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Biotechnology

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Farmers' Guide to GMOs
(Second Edition, February 2009)

This guide is a tool to assist farmers in understanding the complex framework of laws surrounding the planting of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The guide explains farmers’ legal obligations under GMO contracts and the very real possibility that farmers may be held legally liable to pay tens of thousands of dollars to biotech companies for violations of those contracts or to neighboring farmers whose fields become contaminated with GMOs. It also highlights the devastating impact GMO contamination has had on some agricultural markets and the lawsuits surrounding those events. Due to the significant risks posed by planting GMOs, the guide provides some suggestions on how farmers may protect themselves from GMO contamination risks.

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If Your Farm Is Organic, Must It Be GMO-Free?
Organic Farmers, Genetically Modified Organisms, and the Law
(September 2007)

Most organic farmers are aware that they may not plant genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or seeds developed through genetic engineering, if they wish to market their crops as organic. Yet many organic farmers have questions about their legal rights and responsibilities with respect to the unintended presence of GMOs. These questions relate to two basic interests of organic farmers: maintaining their organic certification and meeting the requirements of their buyers.

This article examines requirements to avoid the use of genetic engineering that affect crop and livestock farmers who are certified organic, or who wish to become certified organic. The article also briefly addresses handling requirements as they apply to organic farmers. The article is concerned primarily with issues related to organic certification, but it concludes with a brief discussion of the ways in which sales contracts may impose responsibilities upon farmers that differ from the requirements for organic certification.

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