Franken Foods: WEEKLY WATCH number 119

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WEEKLY WATCH 119

" GM WATCH " <info

 

 

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 23:35:19 +0100

 

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WEEKLY WATCH number 119

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from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor

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Dear all:

 

As if the Syngenta illegal GM maize contamination weren't enough, now

news has broken of another illegal contamination of the food supply -

this time with GM rice from China. No GM rice has yet been approved

anywhere in the world, yet this matters little to a GM industry out of

control.

 

The global implications of the rice scandal coming on top of the

illegal GM maize scandal in the US are clear. A global GM ban is the

only way

to protect the public and the environment. In the meantime, a ban on

all affected imports is vital. (CONTAMINATION SCANDALS)

 

Positive news this week from India: the government has deferred a

decision on renewing marketing licenses for three Monsanto seeds and

fresh

approval for nine others, following the widespread failure of Bt cotton

(ASIA).

 

Finally, University of California scientist, Dr Ignacio Chapela, who

has faced repeated victimisation because of the couragous way in which he

has sought to expose the dire influence of the biotech industry on his

university, on scientific enquiry, on public life and on the

environment, is about to launch his long-awaited legal action against the

administrators of the University of California. We salute Ignacio's

tireless

fight for justice. (CORPORATE TAKE-OVER OF SCIENCE)

 

Claire claire

www.gmwatch.org / www.lobbywatch.org

 

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CONTENTS

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CONTAMINATION SCANDAL: GM RICE FROM CHINA

CONTAMINATION SCANDAL: SYNGENTA MAIZE

CORPORATE TAKE-OVER OF SCIENCE

ASIA

THE AMERICAS

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK: HELP VERMONT!

 

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CONTAMINATION SCANDAL:

GM RICE FROM CHINA

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+ ILLEGAL GM RICE CONTAMINATES FOOD CHAIN

Greenpeace is calling for an urgent, international product recall after

uncovering the illegal release of a variety of GM rice in China. The GM

rice has not been approved for human consumption and may have

contaminated Chinese rice exports.

 

" The GE industry is out of control, " said Greenpeace's Sze Pang Cheung.

" A small group of rogue scientists have taken the world's most

important staple food crop into their own hands and are subjecting the

Chinese

public to a totally unacceptable experiment. We're calling on the

Chinese government to take urgent action to recall the unapproved GE rice

from the fields and from the food chain, and to conduct an immediate

inquiry into the source of the contamination. "

 

Greenpeace discovered unapproved GM rice being sold and grown illegally

in the Chinese province of Hubei. Interviews with seed providers and

farmers indicate that GM rice seeds have been sold over the past two

years. Testing by the international laboratory Genescan has confirmed the

presence of GM DNA in 19 samples.

 

The evidence from the lab, combined with field reports, confirms that

some of the illegal GM varieties are Bt Rice. Greenpeace estimates that

at least 950 to 1200 tons of GM rice entered the food chain after last

year's harvest, and that up to 13,500 tons may enter the food chain

after this year unless urgent action is taken.

 

According to Greenpeace International Scientist, Dr Janet Cotter, this

is a serious problem requiring urgent government action: " There are

strong warning signs that this GE Bt rice could cause allergenic

reactions

in humans. It has been shown that the protein produced in Bt rice

(called Cry1Ac) may have induced allergenic-type responses in mice. To

date,

there has been no human food safety testing of Bt rice. "

 

For years, large-scale field trials with Bt rice have been conducted by

scientists of the Huazhong Agriculture University in Wuhan, the

provincial capital of Hubei.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5100

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5101

 

+ WHERE THE ILLEGAL RICE MAY HAVE GONE WORLDWIDE

Campaigners in the following countries, all of which import rice from

China, will want to alert the media, the public and officials to the

contamination of rice imports by illegal GM rice that has never undergone

any safety assessment: Russia, S Korea, N Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Hong

Kong, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Bangladesh, Macau.

 

The following European countries import rice from China: France,

Netherlands, Germany, Italy, UK, Ireland, Denmark, Greece, Portugal,

Spain,

Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,

Czech Rep, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus. Total rice imports from

China into the EU in 2003 were 18,317 metric tons.

Detailed figures at http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5101

 

+ CHINA INVESTIGATES GREENPEACE FINDING

China has ordered an investigation into Greenpeace's claims that GM

rice not approved for human consumption has been sold in central China

for

two years.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5105

 

+ UNLICENSED GM RICE MAY BE IN UK FOOD CHAIN

The Guardian reports that unlicensed GM rice sold illegally on the

internet to Chinese farmers has been sold for human consumption and may

have been imported undetected into the UK.

 

David Cuming, of Consumers International, said: " The release of

untested GMOs into the environment and the food chain is unacceptable,

undermining consumer rights to safety, to a healthy and sustainable

environment and to information. People need to know that their food is

safe. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5105

 

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CONTAMINATION SCANDAL:

SYNGENTA'S ILLEGAL MAIZE

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+ EU MULLS US TRADE BAN IN ILLEGAL GM MAIZE IMPORT ROW

The EU executive Commission was cited as considering halting imports of

GM animal feed from the US in a row with Syngenta over illegal

shipments to Europe. Syngenta disclosed in March that some of its

maize seeds

were mistakenly contaminated between 2001 and 2004 with Bt10, an

insect-resistant strain that was not approved by the EU.

 

Up until now, the Commission has sought to calm fears and leave

Washington to carry out the investigation into how the Syngenta

biotech maize

was contaminated. But repeated refusals by the Swiss firm to hand over

information have raised tensions in Brussels.

 

" We have again emphasised to Syngenta we must have it (detection

method) as soon as possible, " EU Health and Consumer Protection

Commission

spokesman Philip Tod told a news conference.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5084

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5088

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5089

 

+ EU SET TO BAN US MAIZE FEED

The EU has moved closer to a ban on US maize-based animal feeds after

Europe's governments demanded that imports be certified free of

unauthorised GM crops. EU member states on 12 April agreed unanimously to

proposals requiring that all corn feed shipments from the US are

guaranteed

not to contain the unauthorised GM maize BT10. The measure would

effectively halt all imports for weeks.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5104

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5099

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5097

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5105

 

+ DON'T RELY ON UNCLE SAM - NATURE EDITORIAL

A perceptive editorial in the journal Nature says European regulators

should pursue their own investigation into how the 'wrong' GM corn was

allowed on the market for years, since unfortunately, their US

equivalents show little sign of rising to the challenge.

 

EXCERPTS:

Some scientists are shocked that this oversight (illegal Bt10 in the

food chain) could have been allowed to persist for so long without

detection. One might think that the US federal government, a

long-standing

champion of agricultural biotechnology, would be hopping mad about the

mistake, and keen to get the facts out to satisfy sceptics around the

world that it now has the situation firmly under control. Think again.

 

The USDA, meanwhile, sees itself primarily as a promoter of US

agriculture... Its press office could be taking its line straight from

Syngenta: 'The system is working,' a departmental spokesman said late

last

month of a process that has taken four years to unearth the

cultivation of

an unapproved crop.

 

The company should be forced to reveal how Bt10 got on to the market in

the first place, and why it then took four years to discover the

mistake. So far, we've heard nothing on the former, and Syngenta has

attributed the belated discovery of its inadvertent release of Bt10 to

progress

in the technology that it uses to monitor seeds. If true, this

explanation will come as news to anyone who had assumed that the

agricultural-biotechnology industry had known from the start what

transgenes it was

putting into its seeds. If the discovery was simply a matter of

happenstance, we can have little confidence that similar problems

won't occur

again.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5104

 

+ EU SHOULD NOT PUNISH U.S., SAYS USDA

The USDA does not believe the EU would be justified in imposing

sanctions over US exports of the unapproved variety of biotech corn

(maize)

seeds Bt10.

 

NB: Members of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) used to be given

badges to wear proclaiming " BIOTECHNOLOGY IS THE FUTURE OF

AGRICULTURE " . USDA and successive US administrations are responsible

for the

permissive regulation and the culture of laxity that this incident

reflects.

Even when they found out from Syngenta that their rogue corn had been

going into the global food supply for four years they kept silent about

it. Other countries only found about it via an article on the Nature

website. And they don't think there's a problem?

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5095

 

+ EPA, USDA COLLUDE WITH SYNGENTA

The coordinated investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) and US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) concluded: " EPA and USDA have

reviewed scientific information and have concluded that there are no

human

or animal health or environmental concerns with Bt10 corn. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5084

 

+ SYNGENTA FINED FOR INTRODUCING UNAUTHORIZED GM CORN INTO US

Syngenta was cited as saying that it had been fined 375,000 dollars

(292,000 euros) by US authorities over the unauthorised release of GM

corn

in the US.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5084

 

+ EUROPEAN GOVTS CAN FINE SYNGENTA

EU spokesman Philip Tod said the EU's head office had no powers to fine

Syngenta, but said national governments in Europe could do so.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5089

 

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CORPORATE TAKE-OVER OF SCIENCE

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+ CHAPELA TO LAUNCH LEGAL ACTION

Dr Ignacio Chapela will hold a Press Conference to announce the filing

of legal action against the Regents of the University of California on

Monday, 18 April, 2005 at 2 pm on the West slope of Hilgard Hall,

University of California campus, Berkeley.

http://atdpweb.soe.berkeley.edu/bart2tolman/11tolman.html

 

Dr Chapela, a microbial ecologist, was denied tenure after years of

review by the University of California, under extremely unusual

conditions. His situation has received world-wide attention within

and outside

academia as a path-defining case study of the situation of public

universities, the influence of private interests on public research and

education, the limits on dissent in scientific research, and the

suppression

of academic freedom. This case also highlights the role of the biotech

industry in our society.

 

After eight years of internal development of the case within the

confines of academia, Prof. Chapela will announce long-awaited legal

action

against the administrators of the University of California.

 

For updates and statements see:

http://www.pulseofscience.org (edited by Ignacio Chapela)

http://www.tenurejustice.org (background, updates and actions)

http://www.chapelatenure.org (background, updates and actions)

 

+ UK: GBP3m SHORTFALL AT JOHN INNES CENTRE

Dozens of scientists at one of Britain's most prestigious laboratories

face redundancy after a GBP3m hole was uncovered in its accounts. The

John Innes centre in Norwich, a world leading research facility for

plant and microbial science, blamed changes in European funding and

increased costs.

 

The centre has been heavily involved in GM research and suffered when

the biotech company Syngenta pulled out of a joint initiative in 2002.

 

Last month, results from the government's field scale trials showed

that growing GM oilseed rape in the UK would harm wildlife and the

environment, in effect ending the biotech industry's hopes of

introducing GM

varieties in the foreseeable future.

 

A JIC spokesperson said the funding crisis was not related to the

fading prospects for GM crops in Britain but, interestingly, the local

Member of Parliament, Dr Ian Gibson, who is close to the JIC, has

blamed its

difficulties in obtaining funding on " the current public ill feeling

over genetically modified crops " and the collapse of a multi million

pound deal with GM giant Syngenta.

 

The JIC's director, Chris Lamb, was warned time and again that putting

so many of the institute's eggs in the GM basket was both dangerous and

futile, given the lack of not just a public mandate but even of a

market for GM foods.

 

His overcommitment to GM has been the more unfortunate given that

attractive alternative applications of science in agriculture (such as

the

use of gene mapping and molecular markers to speed up conventional plant

breeding) have been crying out for more support.

 

Doubtless, those who now have to pay the price for this strategic

blunder will not be those who forced the JIC up its GM cul de sac!

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5085

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5092

 

+ PRAKASH HAS A MAKE-OVER: AGBIOWORLD PAINTS IT BLACK

CS Prakash has announced a " Redesigned AgBioWorld Website " . As part of

the make-over the site is now adorned with pensive-looking African

children - their staring eyes doubtless hungry for the fruits of biotech.

 

Who undertook the latest make-over is unclear but we know who undertook

the last one - Monsanto's Internet PR company Bivings. Funnily enough,

Monsanto's Internet homepage also used to be adorned with the faces of

Third World children. It was part of an Internet campaign that proved

unpersuasive and led to the use of independent-seeming third parties to

imprint the same message.

 

Extracts from 3 articles about CS Prakash, his website and Monsanto's

use of the Internet as part of what George Monbiot has called its covert

biotech war are at

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5082

 

+ UN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM PEDDLING CRUDE PROPAGANDA FOR GM

New Zeland scientist Dr Robert Mann takes the UN Environment Program to

task for peddling crude pro-GM propaganda in its report, " An

introduction to the Cartegena Biosafety Protocol " . It tries to equate

GM with

selective breeding ( " Genetic manipulation is not new. For millennia,

farmers have relied on selective breeding and cross-fertilization... " )

and

ignores worrying research results on GM foods and crops.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5078

 

+ FORMER GM SCIENTIST TELLS WHY GM CROPS ARE SCIENTIFICALLY UNSOUND

Former GM crop scientist Dr James MacGregor has told CS Prakash on his

AgBioView listserv why he retired from the field on scientific grounds.

Here is part of what he had to say:

 

" ... All bio-engineered organisms created in a laboratory environment

are done so under strict containment conditions, thus, preventing the

escape and proliferation of untested experimental bio-engineered

organisms with unknown consequences...

 

However, it is proposed by scientists to release GM crops into the

environment without biological controls on artificial transgene

dispersal.

Further to this artificial bio-engineered gene constructs will also

undergo mutation and evolution to an end we are not aware of, making

safety assessment of GM crops a snapshot theoretical exercise lacking in

longevity. One cannot safety assess what has not yet evolved.

 

It appears that the safety guidelines so rigourously practised by

scientists under laboratory conditions are not proposed to be expanded

and

practised in the wider environment in relation to releases of

bio-engineered GM crops.

 

Could you explain this apparent double standard in scientific safety

conduct? One might consider that even more stringent safety controls

would be enforced in the natural environment than in the laboratory

environment, after all we do not have a backup.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5081

 

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ASIA

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+ CHINA: 57 PERCENT WOULD NOT BUY GM FOODS

In a survey carried out in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in 2004, 62

per cent of the 600 respondents know about GM foods and 57 per cent

said they would not buy it - a big leap from 52 per cent and 40 per cent

in 2003, respectively.

 

A poll on the sina.com, one of China's portal websites, shows that

nearly 82 per cent of the 6,937 respondents are against the promotion of

transgenic rice, which might be planted in large areas for commercial

purposes this year.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5098

 

+ INDIA'S DRAFT SEED BILL MAY BE DELAYED

The Indian agriculture ministry's attempt to rush through the draft

National Seed Bill may be delayed. Acting on a representation made by a

farmers' organisation, the chairperson of the National Advisory Council,

Sonia Gandhi, directed the ministry to reconsider certain clauses in

the proposed draft that are likely to hamper the interests of farmers.

 

Opposition comes from the All India Farmers' Council, the farmers'

outfit of the ruling Congress party, Bharat Krishak Samaj (BKS). The BKS

leader, Dr Krishna Bir Chaudhary, in a letter to Ms Gandhi, had said:

" The bill is a clear trap to curb the traditional and indigenous

rights of

our peasantry to grow, breed, multiply, preserve and exchange seeds.

The seed bill is wholly incongruous. Sinister as it is, it will demolish

the time tested agrarian culture and the socio-economic fabric of the

rural India that has for centuries worked faultlessly and sustained our

small and marginal farmers, having even less than two acres of land.

83% farmers use their own farm-saved seeds. In one stroke, the National

Seed Bill on enactment will reduce 36 crore farming families into

pathetic non-entity and make them captive at the mercy of seed

multinationals, aided and abetted by the unabashed and insensitive

state machinery. "

 

The bill's delay is a huge embarrassment for India's ruling party.

While its agriculture minister hypes GM to the skies, its own All India

Farmers' Council has called for a ban on GMOs " for all times to come " .

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5091

 

+ MORE MONSANTO GM COTTON HYPE IN INDIA

Monsanto is hyping another survey claiming big benefits for farmers

from its GM cotton in India, with Andhra Pradesh being showcased as a

particularly successful state. Yet nowhere in India is Bt cotton

talked of

as more of a disaster than in Andhra Pradesh!

 

The latest Monsanto survey claims a 163% greater net profit for farmers

who grew GM cotton, compared to those with non-GMO varieties.

 

But as a press release from scientists at the the Centre for

Sustainable Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh points out, " most reports

pouring in

from independent sources " and from the media, and even in some cases from

government sources, seem to point to the failure of Bt Cotton to

provide any benefits to farmers.

 

The surveys that claim big Bt benefits have consistently been

commissioned or assisted by Monsanto's Indian joint venture -

Monsanto-Mahyco

Biotech India Ltd (MMB).

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5090

 

+ BT COTTON RUINED ANDHRA PRADESH FARMERS, SAY NGOs

A group of NGOs have asked the Indian government not to extend the

licence of Mahyco Monsanto, alleging GM cotton seeds introduced by the

company had produced poor crops in Andhra Pradesh.

 

A report based on the group's three-year study claimed Bt cottonseeds

had harmed farmers, and Mahyco Monsanto failed to keep promises made

while bringing the seeds into India. The group also demanded compensation

for the farmers. The report, " Bt Cotton in Andhra Pradesh - a

three-year assessment " , was prepared by Hyderabad-based Deccan

Development

Society (DDS) after meetings with farmers using Bt cotton seeds.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5096

 

+ INDIA DELAYS LICENSES FOR MONSANTO'S SEEDS

The Indian government on 13 April deferred a decision on renewing

marketing licenses for three Monsanto seeds and fresh approval for nine

others, jeopardizing sales of the transgenic seeds for the sowing season

beginning June, a Monsanto official said. The decision was deferred on

account of adverse reports from Andhra Pradesh government.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5103

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5107

 

+ BT COTTON DISASTER HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR STRONG LEGISLATION

Indian and European Biosafety experts agree that urgent action is

needed to improve India's biosafety laws in order to protect farmers,

consumers and the environment from the risks of GMOs. Following a two-day

dialogue hosted by Navdanya Trust and funded by the EU-India Small

Projects Facility, Biosafety experts identified several areas where

Indian

legislation was clearly failing farmers, and could be improved by looking

at laws established in Europe.

 

" The regulatory system failed to protect farmers from the widespread

disaster of Monsanto's Bt cotton in Andhra Pradesh, " says Dr G.V.

Ramanjanevulu of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture in Andhra

Pradesh.

" The systems are not transparent and data is not shared with the public.

Reports from independent surveys show failure and that the government

accepted this in two of the three years. Cases of tampering of data have

also been observed. There is no accountability on the company for the

failure. During approval the GEAC is not giving an ear to farmer and

public concerns. "

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5091

 

+ BT COTTON INFECTS SOIL, FAILS ON ALL FRONTS, SAYS STUDY

Despite claims that Bt cotton provides socio-economic benefits, a new

study reveals that it infected soil and no other crop could grow after

the Bt cotton crop was harvested. The study, which tracked GM Bt cotton

for three years in Andhra Pradesh, shows that it has failed on all

fronts including yield, cost of cultivation, returns to farmers and

resistance to pests. The non-Bt cotton performed better on all counts.

 

" There are negative returns on every count other than pesticide use in

Bt cotton crop, " said Mr P V Satheesh, convener of AP Coalition on

Defence of Diversity and Director of Deccan Development Society, which

sponsored the study.

 

The study shows that Bt cotton infected the soil and no other crop

could grow after the Bt cotton crop was harvested. In contrast, the

soil of

the non-Bt cotton was friendly to other crops like chilli. " This is an

early warning and needs to be researched by soil scientists and plant

pathologists, " said Satheesh.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5103

 

+ INDIANS TO PROTEST " ANTI-POOR " GLOBAL TRADE SYSTEM

Indians will join the Global Week of Action on Trade beginning 10 April

to protest an ''unjust'' world trade system that is leading to

increasing inequalities. Industrial and agricultural workers, farmers,

child

rights activists and health rights activists of 20 states will organise

protest rallies in rural and urban centres, says organisers of the event

in India.

 

An alternative food festival in Kerala to highlight the impact of GM

food on people's health, a cycle rally in Tamil Nadu and burning of

effigies representing WTO in Rajasthan are being planned during the

protest

week.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5087

 

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THE AMERICAS

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+ US AWASH WITH EXPERIMENTAL GM CROPS - NEW REPORT

The US is awash with poorly regulated experimental GM crops, a new

report from the Texas Public Interest Research Group (TexPIRG) makes

clear.

More than 47,000 field tests were authorized between 1987 and 2004 by

the US Department of Agriculture - a government agency many consider

little more than the marketing branch of the industry it's supposed to be

regulating. Crops tested include corn, cotton, rice and potato.

 

This casts new light on US plans to routinely allow unapproved GM

proteins that contaminate US food crops and hence exports.

 

The report, " Raising Risk: Field Testing of Genetically Engineered

Crops in the US " , also reveals that nearly 70% of all field tests

conducted

in the last year now contain secret genes classified as " Confidential

Business Information, " which means that the public has no access to

information about the experiments being conducted in their communities.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5106

 

+ US's BIGGEST RICE BUYER TO BOYCOTT MISSOURI's RICE CROP IF PHARMA

RICE PLANTED

Commodity-buying behemoth Anheuser-Busch Cos. has vowed to boycott

Missouri's 30 million-bushel rice crop if Ventria BioScience's

genetically

altered, drug-making plants are grown in the state. The beer maker, the

country's single largest rice buyer, told Missouri growers it would not

buy their rice if the firm wins permission to plant about 150 acres of

pharmaceutical grain in the rice-rich Bootheel region.

 

" Anheuser-Busch holds the trump card. If they say they're not going to

buy any rice if this (pharmaceutical) rice is planted, then don't

plant, " said Dan Jennings, a grower from Sikeston, Mo., who had

previously

supported the experimental crop.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5094

 

+ CLONED COWS YUMMY AND SAFE, SAY CLONING SCIENTISTS

Cattle-cloning scientists at the University of Connecticut say milk and

meat from cloned animals are safe for human consumption.

 

A National Academy of Sciences report said last year that while the

food would not likely make anyone sick, more research should be

performed.

The Connecticut researchers published their results in the April 11

online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

Watchdog groups like Consumers Union worry the FDA's animal-cloning

regulations will mimic the agency's GM crops protocol, which is

voluntary.

Biotech companies such as Monsanto typically summarize information

about their GM crops for the FDA, but are not required to do so by

law. The

FDA does not provide its own independent review.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5093

 

+ OREGON SENATE CONSIDERS PHARM CROP BAN

Lawmakers are considering a temporary ban on growing food crops in

Oregon that are biologically engineered to produce drugs or chemicals,

such

as vaccines. Supporters of the bill say it would protect Oregon farmers

from potentially harmful crop contamination. Oregon would become the

first state to ban the crops.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5086

 

+ EPA GRUDGINGLY PULLS PLUG ON " CHEERS " STUDY

In a defensively worded statement, Stephen Johnson, Acting

Administrator for the US Environmental Protection Agency announced the

end of the

CHEERS study, in which parents were paid to spray pesticides in the

rooms occupied by their infant children under age 3. Johnson did not

admit

any ethical problems with the study but concluded without explanation

that the study could not " go forward in an atmosphere absent of gross

misrepresentation and controversy. " US Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and

Bill Nelson (D-FL) had previously announced that they would hold

Johnson's confirmation as EPA Administrator unless he cancelled CHEERS.

 

For taking part in these studies, each family would have received $970,

a free video camera, a T-shirt, and a framed certificate of

appreciation. (Of course, low income American families are getting no

rewards for

feeding their kids unlabelled GMOs, nor is anyone bothering to monitor

either the short or the long-term effects of ingesting them.)

 

Behind the study were the American Chemistry Council whose members

include Bayer, Dow, DuPont and Monsanto. GM Watch rs petitioned

against the study.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5086

 

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CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

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+ US: HELP PASS VERMONT FARMER PROTECTION ACT

Vermont campaigners need your help. They write:

Vermont (USA) is nearing the end of its 2004 legislative session. We

have successfully passed the Right to Know bill, which will require clear

labeling of GE seeds and will require manufacturers to report to the

state about how much GE seed is sold here each year.

 

However, we are still fighting the battle in Vermont! We want to get

the Farmer Protection Act passed before the year is out. This bill has

already passed in the Vermont Senate, but we need it to pass also in the

Vermont House before it can go to the Governor for enactment. This bill

would protect ALL farmers from gene contamination lawsuits! It is

landmark legislation, and would help us all in our global struggle.

 

The problem is that the Vermont legislators don't understand how

important this bill is to YOU. It is NOT common for our legislators to

read

national or international news. Because of this, they are getting worn

down. The administration here is opposed to this bill, and the biotech

lobbyists are working hard to threaten and coerce our legislators.

 

PLEASE SEND a message of hope and encouragement to our key allies in

the Vermont Statehouse. You can send the same message to the legislators

listed below. These are only a few of our strong champions, and they

need all the encouragement they can get.

 

Our legislative session will likely end by May 15, so your email TODAY

is urgently needed! Speak from your heart and tell them why their

courage and action is important to you. If you are working on a campaign,

tell them about it! Thank them for all they have done so far, and

encourage them to stand up for all family farmers across the world!

 

In your subject line, please write: From _(your state/country)_ -

Please pass the Farmer Protection Act!

Here is the list of key lawmakers:

Carolyn Partridge cpartridge

Floyd Nease fnease

Betty Nuovo bnuovo

David Zuckerman dzuckerman

Gaye Symington gsymington

Jeanette White jwhite

Peter Welch rramos

Dick Sears rsears

John Campbell jcampbell

Vince Illuzi villuzzi

Sara Kittell skittell

 

THANK YOU for taking the time to send this email. Please spread the

word and let these lawmakers know they are on the front lines of the

battle against big biotech!

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5080

 

 

 

 

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