Brazil seals port silos holding GM Argentine corn

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BRAZIL SEALS PORT SILOS HOLDING GM ARGENTINE CORNApril 28, 2003ReutersSAO PAULO, Brazil - Brazil's environmental protection agency, Ibama,said last week 17,800 tonnes of genetically modified Argentine cornwould be sealed in silos at the Port of Recife until its use andtransportation were clearly defined.Alberto Jose Rodrigues dos Santos, an inspector at Ibama's offices inRecife, was quoted as saying, "We were at the port yesterday and wenotified those responsible about the ban on liberating the shipment (ofcorn)."Brazil environment agency may halt imported GM corn---The Dominion Post (Wellington); April 25, 2003,Fears raised over dna survival in soilTHE ability of dna to survive for long periods in soil hasraised fears about mutant disease-causing bacteria andviruses. Oxford University professor Alan Cooper, an experton ancient dna visiting New Zealand this week, spoke out onthe dangers of genetic engineering. His findings that dnacould survive for thousands of years in soils were publishedin international journal Science this month. "The abilityof dna to persist in soils for so long was completelyunderestimated . . . and illustrates how little we know,"Professor Cooper said. "The implication is that a greatdeal more research is needed before we could predict theeffect of releasing GE plants." Soil bacteria could swapdna with other sources without sexual reproduction -- aphenomenon known as horizontal gene transfer -- with therisk of antibiotic resistance passing from GE crops intodisease-causing bacteria, he said. "It raises seriousissues about the release of altered genes into theenvironment, such as how long are they going to last, andwhere will they be able to disperse to."---