New Genetically Engineered Corn Contains Proteins from Mysterious Sea Creatures

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Syngenta patched together the engineered protein from ones it obtained from three unusual and relatively unknown organisms that live near extremely hot deep sea vents. Scientists have found them to be so extraordinary that they cannot be classified with such well-known organisms as yeast, bacteria, plants or animals, but must be assigned to an entirely new category.

If grown at the scale Syngenta intends, the new corn would certainly contaminate the food supply, according to UCS scientists. As a result, people would wind up consuming these new proteins, which have never been in food and were never intended for human consumption. In fact, except for a small cadre of scientists, human beings have never encountered them. Without this history of human exposure, scientists are uncertain if these new proteins will produce allergic reactions.

UCS Recommendations

In comments to the USDA, UCS urged them to ban the outdoor production of the ethanol corn and any other food crop genetically engineered to produce pharmaceutical or industrial substances. Absent a ban, UCS urged the agency not to move ahead with a decision regarding Syngenta's product until newly appointed officials are in place and have had an opportunity to review the ethanol corn request and broader biotechnology regulations.

Trade groups and companies involved in milling, refining, and exporting corn, including the Corn Refiners Association, National Grain and Feed Association, North American Export Grain Association, and North American Millers' Association, also opposed USDA approval of this engineered corn, citing concerns that its engineered protein could damage food products such as breakfast cereals and snack foods, as well as disrupt exports of such products.

UCS also urged the USDA to delay a decision because, according to UCS' analysis, the agency's decision-making process on the ethanol corn did not comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To meet NEPA requirements, UCS urged the USDA to revise its draft environmental assessment, or prepare an environmental impact statement that details the major environmental impacts that widespread cultivation of the new corn may cause. UCS found that the agency's initial assessment failed to comply with NEPA in three respects. First, it did not allay concerns that the industrial corn's new protein may cause allergies in people. Second, the assessment did not consider the potential economic effects of commercial production of the ethanol corn, including impacts on exporters and growers if the corn were to contaminate shipments to countries that have not approved it. Third, the USDA only partially addressed alternatives to Syngenta's corn, ignoring other products that may offer significant advantages over the industrial crop.

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