Recently, the Bangor Daily News introduced an idea to Mainers that has become all too common around the world – biotech contamination, biotech pollution or genetic trespass. We’ve all heard of contamination by toxic chemicals, but this new phenomenon may be even more threatening. This is pollution that reproduces and spreads.

Genetically engineered (GE) canola is now being grown in Aroostook County. Other farmers growing canola in the County can no longer be sure that their crop is not contaminated by some biotech company’s patented seeds. Ironically, according to the University of Maine research, these genetically modified seeds offer no economic benefit to the farmer.

How will the state, the feds or the company that produced the seeds respond? Will they send in a team in white biohazard suits or compensate farmers for their losses? Representatives of the biotech industry in Maine say we should just get used to this contamination. “Foreign genes in seed lines are nothing unusual,” they claim.

We’re not talking about hybrids here, however. Far from an extension of traditional breeding technologies, genetic engineering extracts genes from one organism such as an animal, plant or virus, and artificially forces them into another completely different organism. These “foreign genes” were never intended to be in a canola plant. Worse yet, this pollution reproduces.

As Professor John Jemison declared last week, “The genie is out of the bottle.” So far we are lucky. The contamination level is relatively low and only about 50 acres of genetically engineered canola have been planted.

This is how it was for farmers in Canada 10 years ago. Now, in parts of Canada, genetically modified canola has become an invasive weed, popping up in fields where it wasn’t planted, isn’t wanted and doesn’t die with the rest of the weeds, since it’s genetically altered to resist herbicides. Instead of making weed control easier, as the companies claim, growing canola became more complicated and more expensive.

Through contaminated seed, cross-pollination, residues in equipment or storage, or any combination of these, genet-ically engineered crops are ap-pearing in unexpected places. Farmers are having to add a second or third herbicide to kill the plants that resist more common herbicides. For organic growers it’s a serious problem. Any contamination of seed stock with genetically engineered crops is prohibited in organic production.

The cultivation of genetically modified canola and other crops could gradually render futile any efforts to keep these new genetic combinations out of traditional or organic harvests. The breeze, the birds and the bees aid cross-pollination. Wind and water move seed from field to field. Seeds get mixed during processing, distribution and planting. These are just a few reasons why biotech contamination is happening and will accelerate if the technology is left unchecked.

While this situation is cause for alarm, it also points to a unique opportunity to promote sustainable economic growth in the County. There is a strong demand for certified GE-free canola overseas and in the domestic natural and organic food industries. It has become extremely difficult to grow GE-free canola in traditional areas such as western Canada. While there is no economic benefit for a farmer growing modified canola, there is now a strong incentive to stay GE-free and sell one’s crops at a premium.

It is time for the Baldacci administration and especially the Maine Department of Agriculture to step up to the plate and protect Maine farmers from genetic contamination. We urge the state to take the political initiative and assist in creating markets where GE-free canola can be sold at a premium, investigating the feasibility of building a processing plant for GE-free canola, and discouraging planting of GE canola where it can pollute farms striving to be GE-free. Farmers must also be legally protected from contamination. Such initiatives would fit squarely with the goals of the newly adopted state food policy.

The contamination of canola seed by biotech pollution is taking away farmers’ right to choose to grow non-GE crops. Farmers in Maine have a right to farm without fear of the economic, environmental and legal risks posed by this uncertain technology.

Robert Fish is an organizer with GE Free Maine.