARTS: POST-DELIVERY PORTION OF CERTIFICATION)
The delivery(ies) made pursuant to this Certification are evidenced by scale ticket number(s) _____________________________________,and
sample number(s) ______________________________________
___________________________________
___________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________
_____________________________
*As proposed by the Office of the Iowa Attorney General and Iowa State University |