"Martha Sirjane of Shrewsbury was on the verge of tears in describing her passion for legislation commonly known as the farmer protection act." [item 2]

"People from all over Japan gathered in Sapporo, Hokkaido, on Feb 18, and held a gathering to oppose GM farming in Hokkaido." [item 3]

"GMOs reduced small-scale farmers into slaves of big companies which monopolised the technology, thus laying the ground for diminished food production, the stakeholders said in a statement released in Dar es Salaam yesterday." [item 1]

1.GMOs 'can cause food shortages'
2.Local farmers ask legislators for help
3. 203,405 signatures plus 542 NGOs against GM farming in Hokkaido
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1.GMOs 'can cause food shortages'
2005-03-19 03:00:02
By Guardian Reporter (Tanzania)
http://209.183.227.156/ipp/guardian/2005/03/19/35086.html

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) could lead to food shortages, stakeholders in the agricultural sector have warned.

GMOs reduced small-scale farmers into slaves of big companies which monopolised the technology, thus laying the ground for diminished food production, the stakeholders said in a statement released in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Besides its adverse side effects on human and animal health and the environment, the technology was likely to impact on small-scale farming, thus worsening food scarcity instead of reducing it.

GMOs technology is seen as an alternative way of ensuring food security in developing countries, including Tanzania.

Although Tanzania has yet to introduce the technology, the government is planning to table a Bill in Parliament to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of GMOs.

The stakeholders have appealed to the government to wait for at least ten years before it allows the technology in order to educate its people on the new phenomenon.

They also want the government to train as many experts as possible on the new technology as well as seeking views from Tanzanians on whether they really needed it.

Research done in 2003 showed that like many developing countries, Tanzania is still ill-equipped in terms of technical capacity to conduct biotechnology and biosafety while safeguarding biodiversity, human health and the environment.

SOURCE: Guardian
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2.Local farmers ask legislators for help
By CHRIS PARKER [shortened]
Staff Writer
Bennington Banner, March 19 2005
http://www.benningtonbanner.com/Stories/0,1413,104~8676~2771492,00.html

RUPERT -- Martha Sirjane of Shrewsbury was on the verge of tears in describing her passion for legislation commonly known as the farmer protection act.

The seventh generation Vermonter told members of the House Agricultural Committee at a special public forum here that the state must do more to protect its farmers.

Sirjane said bill S.18, which would make biotechnology companies - not farmers and grain elevators - liable for damages from genetically modified crops, could be a positive step forward.

"Vermont can ill afford to lose any more farms," she said. "They're vital to our state, residents, families and heritage."

Many of the 35 or so farmers and other folks from Whitingham to Brandon who attended the meeting Friday afternoon at the Rupert Community Center and Firehouse agreed.

Rep. Bill Botzow, D-Pownal/Woodford, hosted the two-hour event as part of an ongoing series in which his fellow agriculture committee members could listen to the concerns of local farmers.
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3. 203,405 signatures plus 542 NGOs against GM farming in Hokkaido
NO! GMO Campaign & NO GMO Network Hokkaido, Japan, 18 Feb 2005

On Feb 18, 2005, the NO! GMO Campaign and Hokkaido's NO GMO Network met with the Hokkaido government. We handed in a "petition concerning GM soybean cultivation in Hokkaido and prevention of a bylaw from being watered down" with 188,366 signatures. The groups have already delivered the first signatures with 15,039 names in December last year. Totally 203,405 signatures (individual) plus 542 NGOs (over 1,000,000 members) have signed on against GMO farming in Hokkaido. The Governor herself was not at present, but two officials from the agricultural department who are responsible for making the draft bylaw met the groups.

The officials were well prepared and took our concerns very seriously. It was obvious that they actually would like to make Hokkaido free from GMO, but in reality what they, as the government, can do is limited. They said they cannot ban GM farming, since the central (national) government has approved GM to be safe.

There are 5,000 farmers who farm soybeans in Hokkaido, and only ten farmers who are trying to find ways to farm GM soybeans in Hokkaido.
Those ten farmers are fighting against the Japan Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) system. Together with Monsanto these ten farmers are on purpose trying to pollute Hokkaido with GM. They do not think GM is bad for them. The ten farmers were not present at the meeting.

When we asked about the result of a public comment which was conducted by the government last year, they told us it was about 50/50, but they said to us that it felt like the pro-GM people organized more to send in their comments, in order to water down the draft bylaw. The Hokkaido government officials did not seem impressed by the pro-GM people's efforts.

By attending the meeting with the government, I really understand that they are also very concerned about GM. They were very glad that people came to Hokkaido with so many signatures from all over Japan and also some signatures from abroad, for example from the US, Australia, NZ,
Germany, Sweden, UK, Poland and Fiji.

You can see the Hokkaido gathering (with more than 170 people) and Presenting the petition on Sapporo TV news online on the Sapporo TV news
website: (unofficial translation by Akiko Frid)
http://www.stv.ne.jp/news/streaming/item/20050218185247/index.html

2005 Feb 18
"NO! GMO gathering in Hokkaido"

People from all over Japan gathered in Sapporo, Hokkaido, on Feb 18, and held a gathering to oppose GM farming in Hokkaido. The meeting was
organized by consumers and farmers groups.

At the gathering, Mr. Keisuke Amagasa from the NO! GMO Campaign reported about the situation in EU where over 3,500 municipalities have stated to be "GMO free zones", and encouraged Hokkaido to be a GMO free zone.

Keisuke Amagasa told Sapporo TV that "European people are opposing GM farming, because they want to protect different local agriculture. GM
crops farming is driven by transnational companies that are trying to make a world where the same crops are farmed everywhere".

After the gathering, citizens met the Hokkaido government to present 190,000 signatures demanding the draft bylaw to regulate GM farming to include penalties. The government said the bylaw is to prevent cross contamination and pollution caused by GM cultivation. The government will present its draft to the parliament next week.
...
SEE ALSO:
More info needed for GM food debate
(Yomiuri Shimbun - March 19, 2005)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20050319wo33.htm