Thomas Mott Osborne: “obviously, biotech is really important to the Midwest. Roughly 55 percent of the corn grown in Nebraska and a high…”

“obviously, biotech is really important to the Midwest. Roughly 55 percent of the corn grown in Nebraska and a high percentage of the beans grown in Nebraska are biotech, and roughly $300 million in corn exports is being blocked by the current boycott. As has been mentioned by several speakers previously, this boycott is not about safety. It is a tariff, and it is a thinly disguised tariff. The European Union did the same thing in blocking our beef that was fed hormones. The WTO stepped in and said, look, that is nonsense. This is against WTO rules, so it is something that has precedent. So the European Union has simply said, well, we will go ahead and pay the fine; it saves us the money. We will pay $116 million a year in blocking your beef, and that is essentially what this tariff is doing as well. Already, people have mentioned several times about the fact that starving people, particularly people in Africa, have had their products blocked; and this is, I think, unconscionable. Lastly, let me just say in regard to the reduction of pesticides, water use, fertilizer, these are certainly good for the environment. And we hear people all around the country decrying biotech; and yet Brazil, when we were down there a year ago, said they really did not believe in biotech, and yet they are raising 1 million acres of soybeans. So they obviously know it is safe. So usually these are simply tariff barriers. I certainly applaud the resolution, and I urge support of it.”