Agricultural News
Oklahoma Agricultural Cooperative Council Joins Others Against Castor Bean Production
Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:11:00 CDT
The Oklahoma Agricultural Cooperative Council is seeking a ban on commercial castor bean production containing the deadly toxin ricin.
The protein ricin is found naturally in castor beans and is deadly to humans and animals if ingested or inhaled in a small amount.
The commercial production of castor beans in Oklahoma increases the chances of castor bean contamination in grain elevators and on Oklahoma Farms. This contamination could endanger the lives and well-being of employees at these facilities as well as the financial integrity and stability of agricultural cooperatives and grain facilities in Oklahoma.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ricin can be deadly if ingested or inhaled. Once the ricin is in the bloodstream it works in the cells preventing them from creating protein causing the cells to die. Death from ricin poisoning could take place within 36 to 72 hours depending on the route of exposure and the dose received. No antidote exists for ricin poisoning.
Even a limited amount of castor bean production in Oklahoma could lead to the contamination of facilities statewide. Contamination could come from using harvest and trucking equipment for harvesting castor beans and other grains grown in Oklahoma.
Commercial castor bean production brings the risk of potential death as well as contamination of countless Oklahoma facilities and could provide such a substantial economic loss to grain cooperatives throughout the state. This is a risk not worth taking and a risk the Oklahoma Agricultural Cooperative Council believes could be prevented with a ban on the commercial production and transportation of castor beans.
The Oklahoma Agricultural Cooperative Council is a trade association representing the interest of local agricultural cooperatives and regional agricultural cooperatives that provide services to farmers and ranchers throughout Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.
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