StarLink - Government Report on Biotech Corn Disputed by Some Who Got Sick
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Government Report on Biotech Corn Disputed by Some Who Got Sick By Brett Chase
Chicago, June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Seven-year-old Paul Bell of Edisto Beach, South Carolina, got so sick that he lost about 14 percent of his body weight in five days. Wallace Wasson, a 39- year-old Chicago paralegal, broke out in hives that caused scars.
Both Bell's family and Wasson claim in a federal lawsuit that they had allergic reactions in September after eating taco shells contaminated with a genetically engineered corn called StarLink, developed by France's Aventis SA.
While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Wednesday that the evidence it reviewed doesn’t support such claims, Bell and Wasson say Aventis is liable for their illnesses. And biotechnology companies have been forced to rethink the way they sell, monitor and seek regulatory approval for such crops.
``No one is really certain about the long-term effects,'' said Chicago lawyer Clint Krislov, who is representing the Bell family and Wasson. ``Aventis says it knows this is not an allergen. The only people that have spoken this way in the past are the tobacco companies. They just don't know.''
StarLink, genetically altered to produce its own natural insecticide, wasn't approved for human consumption and was intended only for livestock feed and industrial uses such as ethanol production. Traces of the corn got into the taco shells and other foods, leading to a recall of more than 300 products in the U.S. and lawsuits by Krislov's clients and others.
``Somebody screwed up or didn't do something they were supposed to do to keep this out of the food supply,'' said Krislov, who is seeking class-action status for his lawsuits.
EPA Decision The Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the corn because of its pesticide properties, will reconvene a panel of experts next month to consider whether StarLink should be ruled safe for human consumption. The CDC report lends credence to Aventis's claim that StarLink should be deemed safe in food if only in trace amounts.
In December, the EPA panel said there was a ``medium likelihood'' that StarLink could cause allergic reactions, though it found a ``low probability'' of reactions at trace amounts.
Genetically modified seeds and technology licenses are projected to generate $3 billion in sales by 2003, mostly for corn and soybeans, the largest U.S. crops. About 63 percent of the U.S. land devoted to soybeans, which are used to make cooking oil and animal feed, and about a quarter of the feed-grade corn acres were planted with bioengineered seeds this year.
Monsanto Co., the largest developer of genetically engineered crops, in November made a series of pledges aimed at avoiding problems Aventis faced with StarLink. St. Louis-based Monsanto said it would never sell crops that could cause allergic reactions.
StarLink was developed by Aventis and sold in seed made by Garst Seed Co. of Slater, Iowa. The strain mingled with regular corn at mills and became part of products made by Mexico's Gruma SA and Northfield, Illinois-based Kraft Foods Inc.
Breach of Warranty Krislov said the CDC findings don't weaken the basic legal argument in his two consumer lawsuits and eight others filed in Illinois, Texas and Alabama, which claim the companies are liable for ``breach of warranty'' for selling food not approved for human consumption.
In addition to the consumer lawsuits, farmers in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota have sued Aventis, alleging the company is responsible for the lost value of their corn crops. In all, the companies could face millions of dollars in liability if the consumer and farmer lawsuits are successful.
Aventis declined to comment for this story. After receiving 51 complaints last year from consumers who said they got sick after eating products containing StarLink, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the CDC tested blood samples of 17 people to determine if they suffered allergic reactions and if StarLink could have been the cause.
The CDC concluded those people didn't have allergic reactions and turned its findings over to the EPA.
One of the people tested, Keith Finger of Palm Bay, Florida, said the CDC's conclusion is wrong. Finger is suing Aventis, Garst Seed and closely held Azteca Foods Inc. of Chicago, which made tortillas that Finger said made him ill. Krislov is Finger's lawyer in the case.
Hives in Throat "This was an exercise by the government to whitewash and approve something that is not good for us,'' said Finger, a 57- year-old optometrist who said he had hives in his throat so serious that he couldn't breathe after eating the tortillas.
Finger said he supports the idea of biotechnology to make food abundant and reduce the need for pesticides. Regulators and manufacturers haven't paid enough attention to consumers, though, he said.
``What are we to a multibillion-dollar industry?'' Finger said.
Finger said he remains convinced that StarLink corn caused his allergic reactions, and he plans to eat the corn at next month's EPA hearing to show it makes him sick. He wants regulators to eat StarLink themselves to prove they have no reservations about its safety.
The CDC insisted its tests are reliable. Carol Rubin, an epidemiologist, said it's ``highly unlikely'' people were sickened by StarLink based on those blood tests, which looked for antibodies to the StarLink protein that doctors thought might cause an allergic reaction. No antibodies were found, she said.
The agency doesn't dispute that the people had allergic reactions; they just weren't allergic to StarLink, Rubin said.
Consumers Ignore Debate While the StarLink episode received wide attention, U.S. consumers have largely ignored the debate over engineered foods, said Thomas Hoban, a professor of sociology at North Carolina State University who conducts and monitors opinion polls.
European and Japanese consumers have been much more skeptical of the technology, and some varieties of genetically engineered crops, including StarLink, are banned overseas.
Genetically engineered crops have been planted in the U.S. for only six years. StarLink, which includes a gene that creates a substance toxic to corn borers, was harvested in the past three years.
Aventis stopped selling the corn last year and bought the 2000 StarLink crop from farmers. Trace amounts of the corn have showed up in other seed. That's led Aventis to seek a ruling allowing small amounts of the suspect protein into human food, which would prevent further recalls.
Even if Aventis is vindicated, the past year's events have shown the difficulty in regulating genetically altered foods.
``If you produce bulk chemicals, you're occasionally going to have a spill; there's no question in my mind that there will be an accident with biotechnology,'' said Lawrence Busch, a professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards at Michigan State University. ``The thing StarLink has done is sensitize regulatory agencies that this is a massively complex issue.''REALITY CHECK:
"The Five 'D's" of corporations:
Deny [harm], Delay [solutions], Divide [opposition], Dupe [the public] and then Dump [the product]
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