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> " News Update from The Campaign "

> <newsupdate

> Global news on GMOs

> Fri, 27 Aug 2004 05:45:10 -0500

>

> News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically

> Engineered Foods

>

----

>

> Dear News Update Subscribers,

>

> The global battle over genetically engineered foods

> rages on.

>

> Activists in France continue to rip up crops, while

> the Prime Minister of

> Thailand gives approval to allow open-field trials

> of genetically modified

> crops. And now the World Trade Organization (WTO) is

> going to bring in

> scientists to debate the safety of genetically

> engineered foods before

> ruling on the United States case against the

> European Union (EU).

>

> Posted below are five articles that cover all these

> details.

>

> The first two articles will discuss the WTO case the

> United States has

> against the European Union. Please be aware that the

> second article is from

> a pro-biotech organization. However, it does give an

> interesting perspective

> on the battle that is going on in the EU.

>

> The third article briefly reports on the latest

> destruction of crops by

> activists in France.

>

> The fourth and fifth articles discuss the recent

> approval of open-field

> trials by the Prime Minister of Thailand and the

> controversy that move has

> created.

>

> Craig Winters

> Executive Director

> The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

>

> The Campaign

> PO Box 55699

> Seattle, WA 98155

> Tel: 425-771-4049

> 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. "

>

>

***************************************************************

>

>

> Transatlantic GMO trade war delayed

>

> 27.08.2004

> EUobserver.com

> By Lisbeth Kirk

>

> The outcome of the transatlantic trade dispute over

> Genetically Modified

> (GM) foods has been delayed.

>

> The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Panel in Geneva,

> which is hearing the

> case, has decided to bring scientists into the

> debate on the safety of GM

> foods and crops before it reports on it.

>

> The United States, Canada and Argentina filed the

> case last year in the WTO

> over the EU's de facto moratorium on approving

> genetically modified foods

> for sale in Europe.

>

> US farm exporters estimate the ban has stopped

> annual sales of

> bio-engineered corn to Europe worth some $300

> million, the Washington Post

> reported.

>

> Into the long grass?

> The US Government has been fighting to prevent the

> panel from calling in

> scientists while the European Union, for its part,

> has questioned whether

> the WTO is the appropriate place to settle such

> disputes and has pushed for

> scientists to be involved in the debate.

>

> " The first round of this dispute may have gone to

> Europe but the long term

> implications of this case could be devastating for

> everyone " , said Adrian

> Bebb of the environmental group, Friends of the

> Earth Europe.

>

> " The long term effects of GM foods and crops are

> unknown. Every country

> should have the right to put public safety before

> the economic might of the

> biotechnology industry " , said Mr Bebb.

>

> The WTO Panel was initially expected to report on

> the case before the end of

> this year, but is now to deliver its report late

> March, according to the

> Washington Post.

>

> In a previous case over the use of beef hormones the

> scientific debate

> lasted for over 600 days.

>

> Ending the GM moratorium

> The EU lifted its six-year moratorium on genetically

> modified food in

> spring.

>

> On 19 May, the European Commission gave the go-ahead

> to market a modified

> strain of sweet corn known as Bt-11 made by Swiss

> agrochemicals company

> Syngenta.

>

> The EU executive took the decision only after member

> states had failed to

> agree among themselves whether or not to lift the

> ban.

>

> Another herbicide-resistant corn was approved for

> animal feed in July. In

> this case also, the European Commission took the

> decision after ministers

> from the 25 member governments had reached deadlock.

>

> The United States has said it will continue with its

> WTO case until it sees

> a " predictable, ongoing process " based on science,

> not politics, according

> to the Washington Post.

>

> The US also opposes the EU's strict labelling saying

> it unnecessarily scares

> away consumers.

>

>

***************************************************************

>

>

> NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS FROM A PRO-BIOTECH

> ORGANIZATION

>

> Biotech: One Step Forward, Two Back

> by: Greg Lamp

>

> Source: AgBioView Newsletter

>

> What was heralded as a turning point for accepting

> biotech crops in the

> European Union (EU), now almost appears to be a

> farce. When the EU decided

> to allow imports of Syngenta's biotech Bt-11 sweet

> corn last spring, many

> breathed a sigh of relief. It was the first biotech

> approval in six years.

> Was the EU finally making strides to end its

> five-year moratorium on

> approval of new biotech crops?

>

> The U.S. had earlier asked the World Trade

> Organization (WTO) to force the

> EU to end its ban. The U.S. claims the EU policy

> violates global trade

> rules. The EU, of course, claims its not violating

> any trade laws.

>

> Have we been duped?

>

> Now, with the new Bt-11 sweet corn approval, it

> appears the EU, indeed, is

> following the rules. That is, unless you dig deeper.

> Syngenta submitted the

> regulatory dossier for Bt-11 sweet corn as food in

> the EU in Nov. 1998.

>

> According to WTO rules, says Kim Nill, technical

> issues director for the

> American Soybean Association, " If the EU approves

> one new biotech product,

> they're no longer considered to be blocking

> biotech's progress. " In this

> case, they (EU) knew Syngenta wasn't going to

> actively market sweet corn

> there, " he says.

>

> BT-11 is still being marketed here in the U.S., but

> very, very little is

> being exported, says Sarah Hull, Syngenta

> spokesperson. " It's not a

> commercially significant event (biotech product) for

> us in Europe, " she

> adds. " It did not have major financial implications

> for us - at all. "

>

> The fallout, then, is that the EU has as much as two

> to three more years

> before they'll have to fully approve another biotech

> product to remain in

> compliance with WTO rules, Nill explains. Since the

> EU approved the sweet

> corn, it essentially ends the offending action which

> ends the moratorium.

> " The farce Bt-11 approval has given them (EU)

> breathing space, " says Nill.

> " This whole approval issue has taken a step

> backward. It's a joke. "

>

> The EU regulatory system seems to be moving forward

> at a quicker pace, says

> Helen Inman, chair of the National Corn Growers

> Association Biotechnology

> Working Group and farmer from Bancroft, IA. " But, "

> she says, " we've been

> frustrated at the slowness of the process and have a

> long way to go before

> the moratorium on biotech products is effectively

> ended. "

>

> Currently, there are about 30 genetically engineered

> products and foods in

> the pipeline awaiting approval for import into the

> EU. " Even if they march

> forward at one every six months, it's just too

> slow, " says Nill. " The

> products are already outdated in the U.S. by the

> time they get through the

> approvals. "

>

> What makes the whole approval process even more

> frustrating is that once

> products are approved, they have a 10-year shelf

> life and then need to be

> renewed. " Since Roundup Ready crops were introduced

> in 1996, those products

> are up for renewal in 2006, " Nill says.

>

> Fair trade continues to be the issue here. Still,

> being an optimist, I'd

> like to think any forward movement is progress. Stay

> informed and support

> associations that work to get you a fair shake.

>

> Second Corn Approval

>

> At press time the EU was on its way to approving the

> second corn event,

> Monsanto's NK603 for feed and industrial use in the

> EU. NK603 cannot be

> marketed until the commission approves the

> application for food use, which

> could be delayed until October or November.

>

>

***************************************************************

>

>

> Genetically modified crop destroyed in France's

> south

>

> MONT-DE-MARSAN, France, Aug 25 (AFP) - A field of

> genetically modified maize

> planted by the US group Monsanto in south-western

> France was ripped up this

> week by unidentified individuals, police said

> Wednesday.

>

> The destruction occurred in the village of Magescq

> overnight Monday,

> officers said, adding that the company was expected

> to lodge a formal

> criminal complaint against persons unknown on

> Thursday.

>

> Several groups in France, including farmers and

> anti-globalisation

> campaigners, are hostile to genetically modified

> crops, saying they may pose

> a danger to the environment and the food chain.

>

> Several fields of such hybrid plants have been torn

> up in the past, notably

> by activists loyal to French farmer and

> anti-globalisation leader Jose Bove.

>

>

***************************************************************

>

>

> Asia heads towards use of GMO foods, despite

> activist protests

> 27 August 2004 1204 hrs (SST)

>

> HONG KONG, Aug 27 : A decision by Thailand, one of

> Asia's prime agricultural

> producers, to allow open-field trials of genetically

> modified crops marks

> another milestone for the controversial products in

> the region, as

> governments ignore activists' concerns, industry

> analysts said Friday.

>

> Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced

> last weekend he had given

> the nod to the trials. Several other countries were

> expected to follow suit,

> while the Philippines and China already have huge

> plantations producing

> crops such as corn, as well as cotton.

>

> The United States is the world's biggest producer of

> genetically modified

> organisms (GMOs) but has faced an uphill battle in

> persuading other parts of

> the world - from Europe to Africa and the Middle

> East - to accept the

> products.

>

> But industry analysts, and even green groups which

> oppose their

> introduction, say the tide is turning in favour of

> the new products.

>

> Japan approved field-tests of the so-called

> " super-crops " more than 15 years

> ago but has since been cautious and has yet to

> approve their cultivation.

>

> However Australia and New Zealand have recently

> relaxed their opposition and

> signalled a readiness to consider GMO tests.

>

> But the big change comes with the change in attitude

> among developing

> countries which need to find easy ways to feed their

> growing populations.

>

> " Generally Asia is becoming far more accepting of

> GMOs because many

> countries are developing and have growing

> populations that they can't feed, "

> Cheng Luk-ki, scientific research and conservation

> head of Hong Kong-based

> Green Power, told AFP.

>

> " They need to find enough food to feed their people

> and are willing to

> accept anything that promises that. "

>

> Genetically modified crops have their genetic makeup

> engineered by

> scientists to boost beneficial characteristics, such

> as nutritional value,

> and remove detrimental ones, such as susceptibility

> to pests.

>

> They come with the promise of bumper harvests and

> higher yields, tempting

> carrots to dangle before impoverished farmers in a

> region with some 720

> million people living below the breadline.

>

> But opponents of the use of GMOs say the crops are

> dangerous and the way

> they are marketed will end up ruining many of the

> farmers who hope to make

> their living from growing them.

>

> GMOs, they say, are " super strains " that could

> muscle other varieties of

> plants into extinction.

>

> They also fear the crops have not been fully tested

> and could pose health

> problems not yet apparent.

>

> They are further opposed because distribution of GMO

> seeds is controlled by

> Western companies who tie growers into contracts

> they may not be able to

> honour, thus extending the poverty cycle.

>

> Many rich nations, particularly in Europe where

> public opinion is largely

> hostile to GM foods, have fended off the GMO

> onslaught.

>

> As a result aid workers such as Ramesh Kadkha,

> international food rights

> campaigner for poverty-relief group Action Aid,

> believes Asia has become the

> new battleground for GMO acceptance.

>

> " Some governments are very poor and not very strong

> -- they are attracted by

> the promises of the big GMO companies, " Kadhka told

> AFP.

>

> " But while they come with big promises and big money

> they also come with big

> clouds. "

>

> Critics argue that weak regulatory systems in the

> region are at fault,

> giving GMO multinationals ample room to operate.

>

> They cite India as an example of what can go wrong

> when controls are loose:

> There, thousands of farmers have found themselves in

> greater debt after the

> GM cotton seeds US biotechnology company Monsanto

> said would boost yields

> failed.

>

> " There is a case pending before the Supreme Court

> against the company as

> they tried to bypass our weak regulatory system, "

> said Vandana Shiva,

> activist and founder of voluntary organisation

> Research Foundation for

> Science, Technology and Ecology.

>

> " What we have appealed to the court to do is to

> strengthen the regulator. "

>

> Certainly, not all of Asia is yet persuaded of the

> value of these products.

>

> Taiwan has tight labelling requirements for food

> containing GMOs as a means

> of monitoring the products' spread there and

> Pakistan, where controls are

> very lax, announced this week it was looking into

> similar legislation.

>

> Other nations, however, appear more welcoming.

>

> " We are open to research in genetically modified

> crops but we have to be

> really cautious before we can recommend an open

> field trial for them, " said

> Achmad Suryana, head of the Indonesian agriculture

> ministry's Research and

> Development Agency. - AFP

>

>

***************************************************************

>

>

> Reversal of Ban on GM Crops Incenses Activists

>

> IPS Correspondents

>

> BANGKOK, Aug 23 (IPS) - The reversal by Thai Prime

> Minister Thaksin

> Shinawatra of an earlier ban on the planting of

> genetically modified (GM)

> crops has inflamed environmentalists, farmers'

> groups and consumer networks,

> with food experts warning that this could mean

> exposing Thais to serious

> health risks.

>

> Thaksin's announcement was made over the weekend

> after he chaired a meeting

> of the National Biotechnology Policy Board (NBPB) at

> the Science Ministry.

>

> ''We are not going to promote GM crops, but we will

> not slam the doors shut

> on their development. We will allow for their

> plantation and

> commercialisation as we do for other crops,''

> Sakarindr Bhumiratana, the

> NPBP's secretary, told reporters as he relayed the

> premier's decision.

>

> ''We need a policy change. Otherwise Thailand will

> fail to keep abreast of

> the global current in the GM-crop trade,'' added

> Sakarindr.

>

> In 2001, Thailand imposed a ban on field trials of

> GM crops, and terminated

> ongoing field trials of GM cotton and corn carried

> out by the transnational

> corporation Monsanto. The government also banned all

> commercial planting of

> GM crops.

>

> The government's weekend decision has incensed

> environmentalists, who have

> vowed to wage an all-out campaign against the prime

> minister's re-election

> campaign, next year, if he decides to go ahead with

> the cultivation of GM

> crops in the country.

>

> ''If Thaksin doesn't stop GM crops, we will stop him

> from having another

> term as prime minister,'' Witoon Lianchamroon, the

> director of BioThai - an

> environmental group devoted to the preservation of

> biodiversity in Thailand

> - told IPS.

>

> Witoon accused the U.S. government of putting

> pressure on Thailand to

> reverse the previous policy on GM crops to benefit

> U.S. biotech businesses

> under the upcoming Thai-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

> (FTA).

>

> ''The FTA is the main motive for Thaksin to reverse

> the 2001 decision and we

> have proof that before the weekend policy decision

> was made, Monsanto sent

> its people over to lobby the government,'' said

> Witoon.

>

> ''The conflict of interest is obvious at the policy

> level. And a decision

> affecting the whole of Thailand has been made

> without the participation of

> environmental and consumer groups and people's

> organisations,'' he pointed

> out.

>

> The issue of GM crops flared out in the open in late

> July when the

> environmental group Greenpeace managed to prove that

> a government research

> station in the north-east province of Khon Kaen that

> was planting GM papaya

> was the source of contamination of one of the

> country's most important

> staple foods.

>

> The environmental group became concerned when it

> twice tested batches of

> papaya seeds, from the native species 'Khak Dam Tha

> Phra', sold by the

> research station to farmers. Independent laboratory

> tests showed that

> packages of papaya seeds sold by the Department of

> Agriculture's own

> research station contained genetically modified

> seeds.

>

> ''No study has been conducted on the long-term

> effects of GM crops on the

> environment and human health, so why is the

> government rushing to

> commercialise it in the country?'' asked Jiragorn

> Gajaseni, executive

> director of Greenpeace South-east Asia.

>

> Greenpeace accused the government of putting the

> Thai people and the

> environment at risk.

>

> ''At the time when the basic principles of genetic

> engineering are under

> challenge from new scientific research, the

> government seems to be

> deliberately ignoring the warnings of many

> scientific institutions around

> the world,'' said Jiragorn.

>

> ''The Thai public expects the government to be

> knowledgeable about the

> latest scientific developments and not act

> recklessly by rushing to

> commercialise GM crops,'' he added.

>

> The Consumer Network, a coalition of consumer rights

> groups, on Sunday

> released its first official statement announcing it

> would work with organic

> farmers' groups to oppose the government's plan.

>

> ''We held discussions and concluded to put pressure

> on the government to

> reconsider the policy as well as call for a

> biosafety law and improvements

> to GM labelling,'' said Saree Ongsomwang,

> coordinator of the Consumer

> Network.

>

> But Greenpeace is also worried about the possible

> adverse effects of GM

> foods on public health.

>

> ''Even if there has been some testing, the long-term

> effects to humans are

> unknown. The full ramifications of modified genes

> escaping and mixing with

> unmodified ones are unknown,'' said Janet Cotter, a

> Britain-based scientist

> working for Greenpeace, in an interview.

>

> GM papaya, for instance, has been genetically

> engineered to be resistant to

> the ringspot virus. It is made by cutting a gene

> from the ringspot virus and

> forcing it into the cell of a papaya.

>

> This is done by randomly shooting the gene millions

> of times with a gene gun

> with the hope that it gets into the plant cell. As

> part of this process,

> another virus and bacteria resistant to antibiotics

> are added. In terms of

> human health risks, the build- up of antibiotic

> resistance is also a

> concern.

>

> ''The only requirement for approval is that the GM

> food should be grossly

> similar to its natural counterpart. However, a GM

> food may not only be

> grossly similar, but almost completely identical

> with its natural

> counterpart and yet contain an unexpected and

> undiscovered very harmful

> substance,'' Cotter pointed out.

>

> ''It is a scientifically well-recognised fact that

> genetic engineering can

> cause the appearance of such unexpected

> substances,'' she said.

>

> The British scientist said these unexpected

> substances are very difficult to

> detect, and unless the Thai government had

> sophisticated testing mechanisms,

> people could be subject to severe health risks.

>

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