July 22, 2016
Simplot
plans
GMO-only
seed potato
farms
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
PARK CITY, Utah —
Simplot Plant Sciences of-
ficials say their company
intends to eventually award
contracts for propagating
its Innate line of biotech
potato seed exclusively to
farmers willing to forgo
raising conventional spuds.
The planned move is
among a host of precautions
intended to aid in identi-
ty preservation of Innate,
said Erik Gonring, Simplot
Plant Sciences industry af-
fairs manager, while offer-
ing a recent update on the
technology to growers at
the National Potato Coun-
cil’s summer meeting.
As Gonring noted, fail-
ure to keep biotech spuds
segregated from conven-
tional spuds caused market
disruptions several years
ago when Monsanto at-
tempted to commercialize a
biotech potato, called New-
Leaf.
Gonring said Simplot
has strict operating proce-
dures governing each stage
of production — such as
covering truck beds with
tarps and using segregated
storage. He said the compa-
ny has also informed major
processors and dehydra-
tors about tests available
to detect the Innate genet-
ic sequence. Furthermore,
Simplot keeps records indi-
cating where all Innate po-
tatoes are at a given time,
he said.
Gonring said Simplot
has applied for approval of
Innate in the top 10 foreign
spud markets and hopes to
get approval from Japan
later this year.
In the meantime, Japan
has announced plans to be-
gin testing a small percent-
age of potato shipments for
the presence of a biotech
trait.
The Washington Potato
Commission’s
executive
director, Chris Voigt, said
growers in his state are most
concerned about the poten-
tial for volunteer Innate
spuds to spread. Gonring
said Simplot has language
in its agreement requir-
ing commercial growers to
avoid planting convention-
al spuds in a field after an
Innate season and requiring
volunteer monitoring for
several years. The first gen-
eration of Innate was ap-
proved Nov. 10, 2015, with
sales targeting the chip and
fresh-cut potato markets.
Genes from other pota-
toes were added to prevent
the spuds from browning
when cut, reduce bruising
and lower levels of a po-
tentially harmful chemi-
cal formed in certain fried
foods, called acrylamide.
“We’re part of this new
and emerging trend of
crops in the biotech market
that have traits focused on
benefiting the consumer,”
Gonring said.
He said 6,500 acres
of first-generation Innate
spuds were planted this
season, and the company’s
studies show a 15 percent
increase in usable spuds
when Innate is packed.
By December, the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agen-
cy is expected to deregulate
second-generation Innate
Russet Burbanks, which
will include the original
traits plus enhanced cold
storage and late blight re-
sistance.
Simplot Plant Scienc-
es spokesman Doug Cole
said Simplot is raising 200
acres of second-generation
Innate this season for seed
propagation.
Cole said the sec-
ond-generation improve-
ments will be revolutionary
for the chipping industry,
making it possible to store
popular chip varieties for
up to nine months. Current-
ly, most chip varieties must
be processed shortly after
harvest.
CapitalPress.com
7
GMO spud sponsors
Boise Olympic cyclist
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
PARK CITY, Utah —
Boise cyclist Kristin Arm-
strong will head to the
Summer Games in Rio de
Janeiro with the apparent
distinction of being the first
athlete ever sponsored by a
crop bred using biotechnol-
ogy.
Armstrong will be 43
when she pursues her third
Olympic gold medal, com-
peting in the individual
women’s time trial.
She’ll also be raising
awareness about the nutri-
tional value of potatoes —
and Simplot Plant Sciences’
Innate line of genetically
modified Russet Burbanks
and Ranger Russets in par-
ticular.
Marketed under the
White Russet label, the first
generation of Innate russets
contains traits introduced
from other potatoes to keep
them from browning after
cutting, reduce bruising and
reduce the formation of a
potentially unhealthy chem-
ical, called acrylamide,
found in certain fried foods.
The second generation of
Innate, which awaits ap-
proval by the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency,
will include the original
traits, plus enhanced cold
storage and strong resis-
tance to the destructive late
blight pathogen.
“I’ve known folks at
Simplot for a long time, and
since potatoes are an excel-
lent source of energy and
nutrition, the partnership
makes sense, especially
because White Russet po-
tatoes have health and sus-
tainability benefits,” Arm-
strong told Capital Press
via email. “There’s noth-
ing in these potatoes but
potato.”
Armstrong, who works
promoting healthy lifestyles
with St. Luke’s Boise Med-
ical Center, typically eats
potatoes with her meals be-
fore racing, believing they
give her a lift.
“Potatoes give me just
the right combination of nu-
trients and energy, as well
as potassium for leg recov-
ery when I need it,” Arm-
strong said.
When she’s not compet-
ing, Simplot spokesman
Doug Cole said, Armstrong
will pose for photos in a
White Russet jersey, and
she’ll assist Simplot with
a social media presence.
Cole said the sponsorship
contract with Armstrong
will expire some time next
year, and the company will
re-evaluate it then.
“She’ll be talking about
how she uses potatoes in
her training diet, and as an
athlete and a mom, how
a higher quality potato
makes a lot of sense,” Cole
said.
Armstrong will train in
Texas to acclimate to higher
humidity prior to racing in
Rio.
“I couldn’t be proud-
er to have the opportuni-
ty to once again represent
my country in the Olympic
games,” Armstrong said. “I
am obviously excited to be
on the team, and I am to-
tally focused on my train-
ing so that I can win an-
other gold medal for Team
USA.”
Courtesy of Simplot Plant Sciences
Olympic cyclist Kristin Armstrong, of Boise, sports a White Russet
jersey at the Twilight Criterium race in Boise on July 16. Armstrong
has been sponsored by Simplot’s Innate Russet Burbank, which
was bred with biotechnology.
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