Fwd: FW: [Food-news] Biotech Crops Mark First Decade with Wins, Losses

[Guest guest]

> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> The most personalized portal on the Web!

> > Tue, 3 Jan 2006 21:59:57 -0500 (EST)

> " Food News " <foodnews

> food-news

> [Food-news] Biotech Crops Mark First Decade

> with Wins, Losses

>

> Editor's Note: This article weighs advances and

> setbacks of GM crops one

> decade since their market release. As the acreage of

> biotech planted crops

> continues to rise, many stated benefits have yet to

> be proven. These days,

> moratoriums are overturned and approvals granted

> while at the same time,

> pockets of resistance arise anew across the globe.

> The direction GM crops

> will take remains open and much continues to hinge

> on regulatory decisions

> of some key players such as China.

>

> www.planetark.com

>

> FEATURE - Biotech Crops Mark First Decade with Wins,

> Losses

>

> KANSAS CITY - When Monsanto introduced the world to

> genetically modified

> crops a decade ago, the biotech advancement was

> heralded as the dawn of a

> new era that could reduce world hunger, help the

> environment and bolster

> struggling farmers.

>

> Now, biotech beans, cotton, corn and canola are

> profit-drivers at Monsanto

> and are lifting the fortunes of rival companies like

> Swiss-based Syngenta

> and Dow AgroSciences LLC, a unit of Dow Chemical Co.

> The gains are largely

> due to a broad US acceptance of crops that have been

> genetically altered

> to withstand weed killers and insects, and backers

> say, generate higher

> yields.

>

> But as the industry celebrates its 10th anniversary,

> the early promises of

> biotech crops remain largely unrealised, and many

> countries have banned

> the technology amid concerns about potential danger

> for human health and

> the environment.

>

> " GM products have not lived up to those early

> exaggerated expectations, "

> said Joel Cohen, senior research fellow at the

> International Food Policy

> Research Institute. " We now have a series of very

> dependable, reliable

> crops using this technology. But there is still a

> large precautionary

> perspective. "

>

> ONE STEP FORWARD...

>

> Indeed, for nearly every step forward, there is a

> step back. Last month,

> cereal giant Kellogg announced it would start using

> a healthy low

> linolenic oil derived only from Monsanto's biotech

> soybean in its

> biscuits, crackers and other food products.

>

> But less than two weeks later, rival Kraft Foods,

> the world's

> second-largest food producer, said it would stop

> supplying all genetically

> engineered food products, including additives, to

> China due to a lack of

> market acceptance. Pepsico and Coca-Cola have made

> similar pledges.

>

> There have been other recent setbacks, including a

> decision in November by

> Swiss voters to ban the planting of biotech crops

> for five years, and the

> recent revelation in Australia that a biotech pea

> caused health problems

> in research mice, forcing cancellation of that

> project.

>

> In 2004 Monsanto was forced to withdraw a biotech

> wheat it planned to sell

> in the United States and Canada because of strong

> market opposition. Other

> failed projects include Monsanto's delayed-ripening

> tomato and a healthier

> potato.

>

> " Genetic engineering has not delivered on any of its

> promises for human

> health benefits, " said Margaret Mellon, director of

> the Agriculture and

> Biotechnology Program at the Union of Concerned

> Scientists. " There are a

> lot of failures scattered at the side of the road. "

>

> Other critics say biotech crops have created more

> problems than they've

> solved, creating herbicide-resistant weeds, for

> instance.

>

> Backers say biotech crops are good for the

> environment because they can

> reduce the amount of chemicals needed to grow

> healthy crops. Opponents say

> chemical use increases many times because of weed

> resistance and other

> problems.

>

> And they say that farmer profits tied to better

> yields get eaten up by the

> higher prices they pay for biotech seeds. Critics

> say the technology has

> not eased hunger because many poor countries are

> unable or unwilling to

> adopt it.

>

> GENIE OUT OF THE BOTTLE

>

> Still, acreage planted with biotech crops around the

> world is increasing

> and this year topped more than 1 billion acres

> (404.7 million hectares)

> sown to soybeans, corn, cotton, canola and other

> crops.

>

> In the United States, 52 percent of all corn, 79

> percent of upland cotton

> and 87 percent of soybeans planted in 2004-05 were

> biotech varieties,

> according to the US Department of Agriculture.

>

> An industry report is expected to show good growth

> not only in the United

> States but in many other countries. Barriers in

> Europe are slowly lowering

> and new products in the pipeline should help improve

> acceptance, biotech

> backers say.

>

> " We're now 10 years into it, on a billion acres in

> 17 countries, " said Dow

> AgroSciences vice president of plant genetics Pete

> Siggelko. " There will

> be some continuing bumps in the road, but we are

> starting to see a balance

> of very good news and growth. The genie is way out

> of the bottle. "

>

> Cotton, corn, soybeans and canola, all first rolled

> out in the 1995/1996

> growing seasons, remain the top biotech crops but

> the future should bring

> new crops, biotech backers say.

>

> Iran became the first country to commercialise

> biotech rice in 2004,

> approving a pest-resistant variety.

>

> And Syngenta last year announced a new strain of

> " golden rice " that

> produces up to 23 times as much beta-carotene as

> previous varieties. The

> rice will be available for free to research centres

> across Asia.

>

> Michael Fernandez, executive director of the Pew

> Initiative on Food and

> Biotechnology, said there is currently " enormous

> investment " in

> agricultural biotechnology in China, Argentina,

> Chile and other countries,

> and genetically modified rice was likely to gain

> approval in China in the

> near future, a move that could shift acceptance

> globally in favour of

> biotech food.

>

> " We haven't seen anything that has been dramatically

> new in a while, "

> Fernandez said. " But I think we're starting to see

> signs of more movement

> forward. "

>

> Story by Carey Gillam

> Story 3/1/2006

>

>

>

> WHO WE ARE: This e-mail service shares information

> to help more people

> discuss crucial policy issues affecting global food

> security. The service

> is managed by Amber McNair of the University of

> Toronto in partnership

> with the Centre for Urban Health Initiatives (CUHI)

> and Wayne Roberts of

> the Toronto Food Policy Council, in partnership with

> the Community Food

> Security Coalition, World Hunger Year, and

> International Partners for

> Sustainable Agriculture.

> Please help by sending information or names and

> e-mail addresses of

> co-workers who'd like to receive this service, to

> foodnews

 

I have decided to do the CN Tower

Climb for World Wildlife Fund. this link should take you to the 'sponsor a

climber' page, where you can search by name for someone. search for my name

(alison syer) and you should be able to find it.

 

https://wwfcentral.ca/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx? & pid=232 & srcid=232 & tab=1