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GMW:_Winegrowers_declare_war_on_GM_grapes/Europeans_Scoff_at_Bioengineered_Beer

> " GM_WATCH " <info

> Sat, 10 Jul 2004 17:22:20 +0100

 

>

> GM WATCH daily

> http://www.gmwatch.org

> -------

> " the biotechnology industry has turned in its quest

> for converts to the ultimate ice breaker:

> genetically modified beer " (item 2)

>

> Perhaps hoping some are too drunk to care.

>

> 1.Winegrowers declare war on genetically modified

> grapes

> 2.Europeans Scoff at Bioengineered Beer

> -------

> 1.Winegrowers declare war on genetically modified

> grapes

> By GREGORY FLANDERS

> Associated Press, July 9, 2004

>

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/artsfeatures/1672.html

>

> PARIS - Many French vintners are up in arms about

> what they fear is another threat to their

> centuries-old winegrowing traditions _ genetically

> modified grapes.

>

> Earth and Wine of the World, an association that

> includes nearly 400 French winegrowers, is worried

> about a government research project to tinker with

> grape genes.

>

> It's a serious concern in a land where the average

> person over 14 drinks a quarter-bottle of wine a

> day, and where genetically modified crops are often

> derided as " Frankenfoods. "

>

> " It is of utmost importance that the future of our

> profession is not determined solely under the

> influence of scientists, industrialists and

> technocrats, " the group said in a news release

> Thursday after meeting in Paris to come up with a

> plan of attack.

>

> The National Institute of Agricultural Research is

> seeking ways to make vulnerable grapes more

> resistant to disease, and it plans to replant a

> batch of genetically modified vines after a

> five-year pause.

>

> " We're not persuaded that the tests will start with

> the maximum number of precautions that we consider

> absolutely necessary, " said Alain Graillot, the

> president of the vintners association, which also

> includes winegrowers from California to Germany.

>

> " We want to be certain that there will be no

> accidental spreading, and that any possible toxicity

> of the plants is completely ruled out, " he told The

> Associated Press.

>

> A small crop of genetically modified grapes was

> planted in 1996 in eastern France by the champagne

> manufacturer Moet et Chandon in partnership with the

> agricultural institute.

>

> But consumer pressure forced the company to dig the

> plants out of the ground in 1999 and limit research

> to the lab, said Sylvie Colleu, an institute

> spokeswoman.

>

> After all, France is the land that made a hero out

> of Jose Bove, the mustachioed farmer-turned-activist

> known for ripping up genetically modified crops and

> ransacking a half-built McDonald's in 1999.

>

> " In France, the consumers of wine are rather

> traditional, and many are against genetically

> modified organisms, " Colleu said. " And many

> professionals feel that this could hurt the image of

> their brands. "

>

> The dug-up plants were frozen in a laboratory, and

> the institute is waiting for the green light from

> Agriculture Minister Herve Gaymard to replant them.

>

> Jean Masson, the president of the research center in

> Colmar where the tests would be conducted, said the

> vines could be planted as early as August.

>

> This time around, the institute has agreed to

> certain restrictions to ease consumer fears, he

> said. No wine will be produced from the plants, for

> example.

>

> Winemakers have complained that there is a lack of

> dialogue between the researchers and the public.

> Masson, however, said that he had replied to a

> letter from Earth and Wine of the World that he had

> received in March 2003, but that he had no response

> until a fax last week.

>

> France's vintners have for years suffered a steady

> erosion of their livelihoods by margin-squeezing

> supermarket chains, falling demand at home and the

> growing popularity of Australian and American wines

> abroad. A government crackdown on drunken driving

> has also battered domestic sales.

>

> Worried French winemakers are currently waging

> another battle: trying to loosen restrictions on

> alcohol advertising.

>

> Their message _ that people should drink more _ has

> met with resistance from doctors' groups, who say

> the French already drink enough.

> ------

> 2.Europeans Scoff at Bioengineered Beer

> By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer

> Associated Press, July 9, 2004

>

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-biotech-beer,0,74267\

57.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

>

> COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Spurned across the continent

> by food-fastidious Europeans, the biotechnology

> industry has turned in its quest for converts to the

> ultimate ice breaker: genetically modified beer.

>

> A consortium of the world's largest biotech

> companies led by Monsanto Co. helped fund a Swedish

> brewer's new light lager that's produced with the

> usual hops and barley -- and a touch of genetically

> engineered corn.

>

> Brew master Kenth Persson hopes to profit from the

> notoriety his biotech brew is generating, while

> biotech companies hope it can gently sway consumers

> as European regulators slowly reopen the continent

> to genetically altered foods.

>

> But those are tall orders to fill.

>

> A series of food-related health scares in recent

> years, from mad cow disease to poisoned poultry,

> have stoked fears among many Europeans about

> so-called GM foods.

>

> Europeans insist that such food be clearly labeled,

> a vivid contrast with U.S. consumers, who don't

> appear bothered that so much of their processed food

> includes genetically engineered soy and corn and

> isn't labeled as such.

>

> Indeed, most of the European Union's 457 million

> residents are adamant about their food being kept

> free from any sort of modifications, genetic or

> otherwise.

>

> And that might help explain why Kenth beer is hardly

> a barroom hit.

>

> The brewer won't say how many bottles have been sold

> since the beer was unveiled earlier this year in

> Denmark and Sweden. But he says 4,000 bottles are on

> their way to stores and pubs in Germany and he's in

> talks with stores in the United Kingdom.

>

> Although research on GM foods hasn't yielded any

> nightmare scenarios about damage to life and limb,

> Nicholas Fjord of Malmoe in southern Sweden, is not

> entirely convinced, either.

>

> Despite reassurances that genetically modified

> products are safe, an image keeps popping up in

> Fjord's mind about a relative whose mother took

> Thalidomide in the 1960s because she was assured it

> was safe.

>

> " So safe, indeed, that he has no elbow or knee

> joints and, despite living a good life, has been

> hindered since his birth, " Fjord recalled. Granted,

> that's an extreme fear, he said, but one that seems

> to be strong in Europe.

>

> A study conducted earlier this year by Finland's

> National Consumer Research Center showed that of all

> the concerns about manufactured food that Finns

> have, genetically modified foods topped the list.

> Some 60 percent of the population expressed " strong

> concern, " according to the survey.

>

> In April the EU lifted a six-year moratorium on new

> biotech food, but just barely. The previous month,

> it approved the sale of a modified strain of sweet

> corn, grown mainly in the United States. But any

> food containing that corn must be labeled as

> genetically modified.

>

> U.S. farmers argue that the labeling amounts to a de

> facto ban and the Bush administration says it will

> continue pushing its biotech trade complaint at the

> World Trade Organization.

>

> And that's where Kenth comes in.

>

> The beer was created because Monsanto felt the

> biotech debate " never rose further than the inner

> circle of scientists, politicians and (nongovernment

> organizations), " said Mattias Zetterstrand, a

> Monsanto spokesman based in Stockholm, the Swedish

> capital. " Our wish was to contribute to this

> situation by making an abstract discussion more

> concrete. "

>

> The corn in Kenth was approved for use in 1998,

> before the European moratorium started, and is grown

> in Germany. The Monsanto-created corn seed is

> spliced with a bacterium's gene to resist the corn

> borer pest without the need for insecticides.

>

> Zetterstrand wouldn't say how much the biotech

> consortium contributed to the project, but said the

> companies haven't purchased equity in the small

> Swedish brewer and won't share in sales of the beer.

> The other companies involved in the project are

> Bayer CropScience, DuPont, Plant Science Sweden,

> Svaloef Weibull and Syngenta.

>

> The brewer, Persson, said he realizes that selling a

> genetically modified beverage in the European Union

> can be a risky proposition -- especially when its

> label touts GM ingredients unabashedly.

>

> Greenpeace activists chased Kenth-ladened beer

> trucks in Sweden and Denmark, discouraging store and

> tavern owners from buying the brew, when it was

> first introduced, and Greenpeace continues to

> pressure big grocery chains to avoid stocking it.

>

> Dan Belusa, a Greenpeace spokesman, said the protest

> encouraged ICA, a large Swedish grocery store chain,

> to remove Kenth from its shelves.

>

> " Basically no GM foods are sold in Europe because

> consumers and retailers make a conscience choice to

> say 'no' to them, " he said.

>

> The brewer and Monsanto say Greenpeace's efforts

> haven't deterred their plans.

>

> Kenth is now being sold through the Swedish

> state-owned liquor monopoly, Systembolaget, in

> southern Sweden and there have been no protests. But

> its availability is limited.

>

> At a recent barbecue in Ingaroe, a small town about

> a 30-minute drive from Stockholm, a six-pack of the

> bottles was offered up for a taste test. The beer

> was poured in glasses and offered up.

>

> All in all, everyone who quaffed said it tasted just

> fine, just like other beer.

>

> They weren't put off by its label, which proudly

> denotes its GM use.

>

> " To me, it's strictly the taste test, " said media

> consultant Debi Vaught-Thelin. " If the beer is made

> with GM ingredients and tastes OK to me, then yes, I

> will drink it happily. "

>

>

> AP biotechnology writer Paul Elias in San Francisco

> contributed to this report.

>

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