"We first discovered the unintended presence of the Roundup Ready gene in our conventional alfalfa seed in 2005," says the letter. "It was identified in one of our foundation seed production lots grown in California. We tested the foundation seed lot prior to shipping it to a producer who intended to plant it for organic seed production.
The letter goes on to explain that several other foundation seed lot samples in both California and Washington State also tested positive for the GM alfalfa trait CP4EPSPS. And because at least one of those tested samples was from seeds produced in 2003, it is clear that Monsanto's GM alfalfa had been planted and spreading its toxic traits long before the USDA gave it the green light to do so.
Monsanto's GM alfalfa is the first perennial GMO to be deregulated in the U.S. Unlike annual crops, perennial crops like alfalfa continue to grow year after year, and are highly pervasive throughout the environment. Because of this, GM alfalfa will eventually contaminate the entire food chain, if it has not already.
The organic food supply is also at serious risk, as alfalfa is a common feed crop for organic cows and other livestock. If GM alfalfa traits spread, as was already occurring nearly a decade ago, then organic meat, milk and other animal-based products will become widely contaminated with GM traits.