Franken Foods: GM MONTHLY REVIEW – MARCH 2005

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MONTHLY REVIEW – MARCH 2005

" GM WATCH " <info

 

 

Tue, 5 Apr 2005 12:43:22 +0100

 

 

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GM WATCH MONTHLY REVIEW – MARCH 2005

from Claire Robinson, editor

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What a month!

 

CONTENTS:

+ GM CROPS TAKE ANOTHER KNOCK

+ BIOTECH FIRM REJECTS GM CROP

+ JOINT US-UK COVER-UP ALLEGED OVER ROGUE MAIZE

+ SYNGENTA HOLDING BACK INFO TO STYMIE ACTION

+ MAJORITY SUPPORT AUSTRIA OVER MONSANTO'S GM MAIZE

+ BLACKWASHING MONSANTO

+ CORE VIDEO AND CONFERENCE

+ PRO-CLONING LOBBYIST HELPS REGULATE CLONING!

+ NEW SEARCHABLE DATABASE ON REVOLVING DOOR AND GM

+ UK FIRMS DROP GM, SEEK TO BOOST REGULAR SEED

+ EU TO PUSH GMOS THROUGH DESPITE PUBLIC OPPOSITION

+ FOOD WATCHDOG PRO-GM AND 'BIASED AGAINST ORGANIC'

+ CANADA: GOVT USES TAX DOLLARS TO SHAFT FARMERS

+ GM FOODS " NOT ON THE RADAR " OF AMERICANS

+ US: NINE STATES LIMIT LOCAL GM BANS

+ WORLD'S LARGEST RICE MILLER OPPOSES GM RICE

+ US: NATIVE AMERICANS BAN GM RICE

+ BRAZIL'S LULA SIGNS UP TO MONSANTO LAW

+ CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN BRAZIL BIOSAFETY BODY

+ BRAZIL: GM SOY YIELDS DROP

+ MONSANTO " HOODLUM-LIKE " SAYS ARGENTINE GOVT

+ US: STINK BUGS EATING GM FARMERS' " LUNCH "

+ NEW REVELATIONS ABOUT BT COTTON IN INDIA

+ INDIA'S GM EXPANSION SUGGESTS CORRUPTION

+ DATA TAMPERING BY GOVERNMENT-MONSANTO NEXUS

+ GM SEEDS BURNT BY MORE THAN 3000 TRIBAL WOMEN

+ 'OUTCAST' WOMEN EXPOSE BT COTTON FAILURE

+ PATENT OFFICE REVOKES NEEM PATENT

+ ZAMBIA REAFFIRMS GM BAN, LOOKS TO ALTERNATIVES

+ CAN COUNTRIES CHOOSE TO ACCEPT OR REJECT GM?

+ NEW REPORT SAYS GM CAUSES HUNGER IN ARGENTINA

+ IRANIAN SCIENTISTS PRODUCE GM RICE

+ IRAQI GOVT URGED TO REVOKE " WICKED " PATENT LAW

+ EU " COEXISTENCE " RECOMMENDATION LEGALLY FLAWED

+ EC " CONSPIRACY " TO SUPPRESS GM HAZARDS

+ NEW RESEARCH SHOWS PROBLEMS WITH HRGM CROPS

+ NEW GOLDEN RICE PR BLITZ

+ MONSANTO PURSUES FARMERS

+ VENEMAN TO TAKE OVER UNICEF!

+ NZ GOVT POURS TAXPAYER MILLIONS INTO GM

+ AVERY " BLOOD OF STARVATION VICTIMS " CLAIMS

+ NEW ZEALAND: DEFEAT OF GM MORATORIUM BILL

+ ROUNDUP DOESN'T ONLY POISON WEEDS

+ GM LOBBY TRIES TO DISTRACT FROM DISMAL GM CROP TRIAL RESULTS AND

CONTAMINATION SCANDAL

+ LORD OF UNREASON - TAVERNE'S NEW BOOK

+ NEW STUDY OVERTURNS CLAIMED WILDLIFE BENEFITS OF GM CROPS

 

 

+ GM CROPS TAKE ANOTHER KNOCK

The latest results of the UK GM crop trials show commercial use of some

GM crops could alter the balance of weed species that thrive on British

farmland, reports Nature. Such a shift could harm bees and butterflies.

Butterfly numbers were cut by up to two-thirds and bee populations by

half in fields of transgenic winter oilseed rape (canola), according to

the final results of a three-year study commissioned by the UK

government.

 

The results will be felt as a further blow to advocates of transgenic

crops. In 2003, two of the three other transgenic varieties covered by

the study, spring oilseed rape and beet, were shown to harm biodiversity

by reducing overall levels of weeds.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5015

 

+ BIOTECH FIRM REJECTS GM CROP

Biotech giant Bayer no longer wants to grow the GM winter oil seed rape

trialled in the GM farm scale evaluations in Europe.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5006

 

+ JOINT US-UK COVER-UP ALLEGED OVER ROGUE MAIZE

The whereabouts of 170,000 tonnes of contaminated GM maize and its

possible import into the UK has caused an international investigation and

claims of a cover-up on both sides of the Atlantic.

 

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) first

put out a statement saying the contamination was " on a small scale " but

later retracted it, instead saying the maize was unlikely to have got

into food but might have been fed to cattle.

 

The maize is not licensed to be grown in Europe and contains a GM

antibiotic-resistant marker [resistant to ampicillin, a commonly used

antibiotic] of a type scientists have advised the EU to phase out. It is

theoretically possible for bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics

as a

result of contact with the marker genes.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5053

 

Critics have expressed surprise that neither Syngenta nor the US

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the presence of the

marker

when they admitted that the release of Bt10 had taken place. " It is quite

scandalous, " says Greg Jaffe, head of the biotechnology project at the

Center for Science in the Public Interest.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5043

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5047

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5054

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5063

 

+ SYNGENTA HOLDING BACK INFORMATION TO STYMIE ACTION

An official from the Japanese Health Ministry told Reuters that

Japanese ports would start testing samples of corn cargoes from the

United

States after the ministry obtained the necessary data from Syngenta to

detect Bt10. But Syngenta seem to be sitting on their hands, delaying

the

release of full information at every turn.

 

" At the moment we cannot distinguish BT10 from BT11 because we do not

have the detection methods " , the EU's Health and Consumer protection

Spokesman Philip Tod has admitted . " We have a method to detect Bt11,

but not for Bt10 because it is not an authorised product " , he explained.

 

Campaigners are calling to a halt to all shipements and products

containing Bt11 if Syngenta fail to provide the necessary information to

enable detection of Bt10.

 

Interestingly, the GM detection firm Genetic ID say detection of Bt10

is possible immediately: " Contrary to statements by the EU Commission,

as reported in some media reports over the past few days, the

detection of Bt10 maize as well as the distinction from Bt11 is

possible

immediately. "

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/04/05/business/web.0505corn.html

http://www.euobserver.com/?sid=9 & aid=18785

 

+ MAJORITY SUPPORT AS AUSTRIA RAISES QUESTIONS OVER GM MAIZE MON810

Austria has raised strong concerns about the commercial cultivation of

GM maize MON810, approved by the European Commission for planting in

Europe. A majority of countries (13: Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Cyprus,

Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Greece, Poland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and

Slovakia) supported the Austrian criticism. In a note to the Council of

the EU, Austria stated that in light of scientific uncertainties about

possible effects of the GM maize as well as the absence of a plan to

monitor these effects, MON810 should not be planted yet.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4955

 

+ BLACKWASHING MONSANTO

A new article from GM Watch founder, Jonathan Matthews, exposes how

Bush and Monsanto are manufacturing black support for GMOs via groups

like

CORE (see below).

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4987

 

+ CORE VIDEO AND CONFERENCE

Black civil rights-turned corporate rights group CORE (corporate

partner: Monsanto) is promoting its pro-GM video and conference, which

feature " personal testimonials from African farmers whose lives have been

improved by genetically modified (GM) crops " .

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4970

 

+ PRO-CLONING LOBBYIST HELPS REGULATE CLONING!

Juliet Tizzard, a member of the LM network - which eulogises genetic

engineering and human cloning - has become Policy Manager of the Human

Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK government body

which licenses and monitors human embryo research conducted in the UK.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4960

 

+ NEW SEARCHABLE DATABASE ON REVOLVING DOOR AND BIOTECH

The Edmonds Institute has announced its " New Revolving Door " , a

searchable database about people who have worked in/for both

government and

industry, with emphasis on those connected to the biotechnology industry.

http://www.edmonds-institute.org/newdoor.html

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4983

 

+ UK FIRMS DROP GM STUDY, SEEK TO BOOST REGULAR SEED

According to Reuters, consumer fears of GM food have dealt a " heavy

blow " to Britain's biotech industry, with many scientists leaving the

sector and firms refocusing on conventional research. " For most arable

crops, conventional plant breeding is still, and will be, the

mainstay...for the near future, " said John Snape, head of the Crop

Genetics

department at the John Innes centre in eastern England.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4966

 

EU TO PUSH GM FOODS THROUGH DESPITE PUBLIC OPPOSITION

The EU executive plans to press ahead with approving more GM foods

regardless of public opposition, a leaked draft document reveals. The new

European Commission agreed to:

* push through new approvals of GM foods regardless of the lack of

consensus over their safety by EU member states

* submit to the Environment Council proposals to get countries to lift

their bans on GM products

* approve GM crops for cultivation without proper (so-called

" coexistence " ) legislation to avoid the contamination of the

countryside by GMOs.

 

This proposed position for the EU executive comes in the face of

surveys that show 70% of European consumers oppose GMO foods, usually on

health and environment grounds. Friends of the Earth said the policy

marked

" a bad day for consumers, democracy and the environment. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5004

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5021

 

+ FOOD WATCHDOG PRO-GM AND 'BIASED AGAINST ORGANIC FOOD' SAYS ITS OWN

REVIEW

Britain's official food safety watchdog must review its controversial

policies on GM and organic goods, a wide-ranging official review of its

performance has concluded.

 

The review, carried out to mark the fifth anniversary of the founding

of the Food Standards Agency, makes it clear that its support for GM and

its attacks on organic produce has caused a widespread loss of

confidence in its judgement and independence.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=625943

 

+ CANADA: CANADIAN GOVT USES TAX DOLLARS TO SHAFT FARMERS

The seed industry's attempts to redesign farming in Canada has Canadian

government backing. The Report of the Seed Sector Advisory Committee,

published May 2004, caused alarm among farmer groups because it aims to

prevent farmers from saving their own seed. Farmers could be required

to pay higher insurance premiums if they don't use certified seeds and

would be held liable for improperly using or selling seeds saved from a

crop grown with a company's seeds.

 

It turns out that the Canadian government provided $600,000 in

taxpayers' money to fund the report and, through the Canadian Food

Inspection

Agency, donated staff, office space and equipment.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4950

 

+ GM FOODS " NOT ON THE RADAR " OF AMERICANS

A Rutgers Food Policy Institute survey shows that nearly a decade after

GM foods were introduced, they are not even " on the radar " of a

majority of Americans, in spite of the fact that GMOs are thought to

be in 75%

of processed foods.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5031

 

+ US: NINE STATES LIMIT LOCAL GM BANS

At least nine US states, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Dakota,

Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Oklahoma, Arizona, and West Virginia have either

passed or introduced legislation that would preempt local cities and

counties from restricting the sale of GM seeds. The bills are viewed as a

nationally coordinated attempt to block GMO-free ordinances similar to

those approved by citizens in Mendocino and Marin counties in

California in 2004.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5050

 

+ WORLD'S LARGEST RICE MILLER OPPOSES GM RICE IN MISSOURI

Riceland, the world's largest rice miller and marketer, has asked the

US Dept of Agriculture to deny Ventria Bioscience's request to grow

about 200 acres of the GM pharma rice in Cape Girardeau, Scott and

Mississippi counties in Missouri. Riceland says there is no level of

acceptance

among consumers, in the US or abroad, for GM rice.

 

The Food Products Association, a Washington-based trade association

that represents the nation's major food companies, also is preparing to

submit comments opposing Ventria.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5046

 

+ US: NATIVE AMERICANS BAN GM RICE

White Earth Indian reservation in northwest Minnesota has become the

first reservation in the US to ban the introduction or growth of GM wild

rice seeds.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4970

 

+ BRAZIL'S LULA SIGNS UP TO MONSANTO LAW

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva has signed into law

Brazil's new " biosafety " bill. It's been dubbed " Monsanto Law " because

of its

weakness and the ease with which it can be used to approve GMOs.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5036

 

+ CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN BRAZILS' BIOSAFETY COMMITTEE

Now that Brazil's new " Monsanto (biosafety) Law " has been signed into

law, the National Technical Biosafety Committee (CTNBio) is working to

push ahead rapidly with GM releases. It seems GM cotton was approved

even before the bill, which minimises the input of the Ministry of the

Environment, was signed into law.

 

A representative of Brazil's Ministry of the Environment who was

present at the meeting to discuss approvals says it seems " the GM cotton

decision had already been taken before the meeting, which had its 'to-do

list' altered in order to give priority to the commercial liberation

process of the Bollgard cotton " .

 

In case anyone's in any doubt about what's going on, he spells it out,

" Lets see, four of the current members are counselors of the CIB

(Council for Biotechnology Information), an organization supported by

biotechnology multinational companies, which are directly interested

in the

transgenic products liberation. Half of the scientific community members

work with biotechnology and four in genetic improvement programs. "

 

The Ministry of the Environment has objected to CTNBio's approval of

the GM cotton.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5049

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5036

 

+ BRAZIL: GM SOY YIELDS DROP IN DROUGHT

Yields of GM soy grown in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul

dropped sharply this year due to drought, according to farmers.

Conventional

varieties of soy, developed by national companies and institutions and

adapted to the specific characteristics of the region, performed

better, with up to 25 percent higher yields.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5049

 

+ MONSANTO " HOODLUM-LIKE " SAYS ARGENTINE GOVT

The Argentine government was cited as slamming Monsanto for having a

" hoodlum-like attitude " in its effort to ensure that local farmers pay

royalties for using its GM soybean seeds.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5007

 

+ US: STINK BUGS EATING GM FARMERS' " LUNCH "

Since the adoption of Bollgard cotton in North Carolina, damage from

bollworms has decreased while stink bug problems have increased. This

finding comes from research by Jack Bacheler, North Carolina State

University Extension entomologist, conducted from 1996-2003.

 

And an award winning cotton farmer, Bruce Bond points out that while Bt

cotton has reduced control costs for heliothine pests, " now secondary

pests - plant bugs and stink bugs - are eating our lunch. " Bond says, " I

probably have $90 an acre in insecticide costs on Bt cotton. I think

that's too much, especially when I pay $32 right up front. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4956

 

+ NEW REVELATIONS ABOUT BT COTTON IN INDIA

A report from Gene Campaign says that in Andhra Pradesh, India, farmers

have suffered heavy losses with Mahyco-Monsanto's MECH-12 and MECH-184

varieties. The reasons for this are low yield, premature falling of the

cotton bolls and wilt leading to drying up of the roots. The varieties

were found to be largely ineffective against the bollworm they are

designed to resist. The cotton fibre is also of poor quality and

fetches a

lower price in the market.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4994

 

+ INDIA'S GM EXPANSION RAISES QUESTIONS OF CORRUPTION

In spite of all the evidence of GM cotton failure and farmer suffering

of the last 3 years, and of viable alternatives that could improve the

plight of India's cotton farmers, the Indian government's Genetic

Engineering Approval Committee has... extended the area of GM cotton

growing

in India!

 

GEAC didn't have the face to immediately extend approval for the GM

varieties that have been shown to inflict harm over the last 3 years, so

it has delayed that decision and approved 6 new varieties of

Monsanto-derived Bt cottonseeds, for the northern states of Haryana,

Punjab and

Rajasthan. GEAC also approved large-scale trials of another 8 new

varieties of Bt cotton for the northern region.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4948

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4962

 

+ DATA TAMPERING BY GOVERNMENT-MONSANTO NEXUS CHEATS INDIAN FARMERS

Greenpeace and Sarvodaya Youth Organization have released the two

versions of a report prepared by the Joint Director of Agriculture

(JDA) of

Warangal district, Andhra Pradesh. While the data in the original

report reveals the comprehensive failure of Bt Cotton in Andhra

Pradesh, a

second, visibly tampered-with version exaggerates the yields, thereby

reducing Monsanto's compensation burden by nearly Rs. 2 Crore.

 

The report was commissioned under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

between the AP government and Monsanto-Mahyco, which marketed the Bt

cottonseeds. The report was expected to assess failure of Bt cotton, and

secure compensation for farmers.

 

" The falsification of this report is clear evidence of the

corporate-government nexus, " says Divya Raghunandan of Greenpeace

India. " The fact

that data has been so clearly manipulated in this case, raises serious

doubts about the authenticity of any data that GEAC would use to review

Bt Cotton. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4947

 

+ GM SEEDS BURNT BY MORE THAN 3000 TRIBAL WOMEN IN INDIA

Demanding Orissa be declared an Organic State, more than 3000 tribal

women on 23 March made a bonfire of hybrid and GM seeds of cotton and

hybrid crops. Walking through the streets of the city, the tribal women

shouted slogans damning the GM seeds and the hybrid crops that had pushed

them into a cycle of poverty, indebtedness and hunger.

 

The tribals announced that they have already declared 200 villages in

the tribal belt of the State as " organic vilages " and are presently

cultivating indigenous seeds in more than 17,000 acreas in Orissa.

 

The charter of demands that the women presented emphasised that " due to

the rampant use of chemical inputs in agriculture and mechanization of

agriculture, the unemployment problem has become acute, which in turn

may precipitate extremism and violence in our beautiful peace-loving

state of Orissa " . The demand for organic foods, forest produce and herbal

products is increasing at the rate of at least 20 per cent annually.

So, there is a great scope for earning foreign exchange by promoting

organic farming in the state and exporting the produce.

 

The women said that the New Seed Bill in the offing runs counter to the

Plant Varieties Protection and Farmers' Right Act (PVPFA), 2001...

[Farmers'] rights are now being taken away through the Seed Bill. This

clearly demonstrates that the government is being run by the

multinational

seed companies. Orissa Nari Samaj (ONS), the tribal women's

organisation with a membership of close to 200,000 demanded the

scrapping of the

proposed Seed Bill, and wanted to government to recognise the rights of

the people in respect of indigenous seeds.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5032

 

+ 'OUTCAST' WOMEN FROM INDIAN VILLAGES EXPOSE BT COTTON FAILURE

Poor women farmers from outcast (Dalit) communities in and around

Pastapur, India made a film, " Why Are Warangal Farmers Angry with Bt

Cotton? " which exposed the unhappy experiences of farmers in Andhra

Pradesh

who experimented with Bt cotton.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4962

 

+ PATENT OFFICE REVOKES NEEM PATENT

The European Patent Office (EPO) has revoked a patent right it had

earlier granted on a fungicide derived from an Indian medicinal plant,

neem. It said the patent application was an act of biopiracy. EPO had

granted the patent rights to US Dept of Agriculture and agribusiness

corporation, WR Grace of New York.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4967

 

+ ZAMBIA REAFFIRMS GM BAN, LOOKS TO ALTERNATIVES

Zambia has reaffirmed its stand against the import of GMOs, even at a

time when the country is once again facing a severe drought which could

force it to import food. Instead of going down the GMO route, Zambia is

looking to sustainable alternatives.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5025

 

+ CAN COUNTRIES CHOOSE WHETHER TO ACCEPT OR REJECT GM?

A report by Erik Millstone says that despite assumptions about World

Trade Organization (WTO) rules, member nations - including developing

countries - have a significant degree of autonomy in choosing which GMOs

to accept or reject.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4953

 

+ NEW REPORT ON GM SOYA IN ARGENTINA SAYS GM CAUSES HUNGER

A new case study on the impact of GE soya in Argentina argues that

agriculture based on soya monocultures is unsustainable, and creates

hunger

and dependency.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4991

 

+ IRANIAN SCIENTISTS PRODUCE GM RICE

Iran's first GM rice is reported to be growing commercially for human

consumption. Researchers at the Agricultural Biotechnology Research

Institute of Iran (ABRII) modified rice to resist attack by insects by

inserting a bacterial gene that produces a toxin. The research was

conducted in collaboration with the Philippines-based International Rice

Research Institute (IRRI).

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4975

 

+ IRAQI GOVT URGED TO REVOKE " CYNICAL AND WICKED " PATENT LAW

The new Iraqi Government is being urged to revoke Order 81, a

US-imposed law that will effectively bring the country's agricultural

sector

under the control of transnational corporations. NGOs have described

Order

81 as " cynical and wicked " , as the section relating to the registration

and protection of plant varieties was slipped in almost as an appendage

to an Order dealing with patents and industrial design.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4974

 

+ EUROPEAN " COEXISTENCE " RECOMMENDATION LEGALLY FLAWED

A European Commission Recommendation guiding member states on

" coexistence " of GM crops with conventional and organic crops is

legally and

fundamentally flawed, say NGOs after taking legal advice. The

Recommendation guidelines would encourage contamination and make the

'organic'

label non-viable.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5011

 

+ EC ACCUSED OF " ONGOING CONSPIRACY " TO SUPPRESS RESEARCH ON GM HEALTH

HAZARDS

The EC has been accused by community groups of an ongoing conspiracy to

keep sensitive information on GM safety studies out of the public

domain. It has also been accused of turning a blind eye to inconvenient

scientific findings and approving potentially dangerous GM varieties to

please the Americans and the WTO.

 

Wales-based GM Free Cymru has been trying without success to obtain

sight of a secret dossier relating to Monsanto's MON863 maize, already

listed for use in Europe. The dossier contains the full application

submitted by Monsanto for EC approval, details of a 90-day rat feeding

study

commissioned by the seed owners, a critique of that study commissioned

from Dr Arpad Pusztai by the German Environment Ministry, and other

material sent to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) by its own GMO

Scientific Panel. None of this material has been released for public

perusal, in spite of many requests from NGOs.

 

With respect to MON863, there are now strong indications that the rat

feeding study completed five years ago (and still not peer reviewed or

released to the public) has thrown up physiological changes which show

the crop to be unsuitable for animal or human consumption.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5012

 

+ NEW RESEARCH SHOWS PROBLEMS WITH HERBICIDE-RESISTANT CROPS

In a study published in Pest Management Science, Michael Owen and Ian

Zelaya of Iowa State University found that there are many risks

associated with the production of GM and herbicide-resistant crops

including

problems with grain contamination, segregation and introgression of

herbicide-resistant traits, marketplace acceptance and an increased

reliance

on herbicides for weed control.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4985

 

+ NEW GOLDEN RICE PR BLITZ

Golden Rice is back - a new PR blitz is underway to acccompany

publication of an article on how Syngenta scientists have managed to

increase

the level of precursor Vitamin A in the rice. See: 'GM golden rice

boosts vitamin A'

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=X & oi=news & start=0 & num=1 & q=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2\

/hi/science/nature/4386933.stm

 

Syngenta is, of course, highly unlikley to be encouraging its

scientists to study those genes that would make a non-GM vitamin-A rice

possible, because that would deny Syngenta the GM poster child the

industry so

desperately needs, given its failure to demonstrate any benefits to

consumers or the poor.

 

Similarly, the International Rice Research Institute is busy preparing

to run trials on Golden Rice even though IRRI's own scientists already

have types of rice they've been working on for longer that are

naturally rich in vitamin A, iron and zinc.

 

Golden Rice has the money and support to be developed even though it's

possible to achieve the same results without the uncertainties of GM.

The renowned Indian scientist Dr Pushpa Bhargava has pointed out that in

terms of meeting the requirement for vitamin A, " there are other

cheaper and better sources already available " .

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5041

 

+ MONSANTO PURSUES FARMERS

As if US farmers weren't in enough trouble, the " seed police " are after

them. Monsanto is pursuing fines and jail sentences for farmers who use

their seed in noncontractual ways - such as saving and sowing it the

next season. The Center for Food Safety released an investigative review

of Monsanto's use of US patent law to crack down on farmers. Here are

some of their chilling findings:

 

*500: The number of U.S. farmers under investigation annually by

Monsanto.

*$10 million: Monsanto's annual budget (plus 75 staff) devoted to

investigating and prosecuting U.S. farmers.

*$15,253,602: The total recorded judgments granted to Monsanto for

farmer lawsuits.

*$3,052,800: The largest recorded judgment in favor of Monsanto as a

result of a farmer lawsuit.

*8 months: The prison sentence given to a Tennessee farmer convicted of

violating an agreement with Monsanto.

*90 the lawsuits filed against U.S. farmers in 25 states, involving 147

farmers and 39 small businesses or farm companies.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4974

 

+ VENEMAN TO TAKE OVER UNICEF

In May 2005, after secret negotiations, Ann Veneman, Bush's former

Secretary of Agriculture, will take office as executive director of

UNICEF.

Veneman previously worked for biotech company Calgene, which was taken

over by Monsanto. She is a strong supporter of GM.

 

The idea that she will lead the UN agency overseeing children's health,

welfare and rights is, to say the least, disturbing. To sign a letter

of protest, go to

http://www.saveunicef.org/save_unicef_form.htm

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5008

 

+ NZ GOVT POURS TAXPAYER MILLIONS INTO GM

The New Zealand government will contribute $15-20 million of taxpayers'

money to a " life sciences fund " focusing on agricultural, biotech and

food sectors - in spite of massive public opposition to GM.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5010

 

+ AVERY CHALLENGED OVER " BLOOD OF STARVATION VICTIMS " SMEAR

We've published an interesting exchange of correspondence between

AgBioView's attack dog, Alex Avery, of the Hudson Institute, USA, and

Robert

Vint of Genetic Food Alert over the GM food aid crisis in Zambia in

2002, at

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5030

 

Avery has been accusing various people who have pointed out problems

with GM, including agronomist Dr Charles Benbrook, Prof Terje Traavik of

the Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology, and Robert Vint, of having

" the blood of starvation victims " on their hands.

 

The 'crime' that these people committed was to meet a Zambian

delegation of scientists and tell them their views on the state of GM

safety

research. The Zambian scientists reported their findings to Zambian

President Mwanawasa, and he subsequently refused GM food aid from the

US on

safety grounds.

 

But alternatives were found and there is no credible evidence that

anyone died in Zambia as a result of the country's refusal of the GM

food.

That inconvenient fact hasn't stopped Avery and others in the GM lobby

from claiming that Western extremists caused mass deaths from hunger in

Zambia as a result of their ideological opposition to GM!

 

Clement Chipokolo from Zambia dismissed Avery's claims as not only at

variance with the facts but " typical of a well funded lobbyist who would

do what ever it takes to achieve his mission, in this case promotion of

GMOs. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5030

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5033

 

+ NEW ZEALAND: DEFEAT OF GM MORATORIUM BILL

The New Zealand Parliament has voted against reinstating the moratorium

on GMOs.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4997

 

+ ROUNDUP DOESN'T ONLY POISON WEEDS

Recent studies on the most widely used herbicide in the world,

Monsanto's Roundup and its glyphosate-based competitors, suggest it is

not as

inoffensive as promoters claim. In an article in Environmental Health

Perspectives, biochemist Gilles-Eric Seralini and his team from the

University of Caen demonstrate, in vitro, several toxic effects of this

compound as well as of the additives associated with it.

 

In tests on human placental cell lines, very weak doses of glyphosate

showed toxic effects and, at still weaker concentrations, endocrinal

disturbances. This, for Seralini, could explain the high levels of

premature births and miscarriages observed in studies on women farmers

using

glyphosate.

 

Seralini is joined in his conclusions by Robert Belle, from the

National Center for Social Research (CNRS) biological station in Roscoff

(Finistere), whose team has been studying the impact of glyphosate

formulations on sea-urchin cells for several years. In 2002, the

Finisterian

team had shown that Roundup acted on one of the key stages of cellular

division. " This deregulation can lead to cancer, " warns Robert Belle.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5040

 

+ GM LOBBY TRIES TO DISTRACT FROM DISMAL GM CROP TRIAL RESULTS AND

CONTAMINATION SCANDAL

Now here's a funny thing. On the eve of the publication of the GM farm

scale trials last year, up sprang a series of media stories about

vandals and extremists disrupting British science. These all traced

back to

Lord Taverne's biotech/pharma industry-backed lobby group Sense About

Science. And now, with this week's publication of the GM winter oilseed

rape farm scale trial results (not very positive for industry), up pops

another wave of such stories. These have been made fresh by coming from

the crop research institutes rather than direct from Taverne's lobby

group.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5013

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5009

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5011

 

+ LORD OF UNREASON - TAVERNE'S NEW BOOK

This month saw the publication of 'The March of Unreason: Science,

Democracy and the New Fundamentalism' by Lord Dick Taverne. Britain's

Sunday Telegraph carried an excerpt under the headline, " A little

pesticide

does you good but 'organic' farming harms the world. " Taverne, a close

associate of Lord Sainsbury, is chairman of pro-GM lobby group Sense

About Science. http://www.gmwatch.org/p2temp2.asp?aid=60 & page=1 & op=2

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4978

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4979

 

+ NEW STUDY OVERTURNS CLAIMED WILDLIFE BENEFITS OF GM CROPS

A report published March 15 undermines claims that a four year UK

research project into the growing of GM crops (the BRIGHT trials) showed

that they were not harmful to farmland wildlife. The report, " An analysis

of the findings of the BRIGHT trials with GM herbicide tolerant crops

in relation to environmental impact " , conducted for GeneWatch UK, the

Five Year Freeze and Friends of the Earth by the Initiative on Organic

Research, reveals that the design of the BRIGHT trials meant that

environmental impacts could not be properly investigated.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4988

 

 

 

 

 

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