Dow
Statement for the Annual Meeting, May 10, 2007
Topic: Genetically Engineered Seed

Presented by: Margaret Weber,
Adrian Dominicans

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Board, Senior Management, Shareholders:

Ten institutional shareholders, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, have re-submitted the proposal Report on the Impacts of Genetically Engineered Seed.

Genetically engineered seed is of international and national concern.

Do you know that a :
--FAO Expert Consultation on "Genetically Modified Organisms in Crop Production and their effects on the Environment: Methodologies for Monitoring and the way ahead" concluded: "We consider that the establishment of monitoring systems is a matter of urgency."
--THERE IS NOT SUCH MONITORING SYSTEM IN PLACE

In the European Union, reports of illegal GM corn in U.S. shipment earlier this month contained unauthorized types of genetically engineered maize - Herculex(R) RW 59122, resistant to rootworm pests…a Dow product….

In the EU, a genetically engineered corn known as 1507/NK603, developed to resist certain field pests like the European corn borer, and also the herbicides glufosinate and glyphosate, made by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, and Dow AgroSciences unit Mycogen Seeds, has been secured approval…

In the US:
A Federal judge last week made a final ruling that USDA's 2005 approval of an herbicide tolerant genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa was illegal. The Judge called on USDA to ban any further planting of the GE seed until it conducts a complete Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the GE crop. What is the effect of this ruling on Dow's Roundup Ready Alfalfa??

Scientific reports
--February 2007 a report in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety indicates that DNA from Bt corn and Bt were persistent in aquatic environments and were detected in rivers draining farming areas. Has Dow considered potential impact of its Bt seeds in aquatic systems?

--A recent review of scientific literature, Transformation-induced mutations in transgenic plants: Analysis and Biosafety implications, concludes that ….. there are currently no standardized species-specific guidelines to help regulators determine which differences [between commercial transgenic cultivars and control plants] are potentially harmful and which are not. What does all this mean? It means that foods from genetically engineered seed, while commercialized for over decade, have not been studied for long-term health consequences.

Recent events-the discoveries of E. coli in spinach and salmonella in peanut butter- have shown that the FDA is understaffed and unable to adequately follow through on food safety issues….. is Dow in good stead by trusting the food regulatory agencies?

This proposal asks for a step for Dow toward fully transparency and accountability for the effects of its genetically engineered seed wherever it is utilized.

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