"At this stage, any kind of reasonably cautious approach would say hold off on their protein until we get data that is more definitive," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a former scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency who doesn't believe the EPA should approve the new corn variety, which could end up in food. (item 1)

Most items shortened
1.New kind of biotech corn gets close look
2.Sonoma County to put biotech ban to voters
3.Monsanto buys regional seed co. for $40m
4.New Hampshire town voters asked to oppose GMOs
5.Bills would prohibit local crop seed rules
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1.New kind of biotech corn gets close look
Philip Brasher
Des Moines Register, March 1, 2005

Washington, D.C. - The government is again investigating the safety of genetically engineered corn.

This time, the issue isn't StarLink, the corn variety that spawned nationwide food recalls in 2000, but a variety developed by Des Moines-based Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Dow AgroSciences. The new variety produces corn resistant to rootworm.

Like StarLink, the Pioneer-Dow product contains a protein that takes longer to break down in the human gut than many other proteins. That's a characteristic of foods that cause allergic reactions.

"At this stage, any kind of reasonably cautious approach would say hold off on their protein until we get data that is more definitive," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a former scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency who doesn't believe the EPA should approve the new corn variety, which could end up in food.

Gurian-Sherman, who worked on the StarLink issue while at the EPA, is now senior scientist with the Center for Food Safety, an advocacy group critical of agricultural biotechnology.

The EPA believes the corn is safe, based on research provided by Pioneer and Dow, as does the Food and Drug Administration, which also assesses the safety of biotech foods.

However, the EPA is convening a panel of scientific advisers today and Wednesday to look into the companies' data.

Officials with Pioneer and Dow were cited as saying there are crucial differences between their corn and StarLink and expect the scientists to agree that it is safe.

The Pioneer-Dow product, which contains a bacterium gene that makes the plants toxic to insect pests, would be the second line of biotech corn that is resistant to rootworm.

The EPA approved the first rootworm-resistant corn, a Monsanto product, in 2003.

In initial tests, the protein at issue in the Pioneer-Dow product took up to 30 minutes to disappear. Most similar proteins break down within 30 seconds to five minutes.
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2.Sonoma County to put biotech ban to voters
Associated Press
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/11028201.htm

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Sonoma County supervisors agreed Tuesday to allow voters to decide whether to become the fourth California county to ban genetically modified organisms.

The measure, which will likely be voted on in November, would prohibit the cultivation of genetically altered plants and animals for 10 years.

"I think it is perhaps the most significant ballot initiative that voters will have ever had the chance of voting on in Sonoma County," Lex McCorvey, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, which opposes the ban, told The Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Biotech critics turned in more than 45,000 signatures last month, the most ever submitted for a local initiative.

"We are starting with a vast majority of people in the county supporting us," said Daniel Solnit, campaign coordinator for GE-Free Sonoma County. "Our job, in essence, is to hang on to most of the support we have, which is a nice place to start from."

County supervisors declined to adopt the law outright Tuesday and voted 5-0 to put the GMO ban before voters. The measure will be voted upon Nov. 8, unless Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for a special election before then.

Bans have already passed in Mendocino, Marin and Trinity counties. Voters in Humboldt, San Luis Obispo and Butte counties rejected similar ballot measures last November.
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3.Monsanto buys regional seed company for $40 million
JIM SUHR
Associated Press
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/11021855.htm

ST. LOUIS - Monsanto Co. said Tuesday its fledgling holding company will buy seed-marketer NC+ Hybrids Inc. for $40 million in cash, continuing the agribusiness' shopping spree for regional seed companies as its dominance in herbicides erodes.

St. Louis-based Monsanto said NC+ Hybrids Inc., based in Lincoln, Neb., is the latest acquisition by its American Seeds Inc. unit, formed last year to support regional seed businesses with capital, genetics and technology investments... The company represents roughly 1 percent of the U.S. corn seed market.

"ASI was established with the intention of cultivating a new business model that brings new technology more directly to more farmers through local seed brands," said Kerry Preete, Monsanto's vice president of U.S. crop production. NC+ Hybrids "is the logical continuation of our strategy to add regional seed companies that can build this new model and accelerate ASI's growth."

The purchase is the latest by Monsanto, which last month announced it was buying Emergent Genetics Inc. - the nation's third-largest cotton seed company - for $300 million.

Boulder, Colo.-based Emergent has roughly 12 percent of the U.S. cotton seed market through its Stoneville and NexGen brands. Emergent also has two cotton seed brands in India and a solid presence in several other smaller cotton-growing markets.

That announcement came less than a month after Monsanto agreed to a $1 billion cash deal to buy Seminis Inc., the Oxnard, Calif.-based supplier of more than 3,500 seed varieties to commercial fruit and vegetable growers, dealers, distributors and wholesalers in more than 150 countries.

Late last year, Monsanto's American Seeds Inc. acquired Indiana-based seed company Channel Bio Corp. for $120 million cash.
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4.Warner voters asked to oppose genetically modified food
By Associated Press
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/special/2_28special3.htm

WARNER, N.H. - Voters at Town Meeting will be asked to discourage the growing of genetically engineered crops in town and to support any state or federal laws calling for a moratorium on them and making manufacturers liable for damages if they cause harm.

About 70 Vermont towns passed similar warrant articles last year and theVermont Legislature passed a law requiring genetically modified seeds sold in the state to be clearly labeled, but the Warner warrant article appears to be the lone effort in New Hampshire so far.
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5.Bills would prohibit local crop seed rules
An opponent says the plan to set uniform guidelines in Iowa is 'by and for the biotechnology industry.'
By TIM HIGGINS local crop seed rules>
DES MOINES REGISTER STAFF WRITER
March 1, 2005

Legislation that would prevent local governments from regulating crop production is drawing complaints from people who say it's aimed at shutting off efforts to restrict genetically modified crops.

House File 202 and Senate Study Bill 1144 would keep cities and counties from banning the sale, use or formulation of agricultural seeds.

Supporters have said the legislation will prevent inconsistent rules across the state over what farmers can and can't plant.

The House Agriculture Committee plans to hold a public hearing at 7:30 a.m. today at the Iowa Statehouse in the Supreme Court Chamber.

Rep. Mark Kuhn, a Democrat from Charles City, said in a written statement that the legislation is "an attempt to legislate by and for the biotechnology industry." He added that the lawmakers should focus instead on protecting organic producers from genetically modified crops and damage caused by pollen drift.