In June, 700 French researchers opposed to GM crop trials signed a petition in support of José Bové. Now the same number of French public sector researchers have called for a public debate on GMOs, saying the recent destruction of 25 GM field trials in France is a useful warning, and should lead to the implementation of the precautionary principle.

They also contest the potential of this form of biotechnology for developing countries, saying that it 'traps farmers into dependence on certain seed companies and pharmaceutical products'.

All of France's public research institutions are represented in this latest petition. (item 3)

1.Government prepares to back down over GM crops
2.Supreme Court asked to consider soy case
3.French public sector researchers call for open debate on GMOs
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1.Government prepares to back down over GM crops
Exclusive by Severin Carrell and Geoffrey Lean
The Independent on Sunday, 5 October 2003
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=450143

Ministers are ready to ban at least one of the three GM crops planned for Britain, The Independent on Sunday can reveal. They are preparing a compromise that would prohibit the growing of GM oilseed rape, the most damaging of the crops to the environment, while approving GM maize, which is thought to be the least hazardous, under strict conditions.

They are also expected to postpone the introduction of GM sugar beet, whose cultivation has been found to endanger insects and other plants, pending further research.

The plan is heavily influenced by the long-awaited results of the Government's three-year programme of trials on GM crops, to be published on 16 October.

Ministers were confident the tests would give all three crops the all-clear, and were planning to give them all the immediate go-ahead.

Leaks suggest, as first reported in The Independent in August, that the trials will show that growing GM oilseed rape and sugar beet harms weeds and wildlife more than growing conventional crops.

As a result, Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for the Environment, has indicated that she intends banning the failing crops, and giving maize, which had favourable results in the trials, the all-clear.

The results are particularly devastating because they did not test the greatest concern about GM crops: that their genes will escape, creating superweeds and contaminating other crops. Instead they focused only on the effects that a different use of herbicides on the modified plants would have on insect and plant life. Environmentalists argue that GM oilseed rape and sugar beet are even more dangerous and that GM maize cannot be given the all-clear.

Michael Meacher, the former environment minister who originally ordered the crop trials, said these risks meant allowing GM maize to be planted, and failing to ban sugar beet, would be a "totally irrational and improper conclusion".

He added: "It's just politically convenient, allowing them to show that they're being tough while securing their real objective to give the go-ahead to these crops."

The results come after a summer of setbacks for the Government's GM plans. A Cabinet Office report concluded in July that it could detect no benefits for consumers or the country. Days later a group led by the Government's chief scientist, Sir David King, said it would be impossible to grow modified crops without their genes escaping, raising the possibility of future health risks.

An official public consultation last month involving nearly 40,000 people revealed a nine to one majority against the technology. Despite this, ministers hope their new plan will square the circle by pleasing Tony Blair, who wants to go ahead with the technology.
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2.Supreme Court asked to consider soy case
SAO PAULO, Brazil
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2003/10/03/supreme_court_asked_to_consider_soy_case/

Just nine days after it was signed, the constitutionality of an executive decree lifting a ban on planting genetically modified soybeans has come under fire from three different directions.
 
Claiming that the planting of such beans without an environmental impact study is unconstitutional, Attorney General Claudio Fontelles filed a request Friday asking the Supreme Court to overrule the decree, according to a statement distributed by the court on its Web site.

"The probable causer of environmental damage must provide proof that the use of certain products or substances will not affect the environment," Fontelles said.

Using the same argument, the National Farm Workers Confederation filed a similar suit earlier in the day. On Wednesday, the Green Party lodged the same appeal with the Supreme Court.

The decree was signed last Thursday by Vice President Jose Alencar in his role of acting president while President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was traveling in the United States, Mexico and Cuba.

The measure represents a partial victory for U.S.-based Monsanto Co., which wants to sell its Roundup Ready soybean seeds in South America's largest country and recoup lost profits from widespread illicit use.

While the decree allows the use of genetically modified soybeans across the nation, it includes restrictions effectively limiting planting to Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southernmost state where many farmers already plant transgenic soybeans smuggled in from Argentina.

The decree allows only farmers already in possession of genetically modified seeds to plant, and prohibits their sale to farmers in other states.

Farmers who plant the seeds also must sign an agreement with the government taking financial responsibility for any environmental damage that results from planting genetically modified soy.

A lawsuit by Greenpeace had been behind the ban on growing genetically modified soybeans in Brazil, in place since 2000.  But many farmers flouted the ban, using seeds smuggled from neighboring countries. They would then grow more on their own land. Experts estimate 17 percent of the country's soybean crop are grown from the seeds.

Brazil harvested about 52 million metric tons of soybeans during the 2002-2003 season, making it the second largest producer after the United States. It is expected to surpass the United States soon.

© Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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3.French public sector researchers call for open debate on GMOs
http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?CALLER=NHP_EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=EN_RCN_ID:20993
Date: 2003-10-03]

More than 700 researchers from the French public sector and universities have signed a petition calling for a public debate on biotechnology research programmes.

This initiative follows the collection of over 1,500 signatures defending research into genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which itself was a response to the destruction of 25 GMO field trials over the summer.

All of France's public research institutions are represented in this latest petition, most notably INRA, CNRS, CIRAD and CEMAGREF.

'Researchers and universities say to society that they should be party to decisions concerning the objectives and use of the results of their work. They declare that quality research should strive to be socially relevant, particularly when it concerns food safety and the management of biodiversity resources,' states the petition.

The researchers claim that the recent destruction of GMO field trials was a useful warning, and should lead to the implementation of the precautionary principle. They also contest the potential of this form of biotechnology for developing countries, saying that it 'traps farmers into dependence on certain seed companies and pharmaceutical products.

The preceding petition, defending the rights of French researchers to carry out GMO field trials, which are described as 'indispensable to research into plant biology and the improvement of plants', called on the French government to 'take responsibility' for the continuation of such research.

For further information on the petition calling for a public debate, please visit: http://ouvronslarecherche.free.fr

For further information on the petition defending GMO research, please visit: http://defendonslarecherche.free.fr

From a related story:
In June, 700 French researchers opposed to GM crop trials signed a petition in support of Mr Bové, saying that the acts of sabotage 'can be regarded as the implementation of the principle of precaution'.

One of the researchers who initiated the June petition, Michel Meuret, questioned the links between industry and the signatories of the pro-GM petition, and added: 'We must not restrict ourselves to a technical debate, but also raise the question of the ethics of research.'
http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?CALLER=NEWSLINK_EN_C&QOP_EQ_EN_RCN_A=20926&LINK_CALLER=NHP_EN_NEWS&UPL=EN&LINK_SESSION=36762003-10-5