GMWATCH REVIEW 326
from Claire Robinson, REVIEW editor
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Dear all:
Starting with this issue, we are streamlining our operations by merging our weekly and monthly review lists and will be putting out Reviews as needed, once every 2-4 weeks. This is one of several improvements we are planning this year at GMWatch.
Claire <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;
Website: http://gmwatch.org
Profiles: http://bit.ly/12UAI2
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMWatch
Facebook: http://bit.ly/c6OnaX
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CONTENTS
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GM TECHNOLOGY
FEEDING THE WORLD
GLYPHOSATE
RESEARCH
EUROPE
THE AMERICAS
LYNAS LOBBYWATCH
OTHER LOBBYWATCH STORIES
AUSTRALASIA
ASIA
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
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GM TECHNOLOGY
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+ THE GMO SEED CARTEL
The introduction of GM crops has corresponded with increasing monopolization of seed by biotechnology companies and higher seed costs that have led to tragedies in some countries, while pushing out conventional, non-GM seeds, and reducing farmer seed choices. These impacts are being seen in the United States, Brazil, India, the Philippines, and South Africa, and even Europe, says Ken Roseboro in an article, "The GMO seed cartel".
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14626
+ SEVEN OBVIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT GMOs BY AWARD-WINNING SCIENCE WRITER
Does GM solve problems that need solving? Is it really intended to save the world, or to maximize short-term wealth and centralise control? A superb article by Colin Tudge, three-time winner of the Science Writer of the Year Award, asks seven obvious questions about GMOs - and answers them with evidence.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14550
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FEEDING THE WORLD
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+ WE PRODUCE MORE THAN ENOUGH FOOD AND WASTE HALF
As much as half of all the food produced in the world – equivalent to 2 billion tonnes – ends up as waste every year, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers warned in a report. In United States, Canada and Europe, 40 per cent of food is wasted. And previous research shows that world food production today is enough to feed double the present population. The facts blow a large hole in the GM companies' campaign to convince people that their technology is required to feed the world.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14581
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GLYPHOSATE
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+ IS MONSANTO ADMITTING ROUNDUP IS NOT BIODEGRADABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY?
Roundup bought in Pakistan no longer has claims on the label that it's biodegradable and environmentally friendly:
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14573
The move may have something to do with the ruling from the Dutch advertising standards commission that marketing claims that Roundup had no adverse effects on soil were misleading:
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14620
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RESEARCH
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+ HIDDEN VIRAL GENE REVEALED IN GMOs
Biotech industry claims, and regulatory reassurances, that GM technology is predictable and safe have been shaken by the discovery of viral gene sequence in many GM crops. Two-thirds of GM crops approved in the US contain the hitherto unidentified viral gene, but although regulators have insufficient information to determine if it is safe for human consumption, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has opted for a retrospective review rather than a ban.
The existence of the viral gene, Gene VI, was revealed in a study authored by EFSA staff and published in the journal GM Crops and Food. The gene is in many widely grown GM crops, including Monsanto's RR MON810 soy, NK603 maize and other crops imported to the EU for food and animal feed.
The discovery raises two problems:
*Safety assessments for GM food and feed did not detect the presence of the gene previously, despite assurances that the technology is predictable and the crops are safe.
*The gene sequence itself could affect the way plants function, potentially creating unexpected allergens or toxins or affecting the crop's defences against diseases.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14596
+ ROUNDUP HARMS BENEFICIAL GUT BACTERIA - STUDY
A study by scientists at Leipzig University found that Roundup herbicide negatively impacted the gastrointestinal bacteria of poultry tested in vitro. The researchers found that highly pathogenic bacteria resisted Roundup, whereas beneficial bacteria were moderately to highly susceptible to it. The study provides a scientific basis to farmer reports of increased gastrointestinal disease in animals fed GM Roundup Ready soy, which is tolerant to Roundup.
An interesting video presentation shows how a Danish egg producer Claus Storgaard found drastic improvements in the health and egg production of his hens after changing from GM to non-GM soy feed.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14520
Take action on GM animal feed: http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14554
+ ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE FROM GMOs FOUND IN MICROBES IN CHINESE RIVERS
Transgenic DNA from GMOs conferring antibiotic resistance has been found in bacteria in all rivers tested in China. These bacteria all have in common the fact that they acquired antibiotic resistance markers from transgenic origin. Antibiotic resistance in free-living bacteria is not a good thing for those who may one day want to use antibiotics to fend off infections (e.g. patients in hospitals).
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14571
+ GM CORN BOOSTS YIELD AND NITROGEN USE - COMPARED WITH ANOTHER GM CORN!
In a story called "Benefits of Bt corn go beyond rootworm resistance", Science Daily announced the findings of a study showing GM Bt rootworm resistant corn boosted yields and used nitrogen efficiently. Had GM technology finally come up with a success? Not exactly. The comparator was not non-GM corn but GM Roundup-tolerant corn. So the study proved that one type of GM corn performed better than another GM corn. That's one way of 'proving' GM crops are better - eliminate the non-GM comparator and compare one GM crop with another! That way, GM will be a winner every time.
Hype: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130206110920.htm#.URQMGcNHNOQ.email
Study: https://www.crops.org/publications/cs/abstracts/53/2/585
+ EAT ORGANIC TO AVOID DISEASE-CAUSING FUSARIUM MOULD
A study published in 2011 found that fusarium mould in organic systems tended to be dominated by non-disease causing species, whereas pathogenic fusarium were more abundant in high-input chemical systems. The message: eat organic to avoid the disease-causing mould.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14572
+ CITIZENS LIED TO OVER GM STUDY
The public was misled over the Seralini study, which found increased organ damage, tumours and premature death in rats fed GM maize, in order to protect powerful commercial interests, says Claire Robinson in an article for Public Service Europe.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14584
New public interest website addressing criticisms of the Seralini study: gmoseralini.org
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EUROPE
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+ EUROPE "HAS FAILED TO LEARN FROM ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS"
Europe has failed to learn the lessons from environmental and health disasters like Chernobyl, leaded petrol, and DDT insecticides, and is now ignoring warnings about bee deaths, GM food, and nanotechnology, according to an 800-page report by the European Environment Agency. Thousands of lives could have been saved and extensive damage to ecosystems avoided if the "precautionary principle" had been applied on the basis of early warnings, say the authors of the peer-reviewed 2013 Late Lessons from Early warnings report.
They accuse industry of working to corrupt or undermine regulation by spinning and manipulating research and applying pressure on governments for financial benefit. "[It has] deliberately recruited reputable scientists, media experts and politicians to call on if their products were linked to possible hazards. Manufacturing doubt, disregarding scientific evidence of risks, and claiming over-regulation appear to be a deliberate strategy for some industry groups and think tanks to undermine precautionary decision-making."
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14598
+ JUDGES DENY ANTI-GM ACTIVISTS A FAIR TRIAL
In the presence of a huge crowd of supporters, a court in Dendermonde, Belgium denied 11 anti-GMO activists the legal right to a defence in court. The court refused to allow defence witnesses to give their statements, and also refused to allow video footage to be shown. This is in violation of article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees defendants the right to a fair trial. In response, the 11 field liberators and their lawyers decided unanimously to leave the court room. The judgement is expected on 12 February: in the event of a guilty verdict, the activists will appeal.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14587
+ EUROPE FREEZES GM APPROVALS
The European Commission doesn't plan to give the green light to new GM crops in the coming months, as it wants first an agreement on the draft legislation that would allow member governments to decide individually whether to grow or ban GM plants, a spokesperson said, according to a report in EurActiv. The draft rules proposed by the European Commission in 2010 were meant to unblock EU decision-making on GM crops, by allowing some countries to plant them while letting others impose cultivation bans. But opposition from France, Germany, and Britain has prevented agreement on the proposals.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14599
+ BASF DROPS GM POTATO PLANS IN THE EU
The German chemical firm BASF has announced it is halting the development of all its GM potato varieties in Europe. The company gained approval to grow a commercial GM potato called Amflora in 2010, but the potato failed to gain market acceptance. The company had also been seeking approval for three other GM varieties, but it has now taken the decision to walk away from Europe altogether. According to BASF's Jennifer Moore-Braun, it wasn't just the lack of enthusiasm among European consumers and farmers - it was the lack of political support, with no sign of that changing. GM maize is now the only crop approved for use in the EU.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14619
+ POLAND BANS CULTIVATION OF GM MAIZE, POTATOES
Poland has imposed new bans on the cultivation of certain varieties of GM maize and potatoes, a day after an EU required green light for GM crops took effect. This bans the only two GM crops (MON810 maize and the Amflora potato) approved for commercial cultivation in the EU. MON810 is already banned by France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Greece, and Luxembourg.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14551
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14552
+ GOOD NEWS: MONSANTO/DEVELOPMENT BANK DEAL DROPPED
A potential cooperation between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Monsanto has thankfully not come to fruition. In November 2012 Bankwatch reported that the EBRD was exploring a project to provide financing so that medium-large farmers and distributors in Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey could buy Monsanto's seeds and agrochemicals in instalments, without Monsanto losing money if they got into debt.
After a lively reaction from groups around the world, including a letter signed by 158 organisations, individual letters, meetings with the bank, a protest in Serbia, and questions in the German and Slovene parliaments, the EBRD has confirmed that the project is not going ahead.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14610
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THE AMERICAS
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+ MEXICO: HUNGER STRIKE AGAINST GM MAIZE
Mexican peasant farmers began a collective hunger strike against GM maize cultivation in front of the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City. An statement from the farmers said, "We want to express our indignation faced with the terrible blow that would come with the imminent approval of large-scale commercial planting of GMO maize in Mexico, and we demand that the Mexican government place the interests of peasants and the majority of Mexican farmers above the interests of a few transnational corporations."
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14602
+ U.S. FARMERS MAY STOP PLANTING GM CROPS AFTER POOR YIELDS
Some US farmers are considering returning to conventional seed after increased pest resistance and crop failures meant GM crops saw smaller yields globally than their non-GM counterparts. Farmers in the USA pay about an extra $100 per acre for GM seed, and many are questioning whether they will continue to see benefits from using GMs.
"It's all about cost benefit analysis," said economist Dan Basse, president of American agricultural research company AgResource. "Farmers are paying extra for the technology but have seen yields which are no better than 10 years ago. They're starting to wonder why they're spending extra money on the technology."
One of the biggest problems is that pests such as corn rootworm have formed a resistance to GM crops in as few as 14 years.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14625
+ DOW'S NEW GM CORN DELAYED AMID PROTESTS
A new GM corn developed by Dow will be delayed at least another year as the company awaits regulatory approval amid opposition from farmers, consumers, and public health officials. The corn is resistant to glyphosate and 2-4-D herbicides. Critics warn that adding more herbicides to already resistant weed populations will only expand and accelerate weed resistance. Some have likened the problem to a "chemical arms race" across farm country.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14601
+ GM FOOD MAY GET UNIFORM LABELING IN U.S.
With Washington State on the verge of a ballot initiative that would require GM labeling and other states considering similar measures, some of the major food companies and Wal-Mart, the country's largest grocery store operator, have been discussing a national labeling program.
Executives from PepsiCo, ConAgra, and about 20 other major food companies, as well as Wal-Mart and advocacy groups that favour labeling, attended a meeting in January in Washington convened by the Meridian Institute, which organizes discussions of major issues. The inclusion of Wal-Mart has buoyed hopes among labeling advocates that the big food companies will shift away from tactics like those used to defeat Proposition 37 in California last fall, when corporations spent more than $40 million to oppose GM labeling.
"They spent an awful lot of money in California — talk about a lack of return on investment," said Gary Hirshberg, co-chairman of the Just Label It campaign, which advocates national labeling, and chairman of Stonyfield, an organic dairy company.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14616
Public health attorney Michele Simon warns of the possible pitfalls of a federal labelling program:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-simon/will-a-federal-compromise_b_2617487. html
+ HALF OF U.S. FARMS SUFFER FROM ROUNDUP RESISTANT WEEDS
The area of US cropland infested with glyphosate-resistant weeds has expanded to 61.2 million acres in 2012, according to a survey conducted by Stratus Agri-Marketing. Nearly half of all US farmers interviewed reported that glyphosate-resistant weeds were present on their farm in 2012, up from 34% of farmers in 2011. The survey also indicates that the rate at which glyphosate-resistant weeds are spreading is gaining momentum; increasing 25% in 2011 and 51% in 2012.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14618
+ BRAZIL KING OF SOY WARNS FARMERS NOT TO PLANT MONSANTO RR2 SOY
Brazilian Senator Blairo Maggi, also known as the King of Soy, has warned Brazilian farmers against planting Monsanto RR2 GM soy, as China still hasn't approved it. Maggi's warning is the latest in a series of woes for Monsanto in Brazil, as a farmer class action lawsuit has forced Monsanto to stop collecting royalties on its Bollgard and Roundup Ready GM traits.
Google English translation from Portuguese:
http://bit.ly/VFGwSm
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LYNAS LOBBYWATCH
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+ MARK LYNAS: THE REPENTANT ENVIRONMENTALIST
The author Mark Lynas, who used to oppose GM crops, made global headlines with a speech supporting them at the Oxford Farming Conference. Lynas apologized for helping to found the anti-GM movement and helping to demonize GM crops. Lynas claimed his conversion to GM was down to his discovering science.
But none of these claims stand up to scrutiny. First, Lynas was not remotely a founder, or a main mover, of the anti-GM movement. Indeed, one long time observer of the GM debate described him as "More like a johnny-come-lately carpetbagger". Second, Lynas has become notorious for his apparent ignorance or disregard of much of the scientific and on-the-ground evidence on GM crops. And third, Lynas's conversion is not new; it dates from 2010.
An article by Jonathan Matthews of GMWatch suggests Lynas's speech is best understood as a PR narrative:
http://www.spinwatch.org/-articles-by-category-mainmenu-8/46-gm-industry/5557
+ SCIENTISTS AND EXPERTS RESPOND TO LYNAS
A number of scientists and expert commentators challenged Lynas arguments - on the basis of evidence. Dr Pushpa M. Bhargava, known as the father of biotechnology in India, noted that "in science, we go by evidence" - and Lynas wasn't offering any. Dr Bhargava added, "To the community of scientists, he (Lynas) is a completely unknown entity and no different from somebody one might pick up on the street randomly."
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14600
More responses from scientists and experts:
Doug Gurian-Sherman
http://blog.ucsusa.org/science-dogma-and-mark-lynas/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_m edium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheEquation+%28The+Equation+-+UCS+Blog%29
John Vandermeer
http://www.foodfirst.org/en/GMO+uproar+in+EU
Suman Sahai
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14600
Tom Philpott
http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2013/01/mark-lynas-failed-attempt-end-gm -debate
Marcia Ishii-Eiteman
http://www.panna.org/blog/debunking-mark-lynas-ge-myths
Brian John
http://www.gmfreecymru.org/pivotal_papers/lynas_school.html
Eric Holt-Gimenez
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-holt-gimenez/of-myths-and-men-mark-lyn_b_2591 502.html
Latha Jishnu
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14623
Prasanna Mohanty
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14622
Raj Patel
http://rajpatel.org/2013/01/14/man-reads-book/
http://rajpatel.org/2013/01/30/last-words-on-laffaire-lynas/
Jason Mark
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14585
Bob Phelps
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14592
And don't miss a relevant article by science writer Colin Tudge, whose conversion went in the opposite direction to Lynas's. Tudge used to be a GM enthusiast but, after years of studying the evidence, came to the conclusion that GM isn't the best answer to our problems:
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14550
+ LYNAS APOLOGIZES FOR LYING ABOUT SOIL ASSOCIATION
Lynas responded to Jonathan Matthews's article, "The Repentant Environmentalist", by claiming that the Soil Association funded "smear campaigns" by GMWatch! Lynas had to back down and apologise to the Soil Association for making this claim:
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14621
An interview with Lynas by blogger Keith Kloor now contains two retractions of Lynas's claims:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/collideascape/2013/01/31/mark-lynas-responds-t o-his-detractors/#.URUQiuh7Qsk
+ LYNAS'S GOD DELUSION
Lynas triggered some amazingly overblown hype in the media with his claims about his anti-GM activism. A good number of these quotations come from articles and interviews that have appeared in media as mainstream as the BBC, The Sunday Times, The New York Times, The Australian and The New Yorker.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14627
Our favourite is from Indian GM enthusiast R. Swaminathan:
"In the world of environmental activism Mark Lynas was god. When he said something it was heard with rapt attention for its sheer gravitas. An ardent and sometimes militant opponent of genetically modified crops, he literally [!] nuked the movement he had once so carefully nurtured by doing a volte face at a farming conference in Oxford."
http://governancenow.com/news/regular-story/duflo-lynas-highlight-existential-cr isis-indian-activism
+ LYNAS IN INDIA?
A plan was formed to fly Lynas to India, where, with corporate flacks Dennis Avery and Patrick Moore, he was to speak at a conference on "Doubling food production in five years". Presumably he planned to speak how GM would bring this about! However, we didn't hear that he actually made it to India.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14609
+ IS GM MORE PRECISE THAN CONVENTIONAL BREEDING?
One of Lynas's more dubious claims was that GM is safer than conventional breeding because it "just moves a couple of genes, whereas conventional breeding mucks about with the entire genome in a trial and error way". In fact, GM is less precise than breeding, explains Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists:
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14591
More on this question:
http://earthopensource.org/index.php/1-the-genetic-engineering-technique/1-2-myt h-genetic-engineering-is-precise-and-the-results-are-predictable
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OTHER LOBBYWATCH STORIES
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+ SCIENCE MEDIA CENTRE BURNS 100K OF PUBLIC MONEY PER YEAR…
… to convince us we love GM crops and other unpopular or controversial technologies. In fact this is just the sum given to the SMC by the seven UK Research Councils, so it's the tip of a large iceberg. The SMC also burns up public money from several universities and even the Food Standards Agency.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14607
To understand how the SMC functions as an outrider for corporate interests, see the article by Jonathan Matthews, Smelling A Corporate Rat, which John Vidal of The Guardian called the definitive account of the Seralini affair:
http://www.spinwatch.org/-articles-by-category-mainmenu-8/46-gm-industry/5546
For more on the SMC:
http://www.powerbase.info/index.php/Science_Media_Centre
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AUSTRALASIA
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+ SOUTH AUSTRALIA WON'T JEOPARDISE STATE WITH GM
South Australia has told the Federal Government it will not end its ban on GM crop cultivation. The Federal Government had asked states with GM moratoria which had not reviewed their positions within the past three years to do so by the end of 2014.
State Agriculture Minister Gail Gago has defiantly turned down the request. "I have written to the Federal Government and told them that we will not be doing this,'' Ms Gago said. "South Australia's glean green food bowl gives us a competitive edge in the market. Our non-GM crops attract greater market prices and the exceptional quality of SA's food bowl is synonymous with the state."
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14558
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ASIA
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+ WILD-GROWING GM CANOLA SPREADS IN JAPAN
Monsanto's Roundup Ready GM canola and Bayer's Liberty Link GM canola were found growing by the roadside between Yokkaichi port and Matsusaka city in Mie Prefecture, Japan. 44 citizens gathered together and walked along more than 15 kms in order to clean up the unwanted GM canola.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14566
+ NEW BT CORN TRIALS IN PAKISTAN
A third round of GM maize trials by Monsanto and Dupont-Pioneer is under way in Punjab, Pakistan. Earlier, two-year mandatory trials were conducted and no value for Pakistan was proven by those. To date, vital questions remain unanswered about the value of GM crops and the regulatory process in Pakistan. Reportedly, along with the latest round of trials, Monsanto simultaneously submitted the case for commercialization.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14615
+ SHODDY SCIENCE BEHIND BT COTTON APPROVAL IN INDIA
As details emerge of the fraudulent Bt cotton planted in India, a key question arises: How did regulators allow it to get past them and into farmers' fields? According to an article for Down To Earth, one of the people who played a key role in this farce was himself a regulator. The scientist responsible for conducting the molecular analysis of the fraudulent Bt cotton didn't do so because he didn't know how. The scientist had been on the regulatory body, the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM), for years.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14553
+ INDIA REQUIRES GM LABELING ON PACKAGED FOOD
India has introduced mandatory GM labeling for packaged food.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14549
+ MONSANTO BIOSAFETY DATA SHOW HUGE GAPS
Greenpeace commissioned the research group Testbiotech to assess the biosafety data presented by Monsanto to the Indian authorities prior to commercial approval of its GM corn. The Testbiotech report concluded that the data and assessments presented by Monsanto are incomplete and lacking in scientific rigour. Interestingly most of the data provided by Monsanto was not for the stacked gene variety of Monsanto's corn, which is the one they have been conducting field trials on, but of the parent lines with single genes.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14617
+ PHILIPPINES PROTESTS OVER GM CORN
Individuals and groups signed a manifesto against the move from the National Corn Board, which is planning to reintroduce GM corn in the province of Oriental Mindoro. At a protest, farmers spoke about their previous experiences with failed GM corn crops.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14603
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
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Dr Arpad Pusztai's response to the question of what we should call the kind of "science" that the GM industry and its lobbyists practice and promote:
"What I find frustrating is that we even use the term 'science'. Science does not 'advocate' anything but seeks the truth and science cannot be 'junk' because then it is no longer science. Why don't we just use the term such as commerce research or something similar. Please, leave the word science out of all this."