Thomas P. Redick

Global Environmental Ethics Counsel, LLC

www.geeclaw.com

Emerging Sustainability Standards

Illinois Soybean Association

July 24, 2012Chicago IL

ANSI Leonardo/SCS standards tilt to organic model.

The Sustainability Consortium – Univ of Arkansas based, seeking input from producersMajor food and ag companies paying $50,000 to play Now seeking more grower input without paying $10,000?

NRDC Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops:Technology neutral, but very few biotech crops in specialty

(squash, sweet corn in small amounts – apples on way?)Grower participation/data quality a barriers - “value

proposition” needed to get growers to fill out forms, discloseNew round of funding from UDSA $761k, 10/2011-9/2013

National Initiative on Sustainable Agriculture (NISA)

Ag Sustainability Standards -- USA

“Keystone Field to Market” for commodities in pilotsBunge N. America -- NebraskaSyngenta – Mississippi Basin

WWF Sustainability standards are all “Roundtables”, e.g.:Industry, NGOs, Retailers, Producers – balancedCrop-specific – otherwise too complex

Healthy Grown Potato (Wisconsin) – shelf space?RT Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)

UK Green marketing law invalidated it RT Responsible Soy – first sale to Unilever 2011

EU RED recognizes it for certifying producers

Ag Sustainability Standards – WWF

Jason Clay “freeze the footprint of food” via top food companies cutting impacts but double production.Global Harvest Initiative (www.globalharvestinitiative.org) Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (www.saiplatform.org) “21st Century technology allows faster selection.”

Food companies are all cutting energy usage, water, waste and want their supply chain to follow alongUnilever: 100% of agricultural inputs “sustainable” and

reduce footprint via LCA by 50%, but double revenue.Unilever, Nutreco and Rabobank will “bundle” carbonKelloggs commits to 15% reductions – supply chain next to

reap the same “low hanging fruit”

Leveraging the Big Cos to Lead

Wal-Mart environmental goals:100 percent renewable energyReach “zero” wasteSustainable packaging

Wal-Mart “sustainability index” reaches overseas Sustainable seafood requirements drove South

American changes in fisheries practices Chinese small producers signed up to meet index

Do not fall into the 5% that fail to meet the supply specification du jour that takes 5 years to sort out!

Contractual Drivers – Wal-Mart

EU Renewable energy directive – ADM touting compliance

Japan/UK “Voluntary” Carbon contracts on more products

UK Green Marketing Law & US FTC “Green Guides” Liability

Asian soy crushers starting to ask US soy to prove it is sustainable

Overseas Regulatory Drivers

USDA uses voluntary support (WTO “green box”) for environmental measuresCrop insurance? Report annually (erosion etc.)Energy Efficiency audits using ANSI standard (ASABE)Funding innovation in agri-environmental management.House Farm Bill may cut these programs

Environmental Protection Agency role Funding - e.g., Lodi Wine Group grant for integrated pest

mgt on pesticides Clean Water act – Trading credits with factories, dairies etc.

US Regulatory & EPA Drivers

Specialty & CommodityUS has “Keystone Field to Market” for commodities, Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops etc.Sustainability Consortium still figuring out its pathProduction contracts allow tracing to farm

“Precautionary Agriculture” (Organic/EU/UN)Plenty of Food, Poor distribution, African political strifeANSI Leonardo/SCS standards tilt to organic modelRainforest Alliance, EU’s “SAI”, Global GAPUN “Agroecology” & “Livestock’s Long Shadow” don’t

mix --- “natural” nutrients start with emitting animalsOrganic model needs protection from “GMO” mix-in?

The Great Divides

USDA regulatory overhaul segregated RR beets pending final approval.

US Litigation about coexistenceNational Env. Policy Act (NEPA) injunctionsNuisance-Negligence liability under common law

Overseas Regulatory Moves Hitting US Producers: State “nonGMO” zones, at home and abroad

West Coast – CA , OR, WA, BC (Canada)EU cities and Austria etc.

Regulatory coexistence

Area planted worldwide increased by 10%+ each year over last 15 years

Pockets of resistance in the EU and markets that depend on it (Africa)¨NonGM¨ zones pop up in EU, US and Latin

AmericaMore EU nations banning planting of

biotech cornFour California counties votes to go ¨Non

GMO¨

Biotech Benefits, Pockets of Resistance

No Votes on Non-GMO all over2005 snapshot

Brown are Marin, Trinity, Mendocino

Add Santa Cruz ’06 All the rest – No way!

Community standards for nuisance can be statutory

Industry stopped NonGM in production ag counties

VT backed down from its seed purity law and cannot pass bio-liability

No thanks, we like GMOs!

B.t. corn is safer for livestock!

Hey, man, don’t ban

my biotech

marijuana!

Borrowing from “Non-GM” zone movement, standards bar biotech (genetically modified, “GM”)US Green Building Counsel unfortunately may be adopting

anti-GM FSC standard just as biotech trees show up on scene?

Rainforest Alliance sustainable ag standard anti-GMO Tech-neutral WWF RT on Responsible Soybeans (S.America)

Non-GMO grower must maintain buffer in GM areaUnless local law or practice requires segregation of GM

RT Sustainable Biofuels – Technology neutral now. Global GAP – similar requirement to prevent migration. Also

considering whether this should apply in US, Canada, (Arg. too?)

Sustainability Standards & “GM”

Precaution keeps benefits from market for testing hypothesis after hypothesis, using “weight of evidence” analysisReduced agricultural chemicals, mycotoxins, positive

increase in soil etc. are well documented benefit of biotech crops

Organic crops cannot do “no till” conservation tillageOrganic “mycotoxin risk” under-estimated?

B.t. corn reduces in some well-documented studiesLatin American mothers and babies paying for ignorance

Balanced approach applies precaution to organic too.

“Precautionary Approach” applied to all ag?

Most organic crops cannot do “no till” – need biotech crops, herbicides

UK Prof. cites “lower yield” + “limited biodiversity benefit” of organic farming. Not “sustainable” or “best/only agriculture”.

Not enough manure to go around, making organic approaches a niche market – even when governments legislate organic in 25% of farms (e.g., Sweden)

More fuel used to get same yieldTilling weeds uses more tractor passes across a field, and more fuelEnergy use of laborers, more of whom are required,Residue in no-till is a “skin” or solid surface that will support

tractor/ sprayer wheels in wet field – in and out quicker, more reliable yields.

“Halo” effect of B.t. crops benefits nearby organic corn.Organic consumers always an elite minority?

Life Cycle Analysis Standards – Which method wins, and where? Is Organic ag more sustainable?

2007 - California judge stopped Roundup Ready Alfalfa 2009 -- California judge stopped Roundup Ready

Sugar Beets on same basic “protect nonGMO” theory2010 – US Supreme Court rules on RR Alfalfa

No Nationwide Injunctions! USDA must contain “contamination” using partial

approval2011 – USDA approves RR Sugar Beets partial planting

(not in parts of California, Oregon etc. -West Coast seed production).

Bottom Line – middle path through AOSCA and other certifiers of seed purity – coexistence possible, but not cheap.

Litigation Prods USDA on EIS

2008 Farm Bill encouraged specialty crops, funding energy audits etc. and ordered USDA to overhaul biotech regs.

USDA overdue in mandate to revise regs, under pressure to expand authority beyond “plant pests” to regulation “other effects” of “noxious weeds”.

USDA formed AC21 committee to advise it on coexistence (again) which might find common ground.

U.S. industry, courts establish “due care” for commingling at low levels (“LLP” or “AP” ), but EU has “zero tolerance” which complicates exporting

USDA & Coexistence Debate

THANK YOU!

tpr@geeclaw.com