September 12, 2001 -- For the second year in a row, customers at Birkbank Farms in Hillsburgh, Ontario, can choose between genetically modified (GM) and
conventional varieties of sweet corn and potatoes. Once again, they're choosing GM corn by a margin of at least 3 to 2, says Jeff Wilson, the owner and operator of Birkbank
Farms.

"This year, many of my customers are specifically asking for the Bt sweet corn because they like the idea that the corn is produced without insecticides," Wilson says. "But
more of them are concerned about whether the corn is bi-colored than whether it is genetically engineered, with many asking for the nonexistent peaches-and-cream variety, or
for one color."

Although the farm project offers consumers a choice based on crop production methods, Dr. Douglas Powell, an assistant professor and scientific director
of the Food Safety Network at the University of Guelph cautioned that the voluntary labeling of a whole food like sweet corn is vastly different from
the mandatory labeling of an ingredient in a processed food, especially when the label is designed to alarm rather than inform.

"Mandatory labeling is not about creating choice at all," Dr. Powell says. "It's about targeting products, creating retailer nervousness and customer
fears and ultimately removing choice from the marketplace. It's happened in
many European countries and Australia, where retailers have rushed to remove
genetically modified ingredients from products rather than label. And in
Ontario, major retailers have refused to carry labeled, genetically
engineered sweet corn for fear of controversy."

At the Birkbank Farms market, the sweet corn and potatoes have been harvested
and segregated, and are now available, fully labeled with additional
information on insect-resistant Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops and the insecticides used. Last year, Wilson found
that his customers preferred the Bt sweet corn over the conventional variety
by a margin of 3 to 2. Sales are being tracked again this year and so far the
trend is the same, with 325 dozen of the Bt sweet corn sold compared to 230
dozen of the conventional since sales began on August 24, 2001.

Last year, Wilson
found it too difficult to track sales of 10-pound bags of potatoes because
potatoes are sorted primarily by size, and will not track sales this year.
According to Wilson, the genetically modified Bt sweet corn and potatoes
he started using last year have provided an effective pest management option
that allowed him to reduce insecticide use while producing the high quality
vegetables his customers demand.

"This was a challenging summer for managing pests," Wilson says. "The three
straight weeks of 30-degree Celsius weather reduced my options for controlling the
worms on the sweet corn. The Bt crops allowed me to focus more time on
irrigation rather than spraying and the message I got from my customers last
year - and again this year - was that they like the fact the Bt crops
reduce sprays."

This year, Wilson once again found that the Bt sweet corn required no
insecticides and the Bt potatoes provided effective management of the
Colorado potato beetle, the number-one pest of Ontario potatoes. The
conventional corn was sprayed twice with insecticides and the potatoes were
sprayed with an insecticide called Admire. All of the products used have
been approved for safety by Canadian regulators and were used according to
recommended guidelines to
ensure safety.

Background documents, last year's results, weekly updates on
the crops' development, and consumer buying patterns, can be found University of Guelph
Web site. A 10-minute video chronicling the production of Bt sweet corn this year from planting to consumption is available href="http://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/safefood/gmo/btcorn.mov">here (QuickTime format). See this href="http://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/safefood/gmo/backgrounderbt.htm
">Web site for a backgrounder on Bt sweet corn.