(1)   EU Plans Tight Biotech Food Controls.
Labeling Rules Carry Risk of Trade Dispute With U.S.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2430-2001Apr10.html

WASHINGTON POST. Special Report. By William Drozdiak, Washington Post Foreign Service, Wednesday, April 11, 2001. BRUSSELS -- The European Union is preparing to enact strict new controls on the sale of genetically engineered foods, which could trigger a major trade dispute with the United States and deal a serious setback to the booming biotech industry. Faced with growing public alarm about food safety, the European Parliament is expected to approve a resolution this month that will impose tough labeling and tracing requirements on genetically modified products. The 15 member governments will then be asked to make their national laws conform to the new rules by next year.
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For the past three years, the EU has banned new bioengineered seeds and crops while it writes laws to govern the sale and distribution of biotech products. As a result of the ban, U.S. corn growers have been shut out of markets worth about $200 million a year. U.S. soybean growers, on the other hand, have been allowed to keep selling a genetically modified variety that was previously approved and earns about $1.5 billion a year in European markets. While designed to end the moratorium, the EU's new laws may cause wider disruptions in transatlantic trade. Labels would be required for any food item that contains genetically modified substances, even when they cannot be detected because of processing. That means a candy bar would have to carry the special label if it contained sugar from genetically engineered beets or corn.
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With U.S. farmers and biotech advocates urging the Bush administration to take a tough stand against any damage to American exports, EU officials say they are aware of the danger of a trade conflict with the United States at a time when the global economy is threatened with recession and protectionist pressures are rising on both sides of the Atlantic. But they also insist that governments in Europe, which are struggling to surmount a crisis in confidence following several food-related scandals, cannot ignore public demands for health assurances, even at the risk of temporary trade disruptions. "There are deep fears among public opinion in Europe that are much more complex than in the United States," Romano Prodi, the president of the EU's executive commission, said in an interview. "This is why I am asking for a special panel of the best American and European scientists to gather all evidence on the quality and safety of genetically modified foods. We need a lot more physical evidence before making judgments."  U.S. trade officials raised objections with....   

        (2)   Italy police seize more Monsanto seed in raid (Reuters Securities, 10 April 2001) In the third raid in less than three weeks, Italian police on Tuesday seized 88 tonnes of soy seed from U.S. biotech group Monsanto which are expected to be tested for genetic material. For the full story, go to: http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/010410/l10466337.html  

        (3)   GE Foods, USDA, FDA all on Agenda -- Worlds' Largest Food Manufacturers Will Gather in Washington, DC Next Week to Discuss Solutions to Food Safety Issues (BUSINESS WIRE 10 April 2001)-- Ann M. Veneman, Secretary of Agriculture and Joe Levitt, Director of the FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition to Address the Delegates. Topics to include Mad Cow Disease, Salmonella, Genetically Engineered Foods, and more.  The Food Safety Summit will provide food manufacturers and processors with the very latest updates on new technologies, as well as regulatory and scientific issues in food safety. Sessions and expo exhibits will focus on current and new solutions for producing safer food products, in a practical, non-technical format. Monday, April 16 thru Wednesday, April 18, 2001. Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. See http://www.nfpa-food.org  or go to: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010410/2462.html   

        (4)  GM Crops May All Be Unstable. ISIS Report April 8, 2001 ((Institute of Science in Society www.isis.org)) By Professor Joe Cummins.  It is repeatedly claimed that genetically modified (GM) crops are altered with single genes that are stable and equivalent to the genes that have been selected and bred into the crops. In every case the GM crops originated from cell cultures that have been know to be vexed with a phenomenon called somaclonal variation. Somaclonal variation has been encountered in genetic transformation using both biolistic and Agrobacterium transformation followed by cell culture to isolate desirable agricultural characteristics. The phenomenon is that cell cultures leading to isolate individual clones and plants are plagued by genetic instability caused both by gene mutation and chromosome rearrangement. In extreme responses plants may be infertile and the extensive mutation leads to undesirable toxic natural products being produced. Furthermore, the transgenes introduced into the modified crop are recognized as invaders by the crop being transformed and the invading genes are silenced by mechanisms including DNA methylation or gene inactivation at transcription.  The evidence that the genetic instability resulting in somaclonal variation is caused by activation of.... ((For further details please constact Prof. Joe Cummins at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ))  

        (5) Genetically Modified Corn, Soybeans Offer Little Advantage to Indiana Farmers, Say Purdue University Experts.  9 April 2001 http://208.141.36.73/listarchive/index.cfm?list_id=30 (4/10 post) WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. April 9 -- Corn growers who pass up genetically modified hybrids to plant conventional varieties this spring may be better off in the long run, say two Purdue University experts.  "None of the currently available insect-resistant or herbicide-tolerant corn or soybean varieties is critical for the success of Indiana farmers," says Bob Nielsen, Purdue Cooperative Extension Service corn specialist. "Because these transgenic crop traits are not critical for Indiana farmers, the choice of whether to grow them or not depends primarily on the farmer's assessment of the uncertainty of market acceptance for such products and/or the available seed supply of alternative nontransgenic varieties."  The primary pest targeted by genetically modified corn is the European corn borer. Because corn borer infestations are historically infrequent across Indiana, transgenic hybrids offer little economic advantage to most farmers, Nielsen says. Such biotech [Bt] varieties are most effective in controlling corn borer if planted very early or late in the season, he says.  Selling transgenic corn could pose a greater challenge. Grain elevator operators are increasingly reluctant to accept Bt corn that does not have full approval for use in the global market, says Dirk Maier, Purdue Extension agricultural engineer.  Public debate over transgenic crops intensified last fall, when....  

        (6) Pembrokeshire (UK) Dismay at GM Crop Trial Plan (9/4/2001) www.newswales.co.uk . Excerpts: "Our concerns are not only the potential impact on the wildlife and biodiversity, but the potential impact economically on nearby organic holdings, of which we know there are several."
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The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority has expressed deep dismay over the surprise announcement of the two Pembrokeshire sites for trials of Genetically Modified crops. And the Authority - which favours a moratorium on the commercial development of GM crops - has also questioned the timing of the announcement as the foot and mouth crisis continues. Although not in the National Park, the two sites, near Mathry, are very close to the Park boundary, being around 1 km away at its nearest point. The Authority has a clear stance on GM crops in its draft Management Plan which has just gone through its public consultation process and is now awaiting final confirmation. This states that, 'Because of the risk of cross-contamination of non-GM organisms, and serious doubts of the effectiveness of buffer zones, the Park Authority supports a moratorium on the commercial development of GM crops within the European Union.' The Chairman of the National Park Authority, Councillor Gordon Cawood, said: "Our concerns are not only the potential impact on the wildlife and biodiversity, but the potential impact economically on nearby organic holdings, of which we know there are several. "In Pembrokeshire, particularly in the National Park, there is a growing emphasis upon sustainability and the development of organic farming which needs to be encouraged. Using local sites for GM trials will lead to mixed messages and will cause serious concerns locally." Councillor Cawood also highlighted the lack of consultation on the announcement. "This was very much a bolt out of the blue for....  

        (7)  International Meeting, Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture to Meet in Italy, 23-28 April. See 4/09 post at: http://208.141.36.73/listarchive/index.cfm?list_id=30 The Contact Group negotiating the Int'l Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IU) will meet in Spoleto (Italy). Pat Mooney (RAFI) and Henk Hobbelink (GRAIN) will be there as our CSO representatives. It will be a crucial meeting where the question about property rights on seeds will have to be resolved and where the negotiations have to take a big step forward if we are to secure a legally-binding international agreement to safeguard the genetic resources of the world's major crops in the public domain.  A group of NGOs involved in advocacy work on the IU, including RAFI, GRAIN, IATP, ITDG and Berne Declaration have discussed how to increase pressure on the members of the Contact Group and to raise awareness in Civil Society....  The INTERNATIONAL UNDERTAKING is an important legally-binding international agreement that aims to ensure that for the genetic resources of the world's most important food... (nine points, continued)....   

        (10)   Pacific Island States Recommend, Consider GMO Ban (From Southern Pacific Regional Envirnt'l Programme, Samoa, issued April, 2001. http://www.gene.ch/genet.html or see http://www.gene.ch. Recommendations Adopted by the Pacific Islands Regional Biosafety Workshop, 19-22 March 2001, Apia, Samoa....  Recommend (14 Points): (1) That Pacific Island Countries consider signing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety by 4 June 2001; (2) That extensive and timely government and public consultations on biosafety need to be conducted with relevant stakeholders, to ensure national ownership of biosafety regimes; (3) That....  

       (11)  Monsanto Warns Argentina to Loosen GE Crop Restrictions April 2001 issue of Alive: Canadian Journal of Health and Nutrition. Headline: Failure of Genetically Engineered Goods. Monsanto Bullies Farmers. See: www.gene.ch Archives. Agribusiness giant Monsanto has warned Argentina it may shut some operations in  the country if the government does not loosen restrictions on genetically engineered (GE) crops.  Argentina only allows production of GE crops if the crops have been approved in the European Union.   The country does not want to produce crops it can't sell on the international market. Monsanto was planning to open an $8 million cotton processing plant in Argenetina. However, the company is threatening not to open the plant unless Argentina approves its herbicide resistant Roundup Ready biotech cotton, which is banned in Europe.  

        (12)   Chinese Question Safety of GM Food.  (11 Apr 2001) Genetic research may be an interesting topic for scientists to debate, but it is genetically altered food and cloned animals that have drawn greater concerns from the general public in China and worldwide. See: http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=china&doc_id=756&start=1  

        (13)  More China GM Food News Articles:  See http://www.checkbiotech.org/ and search: CHINA to see four additional news stories on China- GM Crops.

Also see IATP News Site on China at: http://208.141.36.73/listarchive/index.cfm?list_id=118  

        (14)   GMO Food Giants Unmasked. Thai Consumers Being Made Guinea Pigs.   Ploenpote Atthakor. BANGKOK POST. http://www.bangkokpost.com/today/110401_News01.html Excerpts:  Nestle{AAC} in Germany announced it was committed not to use GMOs in their baby food products and today they still adhere to this commitment there. "But here in Thailand, Nestle{AAC} is feeding children GE baby food without even informing mothers about GE ingredients," said Jim Thomas, of Greenpeace International, adding that it was "utterly irresponsible of them to treat Thais as second-class consumers".
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Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in seven food products, including baby food, on local market shelves, Greenpeace said yesterday.  The seven products are Nestle{AAC} baby food (Baby Cerelac); Unilever's Knorr instant cream of corn soup; Nissin Cup Noodle (duck flavour); Vita-Tofu soybean curd; Good Time instant cereal beverage; Lay's stax and Pringles potato crisps. Except for Lay's stax and Pringles, which are imported from the US, the remaining items are produced locally. The seven products were among 30 food items sent to a Hong Kong-based laboratory for genetic testing in February this year, Greenpeace said. "It is shocking to know that these genetically engineered items are already ending up in our food without the public's knowledge or consent. Scientists still do not know the long-term effects of releasing GMOs into our environment and people's diet. "Thai consumers have the right to refuse being treated like guinea pigs in what is a massive experiment with potentially far-reaching and irreversible consequences," said Auaiporn Suthonthanyakorn, of Greenpeace Southeast Asia. While ruling out any error in the tests, Ms Auaiporn said a one-off negative test result did not necessarily indicate that products later tested randomly would prove GE-free because GE crops were commonly mixed with non-GE ones. The activist called for immediate GE labelling since existing regulations could do nothing to remove these products from the market. She said large multinational corporations like Nestle{AAC}, Unilever and PepsiCo were practising double standards. "In 1996, when genetically engineered food ingredients cropped up for the first time, Nestle{AAC} in Germany announced it was committed not to use GMOs in their baby food products and today they still adhere to this commitment there. "But here in Thailand, Nestle{AAC} is feeding children GE baby food without even informing mothers about GE ingredients," said Jim Thomas, of Greenpeace International, adding that it was "utterly irresponsible of them to treat Thais as second-class consumers". The news has come as a shock to many food manufacturers, who insist they use only local produce which are supposed to be GMO-free.  There was no response from Nestle{AAC} and Unilever as executives were not available for comment at press time.... (continued)   

        (15)  GM Crop Experiments Growing In Mexico

http://www.individual.com/servlet/BuildIssue  April 11, 2001. MEXICO CITY, Apr 10, 2001 (El Financiero/Infolatina via COMTEX) via NewsEdge Corporation - Although Mexico still has a relatively small area dedicated to genetically modified crop production, there have been over 150 experiments in this area spread throughout the nation. According to a report from the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Biosecurity and Genetically Modified Organisms the first experiments were carried out in Sinaloa with tomatoes, to slow maturation and thereby increase shelf life. Since then experiments have been made with potatoes, pumpkin, rice, tobacco, soy, cotton and many more agricultural products. There has been much research into genetically modified corn, although these crops are now prohibited, the report said.  

        (16)  'GM crops are no better than conventional ones' http://www.thecampaign.org/newsupdates/april01g.htm#'GM crops April 9, TIMES OF INDIA. Mumbal: In a 10-year research study financed by a consortium of biotechnology companies, genetically modified crops are found to have survived no better than their conventional cousins, easing fears, somewhat, that superplants could stray from farm fields and crowd out natural species. The study, sponsored by Monsanto and Zeneca Ag Products Inc. was conducted at Imperial College in England, and looked at soybeans, oilseed rape, potatoes, corn and sugar beets. All the plants were engineered in the laboratory to resist insects and were planted from seed in 12 habitats around Britain, ranging from woodlands to coastal areas. The study has a significant impact in India, what with environmentalists warning against genetically engineered crops, arguing that they may crowd out natural species, cause health risks in humans, pass on traits such as herbicide resistance to weeds and kill beneficial insects.  Moreover, three of India's highest yielding wheat varieties have recently been genetically modified using a gene brought from Australia to make them tolerant to herbicide. The genetically altered wheat is growing under containment conditions at the Pantnagar Agricultural University. After BT cotton and golden rice, wheat is the next big story on the GM front here. Skeptics have also alluded to the fact that transgenic crops are invasive weeds under disguise. The recent study....

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