1.GMO-Approvals: A game on home territory for industry
2.Please support EU-wide coordinated legal action against EC-Commission and European Food Safety Authority
NOTE: Werner Mueller's new paper: Effect of foreign DNA/RNA on the Human Immune System in regard to Genetically Modified Plants is available at
http://www.eco-risk.at/de/stage1/download.php?offname=FOOD-DNA-risk&extension=pdf&id=69
You can find more about the lecture here http://www.attac.de/wtal-agrar/vortrag-werner-mueller-2007.html
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1.GMO-Approvals: A game on home territory for industry
[adapted from text at] http://www.attac.de/wtal-agrar/pr_final-werner-mueller-wtal.html
At Wuppertal on Nov. 21st 2007, in front of an audience of more than 90 people, Werner Mueller threw light on the practices of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Mueller compared the risk assessment by EFSA, which is the basis for GMO approvals by the EC commission, with a biased sporting event.
Fundamental violations of existing laws and arbitrary and scientifically unreasonable decision making have become standard practice for EFSA.
Those who were present agreed that such an approach, which allows GMOs to contaminate our world, food supply and wild flora, must be stopped immediately.
They further agreed that because of the way scientists are treated who oppose or critisize GMOs and genetic engineering, they need total support and their freedom of research, teaching and speech needs to be guaranteed by law.
Abstract of the lecture:
Mueller showed through the examples of DDT, Methylbromide and the rather modern pesticide Vinclozoline, three substances which are banned today, that scientists inevitably commit errors in risk assessment. As GMO and their respective synthetic genes cannot ever be retrieved from the environment, any wrong assessment harms and affects irrevocably the environment and all future generations. The approval of GMOs by EFSA is deeply violating of both the precautionary principle and common sense.
Then he listed 12 major legal and scientific shortcomings in the risk assessment of GMO undertaken by EFSA refering them to a sporting event:
NO assessment of long term risks (730 days test)
1 : 0 for the industry
NO assessment of impacts for future generations
2 : 0 for the industry
NO assessment of cumulative toxical impacts
3 : 0 for the industry
The juridical requirements of case to case analyses are not implemented.
4 : 0 for the industry
As part of the risk assessment uncertainties would have to be analyzed (which they are not)
5 : 0 for the industry
All significant results are being trivialized by EFSA
6 : 0 for the industry
In many cases EFSA directly adopts the trivialized conclusions of the applying companies
7 : 0 for the industry
No perennial studies of earthworms, woodlice, butterflies etc. are being conducted during the approval proces
8 : 0 for the industry
No tritrophical studies (impacts via the food chain) are being conducted
9 : 0 for the industry
Scientific objections of member states, as e. g. Austria or Italy, are being rejected by EFSA without explanation. ('No new scientific evidence') 10 : 0 for the industry
EFSA staff gets involved in advertising for the GM-industry
11 : 0 for the industry
In fact consumers actually have no chance of co-determining
12 : 0 for the industry
During the discussion Mueller stated that one of the hypotheses which are promoted by GMO advocates, namely that 98 % of the genome would be junk DNA, has been disproved by research project like 'ENCODE'. The risk assessment by EFSA does not take into account these new findings of the 'ENCODE' project.
Furthermore he showed in which radical way scientists who are opposed against GMOs are being discriminated.
During the lecture a podcast and a film have been recorded. The powerpoint presentation (in German) is available at www.eco-risk.at , Mueller's personal homepage, and is available (in German) in several programms (e. g. .swf) at www.attac.de/wtal-agrar/vortrag-werner-mueller-2007.html
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2.The citizens of Europe challenge GE food before the European Court of Justice
Please support EU-wide coordinated legal action against EC-Commission and European Food Safety Authortiy - EFSA!
Europe's citizens dislike genetically engineered food. Nevertheless the EC-Commission again and again in spite of hefty political resistance authorises ever more lines of GE-maize, GE-oilseed rape, GE-sobeans etc. Doing that, the EC-Commission refers to opinions delivered by the so called independent EFSA. But according to outstanding legal experts both EFSA and Commission breach the law:
- the EFSA does not require tests on the long term effects of GE food, although the amended EU-law precisely that explicitly prescribes
- By authorising GE-products, the Commission illegally usurps administrative power, which according to the EC-Treaties is assigned to the national states
The Institute for Nature Protection and Nature Protection Law (IfNN) Tübingen, Germany currently prepares a legal opinion for the international pressure group 'Aktion Genklage' (legal action against GE), which is meant to be used as basis for legal proceedings in court actions against the Commission all over Europe. Aim is the preparation and counselling of european wide coordinated court action against EU-Commission and EFSA. Both consumers, farmers, retailers, producers and EU-Member States are entitled to demand the exigencies of EU law in such actions.
The IfNN has excellent references at its disposal when it comes to german and european law on genetic engineering. In july 2007 it achieved for a german state government a judicial cultivation stop concerning GE-maize against Monsanto. This landmark court case was the first time in history that german lawyers achieved such a success. In november 2007 an interview of an expert of the IfNN on swiss national TV SF1 brought about a review of the consent for an experimental release of GE wheat issued by the federal swiss environmental agency.
The costs for the opinions are summing up to 25.000 Euro, the following court actions, planned all over Europe on this basis can amount multiples of that. In our common interest for securing healthy and GE-free food we ask you for financial support to this important court action project.
Our Account Number: Kto-Nr.: 170 237 63
Banking Code: 702 501 50 Kreissparkasse München Starnberg
Re: Aktion Genklage Account holder: Christiane Lüst
As this pressure group does not constitute a chartered association, donations on this account are not tax deductible. But you have the opportunity to pay your contribution on an account of cooperating associations which do have the right of issuing tax deductible receipts. Christiane Lüst will you give you the data of such tax deductible bank accounts.
For further information feel free to contact:
Christiane Lüst
Berengariastr. 5, 82131 Gauting Tel.: 0049 89 / 893 11 054
Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.stopptgennahrungsmittel.de