Guest guest Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 " News Update from The Campaign " Four informative articles Wed, 27 Aug 2003 08:29:50 -0500 News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods ---- Dear News Update Subscribers, First, a reminder: You only have a few more days to take advantage of the exceptional 50% OFF sale on Take Action Packets. Order before the end of the August to get 1/2 OFF on our popular, 32-page, full color Take Action Packets: http://www.thecampaign.org/tap.php Posted below are four informative articles. The first is a press release from the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology that discusses the release of their new fact sheet titled " GM Crops in the United States. " According to the new Pew report, there are currently 145 million acres of genetically engineered crops being grown worldwide. 96.3 million of those acres are grown in the United States. In other words, two thirds of all biotech crops in the world are grown in the United States. The second article is titled " GMO fail in Spanish fields. " Spain is the only country in the European Union that is commercially growing any genetically engineered crops. The article discusses a new report put out by Friends of the Earth Europe and Greenpeace titled " The impact of GM corn in Spain. " The report points out that genetically engineered crops are contaminating organic crops, the yields are low and the benefits are grossly overstated. Here is a link to the complete 33-page PDF version of the report: http://www.thecampaign.org/spain0803.pdf The third article from Associated Press is titled " Industry Struggles With Biotech Corn. " This article points out the difficulty corn farmers are having keeping genetically engineered crops from mixing with non-biotech crops. In what we consider to be an understatement, the president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association states: " There needs to be some improvement here to avoid a train wreck. " The fourth article is from the British newspaper The Independent titled " Blair forced to scale back his plan to introduce GM farming. " Several factors are apparently causing British Prime Minister Tony Blair to back down on his strong support of genetically engineered crops. Reports finding a lack of benefits from genetically engineered crops, along with overwhelming public opposition to them, seem to be major factors. And Blair is under significant heat over the war in Iraq. So his ability to push for an unpopular idea such as genetically engineered crops is not good at the present time. (Note: The reference in the article to the " Hutton Inquiry " refers to Lord Hutton who is heading up an inquiry about the apparent suicide of one of Blair's Iraq war advisors, Dr David Kelly.) The global public opposition to genetically engineered crops continues to grow, even as the biotech industry pushes hard to try and open up new international markets. Craig Winters Executive Director The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods The Campaign PO Box 55699 Seattle, WA 98155 Tel: 425-771-4049 Fax: 603-825-5841 E-mail: label Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org Mission Statement: " To create a national grassroots consumer campaign for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered foods in the United States. " *************************************************************** Updated Fact Sheet - GM Crops in the U.S. The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology August 26, 2003 Genetically modified (GM) crops have generated considerable interest in the United States and around the world since their commercial introduction in 1996. To help clarify the extent to which GM crops have been adopted in the United States, the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology has updated its fact sheet on domestic use of GM crops to include the most recent statistics available on 2003 activity. The fact sheet, titled " GM Crops in the United States " was originally published in October 2001. The version released today includes facts and figures on GM crop use in the U.S., shows which GM crops U.S. farmers grow and the states where the most GM crops are planted. Highlights include: * GM crops are planted on more than 145 million acres worldwide. * U.S. Farmers are the largest producers of GM food crops, accounting for over two-thirds of all biotechnology crops planted globally (96.3 million acres). * In 2003, 81% of U.S. soybeans were genetically engineered, covering 59.7 million acres. GM corn accounted for 40% of all corn grown in the U.S, covering 31.6 million acres. GM cotton accounted 73% of all cotton planted in the U.S., covering 10.2 million acres. * According to USDA data, farmers in every state in the continental U.S. planted some GM corn in 2001. * South Dakota was the top adopter of GM corn and soybeans in 2003, with 75% of the corn and 91% of the soybeans planted being GM varieties. * Arkansas is the top adopter of GM cotton in 2003, with 95% of the acres planted being GM varieties. * Outside the U.S., other major producers of GM crops include: Argentina (33.3 million acres), Canada (8.6 million acres) and China (5.2 million acres). * Between 5.5 and 6 million farmers worldwide planted GM crops in 2002, an increase by over 2 million from 2000. The full issue brief is available at: http://pewagbiotech.org/resources/factsheets/crops/ *************************************************************** GMO fail in Spanish fields August 26th 2003 For Mother Earth FAILING IN THE FIELD GM crops in Spain don't deliver promises, but harm farmers and environment A new study published today by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace demonstrates that the growing of GM crops in Spain is causing contamination of organic crops, producing low yields and its benefits are grossly overstated. The report is also highly critical of the Spanish Government for failing to properly control or monitor the situation. Spain is the only country in the European Union where GM crops are grown at a commercial scale: since 1998, an estimated 25,000 hectares are planted each year with a genetically modified corn variety (called Bt176) sold by the Swiss biotech company Syngenta. The corn has been engineered to resist the European Corn Borer, a potentially harmful insect for maize. The cultivation of GM corn in Spain is taking place without any official evaluation (although prescribed by Spanish law). However, there is now information - made available through a few independent studies- that shows that the GM plantings pose serious economic and environmental problems: * A study by IGTA demonstrates that - over the years 1998 to 2000 - in most cases there were no differences between conventional and GM crops when attacked by the corn borer. This indicates that the corn borer survives the toxin produced by the GM plant, which poses a real risk if resistance develops. This can not only create an economic problem to farmers, but also an environmental problem, since heavier and more environmentally damaging pesticides will be needed to fight the " armed " insects. * The first cases of organic crops contaminated by GMOs have been discovered in the northern region of Navarra by the Council of Organic Farming in Navarra (CPAEN, a public organic certifying body). Consequently the organic certificate was withdrawn and farmers suffered losses because their product could not be labelled organic anymore for marketing purposes. * Studies have shown that the yields for the GM crop are substantially lower then comparable conventional varieties. For example, one study reported that in 1999 the GM corn yielded 25% less then the top yielding variety. * The Spanish Governments own Working Group on Pesticides reported in 2002 that corn borer incidence in Spain is " low " and " does not justify the use of these GM varieties " . In contrast, the biotech industry states that " Spanish farmers have suffered European Corn Borer for generations " . The report by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth also explains the approval process in the USA and the EU as well as the legal issues related to GMOs since 1996. It reveals for example that Bt 176 varieties were already withdrawn in 2001 from the list of approved varieties by the competent authorities in the US, a country known for its support to GM crops. The findings of the report are supported by mainstream Spanish farmers unions. Liliane Spendeler from Amigos de la Tierra/Friends of the Earth Spain, one of the authors of the report, said: " This research shows that GM crops are not the miracle crops that they are often taken for. On the contrary: the only ones benefiting from these crops are the biotech companies, while farmers and the environment are suffering from negative effects. " Co-author Juan-Felipe Carrasco of Greenpeace Spain said: " Spain has become a big experimental field, where GM crops have been cultivated for the last 5 years without any agronomic advantage compared to conventional varieties and where no measures have been adopted to prevent their negative impacts. The Spanish example illustrates what could happen on all European farmlands if the EU Commission allows contamination thresholds in conventional seeds and if biotech companies are not held liable for their contamination of conventional and organic fields. " Source: PRESS RELEASE Friends of the Earth Europe and Greenpeace *************************************************************** Industry Struggles With Biotech Corn By JIM PAUL ..c The Associated Press CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Seed companies, farmers and grain handlers are struggling with how to keep genetically altered corn from mixing with non-biotech crops. There is no simple way to ensure that biotech varieties go only where they're accepted. Some safeguards are already in place, but the process is still evolving. Some in the industry say changes aren't happening fast enough to keep up with the steadily increasing use of genetically altered crops. They fear problems similar to what happened with StarLink in 2000, when the biotech corn not approved for human consumption was accidentally mixed with other crops. The resulting scare triggered food recalls and caused a worldwide drop in corn prices. ``There needs to be some improvement here to avoid a train wreck,'' said Steve Pigg, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association. More biotech corn is being planted each year in the United States, with 40 percent of the nation's 79.1 million acres of corn this year being genetically altered. That was up from about one-third of all corn planted last year. Genetically altered corn is bred to resist plant diseases and pests, allowing producers to increase yields and reduce costs. With the harvest season just a few weeks away in parts of the Corn Belt, the stakes are high for farmers and grain handlers. Any co-mingling of grain, however small, headed for a country that won't accept it endangers the entire shipment, said Peter Goldsmith, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois' College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. At least seven biotech corn varieties have not been approved for use in the European Union. Government leaves it up to the industry to ensure the ``identity preservation'' of crops, said Jeff Squibb with the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Spokesmen for Monsanto Co. and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, two major makers of genetically altered seed, said they have programs aimed at making sure farmers and grain handlers know what to do with biotech crops. ``The responsibility lies with the grower,'' said Bryan Hurley, a spokesman for Monsanto. ``But there is an infrastructure that has been built to facilitate this and information and education to go with that.'' Farmers planning to plant biotech seed that isn't approved for export are asked to tell their seed company in the spring which elevator they plan to take the crop to in the fall. Seed companies push growers of biotech crops to work only with elevators equipped for and willing to take them. ``If they aren't, we contact the customer and let them know that the handler they listed is not taking the grain and we offer to help find an alternative outlet,'' said Greg Wandrey, Pioneer's director of product stewardship. About 2,000 elevators willing to take genetically altered corn are listed in a national directory maintained by the American Seed Trade Association. Come harvest time, elevator operators depend on farmers to tell them if they have genetically altered crops in their truck. ``I'm counting on it. I need to know it. If I don't know it, I've got zero chance'' of separating biotech grain during a busy harvest, when more than 800,000 bushels of corn can arrive in a single day, said Dave Hastings, general manager of the Ludlow Co-op Elevator Co., which operates in three eastern Illinois counties. Grain handlers are paying close attention to the issue, but it isn't easy for elevators accustomed to handling large amounts of the same kind of grain to handle smaller segments of a biotech crop, said Jeff Adkisson, executive director of the Feed and Grain Association of Illinois. Hastings said biotech grain will be stored in separate bins at his company's elevators. He is training his staff to ask more questions when farmers cross the scales, but worries that even that won't be fail-safe. ``Sooner or later when we get busy, we won't ask and we'll miss a guy,'' he said. On The Net: National Corn Growers Association: http://www.ncga.com American Seed Trade Association database: http://asta.farmprogress.com 08/27/03 02:57 EDT *************************************************************** Blair forced to scale back his plan to introduce GM farming By Geoffrey Lean and Jo Dillon 24 August 2003 Tony Blair is drastically scaling down his plans to introduce GM farming in Britain in the wake of the Hutton inquiry, the Independent on Sunday can reveal. Senior officials at the centre of the issue concede that the Prime Minister has accepted that it would be politically " too risky " to force through widespread commercial planting of GM crops in the teeth of public opposition, following the catastrophic collapse in public trust following the Iraq War and Dr David Kelly's apparent suicide. The Government's formal decision on the technology, expected next month, will now not be taken before the end of the year " at the earliest " , official sources say. And ministers and officials are now going out of their way to insist that the Prime Minister is not " gung-ho " about it, even though his personal enthusiasm - coupled with attacks on GM sceptics as " anti-science " - has long defined the Government's position. The Prime Minister was in Chequers this weekend preparing himself for his appearance before the Hutton Inquiry on Thursday. In response to intense pressure as the Hutton Inquiry continues to lay bare the inner workings of the Blair government, the Prime Minister is changing his tactics. His new plan, sources say, is to secure a limited and heavily regulated introduction of some GM crops - rather than the previously expected blanket approval - in the hope of expanding them later. But there is concern in Whitehall that even this may be unachievable. Ministers and officials have been shocked by the extent of public opposition revealed by the Government's " public debate " on GM over the last few months. Originally denounced by critics as a sham, it has in fact stimulated over 600 public meetings around Britain, and led to 36,000 people registering their views on the debate website. The breakdown of the public reaction has yet to be published, but it is believed to demonstrate widespread hostility to GM crops and foods and show that the Government, the biotechnology industry, and the largely pro-GM scientific establishment have signally failed to convince Britons. Their case has also been severely shaken by two reports from the heart of Government last month, which ministers originally believed would give them a green light. The first, from the Cabinet Office, concluded that growing GM crops would provide no immediate benefit to consumers or the economy, exploding the Prime Minister's repeated insistence that they were economically essential. The second - by a scientific panel led by Dr David King, the government's chief scientist - concluded that it would be impossible to grow some GM crops without them contaminating organic produce, reinforcing mounting ministerial concern about alienating the rapidly growing numbers of consumers opting for the chemical-free food. Meanwhile the third leg of the Government's case - that GM crops would help feed the world - has been undermined by denials by Oxfam, Action Aid, Christian Aid and other charities at the cutting edge of the battle against hunger. *************************************************************** ORDER TAKE ACTION PACKETS: http://www.thecampaign.org/tap.php *************************************************************** If you would like to comment on this News Update, you can do so at the forum section of our web site at: http://www.thecampaign.org/forums *************************************************************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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