Fwd: Hawaiian papayas contaminated by GMO variety

[Guest guest]

Hey Raw Family.

I received this e-mail and thought we could all benefit from this information. Eat Organic Foods when ever Possiable

Love Ya Lynda

 

 

 

 

News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

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Dear News Update Subscribers,

 

We have known for several years that organic and conventional corn and

canola have become contaminated from genetically engineered varieties.

 

Now information has become available that shows organic and convention

papayas have also fallen subject to contamination from genetically

engineered papayas.

 

The groups Hawaii GEAN and GMO-Free Kauai held a public protest and

issued a press release on Thursday to draw attention to this problem.

http://www.higean.org

http://www.higean.org/kauai

 

Posted below is an article from The Honolulu Advertiser and a copy of the

press release.

 

On a personal note, I attended a dinner during the " National Agricultural

Biotechnology Council " conference two years ago that was held in

Seattle. The keynote speaker at the dinner was the scientist who developed

the genetically engineered papayas.

 

During the question and answer period after his slide show presentation, I

asked the scientist if any feeding studies had been conducted on either

humans or laboratory animals to show that the genetically engineered papayas

were not causing allergies or other health problems. His answer was " no. "

When I then asked " why not? " he said they just did not feel it was

necessary.

 

So when you read the statement in The Honolulu Advertiser article below that

says " ...the American Medical Association has reported that the action of

genetically modifying plants does not adversely affect health any more than

natural breeding methods do " realize this statement is being made without

any actual research being done to prove that statement.

 

There has only been one scientific human feeding study done on any genetically

engineered foods and that involved soy. Even the results of that soy feeding

study raised concerns because the genetically engineered DNA was found to

have transferred to bacteria in the stomach, something the biotech industry

said would not happen.

 

We encourage people to read Jeffrey Smith's book " Seeds of Deception " for

more information about the threats genetically engineered foods pose to

human health:

http://www.seedsofdeception.com

 

Congratulations to the farmers and activists in Hawaii for the great job

they did on uncovering this contamination. In particular, consumers in Japan

and Europe who buy Hawaiian papayas will be most interested in learning of

this discovery.

 

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. "

 

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

 

Genetically modified papaya protested

 

The Honolulu Advertiser

By Beverly Creamer

September 10, 2004

 

A group of Big Island farmers opposed to genetically engineered plants

dumped more than 20 papaya fruit into a trash bin on the University of

Hawaii's-Hilo campus yesterday in a symbolic protest of what they say is

" contamination " of their trees by plants created by UH scientists.

 

The group, which leaders say includes as many as 100 small farmers,

including conventional, backyard and organic farmers on three islands, is

calling on UH to create a plan to prevent cross-pollination of their papaya

trees as well as offering liability protection for growers if their markets

are lost.

 

The farmers say a new study they financed shows major contamination of their

trees by genetically engineered plants that could potentially affect their

ability to market papaya to Japan, deeply cutting into Hawaii's export

market of non-engineered papaya. The papaya industry is worth about $12

million annually.

 

" They're bringing out technologies that are not functional for all farmers, "

said Melanie Bondera, who heads Hawaii's Genetic Engineering Action Network

and has a small organic farm on the Big Island. " For farmers there's a

loss-of-market issue. For papaya, our market is primarily Japan and Europe,

and they won't accept any genetically modified organism. "

 

A top UH agriculture dean questioned the methodology of the group's

research, but said the university would be happy to assess any scientific

data they present regarding cross-pollination.

 

" If they're willing to explain their methodologies then we could have a

conversation about the validity of the information about contamination and

how it got there, " said Andrew Hashimoto, dean of the College of Tropical

Agriculture and Human Resources.

 

" Since 1998 there's been 100 million pounds of transgenetic papaya in the

state - the Rainbow and Sunup papaya - marketed ... so a lot of people in

Hawaii's and on the Mainland have been eating this product with no

documented health consequences. "

 

The issue is one being felt worldwide as organic farmers and citizens

concerned about the effects of genetically engineered or altered food worry

about long-term health effects. Japan does not allow Hawaii's genetically

engineered papaya to be imported. Neither does the European Union, which has

banned all modified products.

 

Meanwhile, the American Medical Association has reported that the action of

genetically modifying plants does not adversely affect health any more than

natural breeding methods do.

 

Dianne Ley, deputy director of the state Department of Agriculture, said the

genetically modified papaya have been certified by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture as well as the federal Food and Drug Administration.

 

" The issues of coexistence (of different types of farming) are really

challenging, particularly with an issue as complex as genetically modified

organisms, " said Ley.

 

Hashimoto said there would be no papaya industry in Hawaii's without

research that created genetic modifications in 1996 to create a plant

resistant to the ringspot virus that was decimating Hawaii's papaya crops.

 

" Our papaya industry would not be here if not for transgenic papaya. Without

that the papaya industry would be totally defunct. "

 

Pieces of the virus were added to the DNA structure of the plant in order to

protect it against the virus in the wild.

 

Kenneth Kamiya, an O'ahu papaya farmer, said he would be out of business

without genetic modification. " We don't have any other choice because of the

virus pressure, " said Kamiya.

 

" In the future, when the virus subsides, maybe we can go back. But without

the genetically modified plant we won't stay in business. "

 

But organic farmer Toivo Lahti on the Big Island said he recently had to

destroy his 170 papaya trees because they had been cross-pollinated with the

genetically modified strain, and he can't sell his fruit as organic.

 

" They were contaminated, we found out, " said Lahti. " I had to cut them all.

 

" The problem is if you sell that papaya and they take the seed and plant it,

then you're spreading the genetically modified seed. You don't have any idea

which seeds are contaminated or not. "

 

In doing their cross-pollination study the groups solicited papaya from all

geographic areas of the Big Island, said Bondera, taking 300 seeds from each

of 60 papaya. The seeds were lumped together in one composite pile and

tested for cross-pollination by genetically engineered fruit. She said there

was 50 percent contamination.

 

In Puna the genetically modified papaya fruit are being used as a buffer

around nonengineered trees, said state officials, and so far that has been

working well to prevent the ringspot virus from attacking the nonengineered

trees.

 

But even so, opponents to the genetic engineering say unless something is

done, cross-pollination will continue to occur due to everything from bees

and birds to wind and farm workers.

 

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

 

News Release: September 9 2004

 

Contact: Melanie Bondera, Hawaii GEAN +1 808 640-1643 or Noli Hoye,

GMO-Free Kauai +1 808 651-9603

 

New Research Reveals Widespread GMO Contamination and Threats to Local

Agriculture From the World's First Commercially Planted Genetically

Engineered Tree

 

Outraged Farmers, Consumers and Backyard Papaya Growers Return Contaminated

Papayas to the University of Hawaii in Crop Dump

 

Hilo, Hawaii -- Independent laboratory testing results released today reveal

widespread contamination from the world's first commercially planted

genetically engineered tree, the papaya, on Oahu, the Big Island, and Kauai.

Contamination was also found in the stock of non-genetically engineered

seeds being sold commercially by the University of Hawaii.

 

Farmers, health professionals, concerned citizens, and University of Hawaii

scientists joined GMO-Free Hawaii in announcing the shocking results of

their research at the University of Hawaii, which created and released the

GMO papaya. Dozens of outraged farmers, consumers and backyard growers

brought their contaminated papayas back to the university to underscore

their demand that UH provide a plan for cleaning up papaya contamination.

The campaign also called for liability protection for local growers and the

prevention of GMO contamination of other Hawaiian commodity crops.

 

All samples were tested by Genetic ID, one of the world's leading scientific

laboratories for genetic contamination testing. Composite samples from the

Big Island and Oahu both revealed GMO contamination. Nearly 20,000 papaya

seeds from across the Big Island, 80% of which came from organic farms and

the rest from backyard gardens or wild trees, showed a contamination level

of 50%. Oahu's composite of papayas, primarily from organic farms, showed

contamination of over 5%, and trace levels of contamination were found on an

organic farm on Kauai. One package of seed of the Solo Waimanalo papaya, a

non-genetically engineered variety purchased directly from the University of

Hawaii, also tested positive for GMO contamination.

 

" It is an outrage that UH is selling contaminated papaya seeds to our local

farmers and growers, " said Toi Lahti, an organic farmer and papaya grower

from the Big Island. " Not only could organic farmers lose their

certification by growing genetically engineered papayas, GMO papaya seeds

are also patented by Monsanto among others. This opens farmers to lawsuits

for growing GMOs without paying patent fees first, even if they planted them

without their knowledge. "

 

" These tests indicate that UH's non-GMO seed stock is contaminated, and so

there can be no doubt that the University must take immediate action to

protect farmers, consumers and the environment, " said Mark Query of GMO-Free

Hawaii. " Papaya contamination is a case study in the threat that GMO

contamination presents to local agriculture. It is now obvious that

coexistence of traditional and GMO crops is impossible. "

 

Farmers raised concerns about the impact the contamination crisis could have

on export markets, particularly to countries like Japan that have stringent

regulations about importing genetically engineered crops. " The Big Island is

home to most of the commercial GMO papaya fields in the state, " said Melanie

Bondera, a farmer from Kona and member of the Hawaii Genetic Engineering

Action Network. " The continued planting of GMO crops risk giving Hawaiian

agriculture an undeservedly bad reputation in major export markets around

the world. "

 

Dr. Lorrin Pang, MD, MPH, a public health specialist, discussed potential

human health threats posed by the GMO papaya and other GMO foods, including

increased antibiotic resistance and unexpected allergenic reactions. " All

of these concerns are troubling in themselves, but they would be less

worrisome if the GMO mutations did not spread beyond our intentions.

Today's report shows that they do, " Dr. Pang said. " If a health problem

arises that is attributable to GMO foods, it will be impossible to recall

such a live, dangerous mutation once it has been released into the

environment. "

 

Dr. Hector Valenzuela, a scientist specializing in tropical crops from UH

Manoa's Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, asserted that the

University's focus on promoting genetic engineering is steering Hawaiian

agriculture in the wrong direction. " Instead of supporting untested

technologies like genetic engineering, the University of Hawaii should

redirect their resources to focus on researching and promoting workable,

non-GMO solutions to local agricultural problems. Hawaii farmers need

agricultural advances that can protect their farms and our state's

agricultural economy over the long run. "

 

Bondera outlined the campaign being launched by GMO-Free Hawaii based on

these contamination results. " Despite the problems local growers have had

with the GMO papaya, the University is now genetically engineering taro,

pineapple, banana, sugarcane, and other commodity crops, " said Bondera.

" The problems with GMO papaya contamination show us that there are too many

unanswered questions about agricultural biotech to be releasing new

experimental genetically engineered organisms into our environment.

Hawaiian farmers want to see an immediate moratorium on the release of other

genetically engineered commodity crops, and a commitment from the University

to fund research into local, sustainable agriculture. "

 

####

 

 

 

---------

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[Guest guest]

Hello : Thank you for the information about the Hawaiian

papayas, the fact that there has been no research on the impact of

genetic engineering of the papaya on humans, and what I found most

interesting is that Japan and the European Union will not even accept

food that is genetically modified. It just goes to show you what

happens in a country that has as it's foundation a profit motive over

human health!! Thanks, Ashtarra

[Guest guest]

That IS interesting...do you know WHY Japan and Europe won't accept

genetically modified foods? Have they done studies on i?? I think it

is a scary time that science as oppose to nature is making our food,

including our " natural " food!

 

 

BEV

 

 

 

Ashtarra J. Brissette [arcadiapress]

Tuesday, September 14, 2004 7:47 AM

 

Re: Fwd: Hawaiian papayas contaminated by GMO variety

 

Hello : Thank you for the information about the Hawaiian

papayas, the fact that there has been no research on the impact of

genetic engineering of the papaya on humans, and what I found most

interesting is that Japan and the European Union will not even accept

food that is genetically modified. It just goes to show you what

happens in a country that has as it's foundation a profit motive over

human health!! Thanks, Ashtarra

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sadly, most of the European Union (EU) governments HAVE agreed to

accept genetically modified foods. The bulk of the populace in most

of the countries are against this but it was hard for the EU to hold

out against US pressure & lobbyists. Monsanto is a US based company

that is basically trying to control the global food market. Very

scary.

 

, " Beverly Coose " <mermaidcharter@c...>

wrote:

> That IS interesting...do you know WHY Japan and Europe won't accept

> genetically modified foods? Have they done studies on i?? I think

it

> is a scary time that science as oppose to nature is making our food,

> including our " natural " food!

>

>

> BEV

>

>

>

> Ashtarra J. Brissette [arcadiapress@e...]

> Tuesday, September 14, 2004 7:47 AM

>

> Re: Fwd: Hawaiian papayas contaminated by GMO

variety

>

> Hello : Thank you for the information about the Hawaiian

> papayas, the fact that there has been no research on the impact of

> genetic engineering of the papaya on humans, and what I found most

> interesting is that Japan and the European Union will not even

accept

> food that is genetically modified. It just goes to show you what

> happens in a country that has as it's foundation a profit motive

over

> human health!! Thanks, Ashtarra

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello Raw Soul: I don't know the history of what countries are

accepting genetically engineered foods or not, but the article said that

Japan and The EU wasn't accepting papayas that are genetically

engineered. At least Japan is thinking of their population... The

farmers in Hawaii are in danger of losing their business with these

countries. Having papaya is one of my favorite lunches or afternoon

snacks. I bought an " organic " Hawaiian papaya today that said

strawberry papaya, but when I cut into it, it was a regular papaya!

Strawberry papayas are more red inside once they are really ripe, or so

I thought. Looking at the papaya, it made me think of the article and

how the fruit has become cross polinated. I wondered if this was an

example that the farmers are expressing concern about...no more

strawberry papayas!! And by the way, I was getting tired of my rather

humdrum raw food meals, which in the effort to do the cooked thing for

my daughter, can get reduced to almond butter on celery sticks and

juice. I made a lasagne and I have to say, I think it tasted better

than the " cooked " version!!! Thanks and Blessings to everyone,

Ashtarra....