GMWatch News Review archive

WEEKLY WATCH number 283
from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor

Dear all:

India's formidable citizen campaigners have won an extraordinary victory in stopping the commercialization of Bt brinjal (eggplant/aubergine) in the face of regulatory corruption and capture by the biotech industry. Anyone who says GM can't be stopped - please take time to read and digest this inspiring story (BT BRINJAL VICTORY FOR INDIA).
 
Claire <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
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CONTENTS
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BT BRINJAL VICTORY FOR INDIA
GM HYPE
GM WHEAT
AUSTRALASIA
AFRICA
THE AMERICAS
EUROPE
SYNTHETIC BIOTECHNOLOGY

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BT BRINJAL VICTORY FOR INDIA
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+ IT'S NO TO BT BRINJAL
In a groundbreaking victory for citizens, farmers, NGOs, and independent scientists, India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh announced on 9 February that the commercialization of Bt brinjal (eggplant/aubergine) will not go ahead. This is in spite of the GM 'regulator' GEAC's controversial approval of the crop in October 2009. Ramesh said there was "no clear consensus within the scientific community" on the safety of Bt brinjal for human health or the environment. He added, "Serious questions have not been answered,” and remarked on the “widespread opposition" to commercialization.

Ramesh said: "As a responsible minister I had to take a considered decision. It is responsible to science, it is responsive to society. There is no overriding urgency to introduce Bt-Brinjal.

"It is my duty to adopt a cautious precautionary principle based approach and impose a moratorium on the release of Bt brinjal till such time [as] independent scientific studies establish to the satisfaction of both the public and professionals the safety of the product from the point of view of its long term impact on human health and environment, including the rich genetic wealth existing in brinjal in our country.

"A moratorium implies rejection of this particular case of release for the time being; it does not, in any way, mean conditional acceptance. This should be understood."

Read Ramesh's impressive Ministerial statement in full: http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article103839.ece

http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11922:its-no-to-bt-brinjal
http://bit.ly/aFaakQ
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11923:india-puts-moratorium-on-bt-brinjal
http://bit.ly/aBjANA

+ 13 INDIAN STATES SAY NO TO BT BRINJAL
Three days before environment minister Ramesh announced his decision on Bt brinjal, the chief ministers of 13 states told the central government that they did not want their farmers to grow the crop. The states that grow three-quarters of the country's brinjal crop categorically refused to grow the GM variety.

The farmers group VJAS, which is at the very centre of India's cotton farmer suicides, begged the Indian government not to approve another Bt crop. VJAS president Kishor Tiwari, in a letter to Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, urged him to take in to account the complete failure of Bt.cotton in more than 3.2 million hector in Maharashtra this year.

Tiwari alleged, "It is officially confirmed that this year American seed company Monsanto has arranged for illegal trials of Bt brinjal as they did for Bt. cotton in 2002-2003 through its counterpart in Indian Mahyco-Monsanto, and Bt.brinjal is being sold in Maharashtra without any permission."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11911:13-indian-states-say-no-to-bt-brinjal
http://bit.ly/cnIo8N

+ GM COMPANIES BUSSED IN FAKE FARMERS TO DEMONSTRATE IN FAVOUR OF GM BRINJAL
GM companies bussed in fake farmers to wave placards in favour of Bt brinjal at Bangalore University on February 6 in an attempt to sway environment minister Ramesh’s decision, according to an interesting article in The Economist.

The tactic failed miserably, says the article: “most of these men, registered at the consultation as farmers, were in fact landless labourers with no aubergine experience. Mr Ramesh was the first to call their bluff. The companies, he said, without naming any, had bussed farmers from rural districts, to play the pro-GM crowd at the hearing that day.”

The Economist’s article goes on to describe Indian NGOs’ campaign against Bt brinjal commercialization:

"Throughout November and December the Coalition for a GM-Free India, grouping more than 100 NGOs from 15 states, campaigned at village councils and farmers’ meetings, political rallies and in the non-English press and blogosphere. They held countless protests, fasts and educational drives in public schools.

"The crucial step, however, was to enlist the support of the chief ministers of the state governments””a requirement the seed companies seem to have overlooked Under India's federal constitution, agriculture is a "state subject". States have the authority to regulate the planting or importing of GM crops. In mid-January the states, one after another, began to declare themselves against the release of Bt Brinjal."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11931:a-setback-for-gm-in-india-the-economist
http://bit.ly/a9fmDc

More on Fake Parades:
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3347:the-fake-parade
http://bit.ly/bFA0S3
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10383:core-shills-still-pushing-corporate-interest
http://bit.ly/djuAeO

+ MONSANTO "FAKED" DATA FOR APPROVALS, CLAIMS FORMER COMPANY CHIEF
At a public consultation on Bt brinjal, former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, said Monsanto "used to fake scientific data" submitted to government regulatory agencies to get commercial approvals for its products in India.

The former Monsanto boss said government regulatory agencies with which the company used to deal with in the 1980s simply depended on data supplied by the company while giving approvals to herbicides.

"The Central Insecticide Board was supposed to give these approvals based on the location and crop-specific data from India. But it simply accepted foreign data supplied by Monsanto. They did not even have a test tube to validate the data and, at times, the data itself was faked," Jagadisan said.

"I retired from the company as I felt the management of Monsanto, USA, was exploiting our country," Jagadisan, 84, said from his home in Bangalore.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11916:monsanto-faked-data-for-approvals-claims-its-ex-chief
http://bit.ly/9GRkzM

+ "SERIOUS REGULATORY LAPSES" - TIMES OF INDIA
Environment minister Jairam Ramesh's sudden recourse to public consultations, after Bt brinjal was approved as India's first GM food crop, has exposed serious regulatory lapses. These include secrecy over important safety data on the part of the 'regulator' GEAC, says an informative article in the Times of India.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11907:serious-regulatory-lapses-over-bt-brinjal
http://bit.ly/cHYHdg

+ IMMEDIATE CONFISCATION AND DESTRUCTION OF BT BRINJAL SEED NECESSARY
The Coalition for a GM-Free India has alerted GEAC to the immediate need to confiscate and destroy all seed stocks of Bt brinjal, as well as making the crop developer solely liable for any contamination or leakage that occurs during the period of the Bt brinjal moratorium.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11930:immediate-confiscation-and-destruction-of-bt-brinjal-seed-stock
http://bit.ly/aONuiz

+ SCOTTISH GOVT WELCOMES INDIA'S BAN ON BT BRINJAL
In a public statement Scotland's Environment Minister said, "We are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with other nations who are opposed to GM and fight for what our people want."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11924:scottish-government-welcomes-indias-ban-on-bt-brinjal
http://bit.ly/ddAdIn

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GM HYPE
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+ HYPE AND HYSTERIA OVER GM
After over a decade of hype about GM crops feeding the world the area of farmland covered by GM crops in the world is just 2.4%, says Pete Riley of GM Freeze. He says the way forward is conventional breeding, helped, where needed, by marker assisted selection and the maintenance of a broad genetic base so that crops can cope better with a range of stresses.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11927:a-rational-policy-on-gm-food
http://bit.ly/aCKOqv

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GM WHEAT
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+ GM WHEAT REJECTED IN 26 COUNTRIES
A total of 233 consumer and farmer groups in 26 countries have joined the "Definitive Global Rejection of GM Wheat" statement to stop the commercialization of GM wheat and remind Monsanto that genetically modifying this major crop is not acceptable to farmers or consumers.

The 233 groups signed the rejection statement first launched by 15 Australian, Canadian and U.S. farmer and consumer groups in June 2009.

"Canadian farmers have just lost their export sales to Europe and other markets because of GM flax contamination from a GM variety deregistered a decade ago and never even sold. Our current experience with GM flax contamination clearly illustrates the crippling losses Canadian farmers will suffer if GM wheat is introduced," said Terry Boehm, a flax and wheat farmer and President of the National Farmers Union in Canada. "Flax is yet another warning that once a GM crop is introduced, contamination is inevitable."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11925:gm-wheat-rejected-in-26-countries
http://bit.ly/bKemd4

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AUSTRALASIA
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+ SOUTH AUSTRALIA STANDS FIRM ON GM CANOLA BAN
The South Australian Government has rejected calls to follow Western Australia and lift its ban on GM canola. The matter will not become an election issue when South Australia goes to the polls on March 20 either, as the State Opposition has said it supports the ban.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11926:south-australia-stands-firm-on-gm-canola-ban
http://bit.ly/dhJvQs

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AFRICA
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+ NON-GM BEAN BREAKTHROUGH IN RWANDA
Non-GM climbing beans suited to rainy high-altitude areas are being distributed in Rwanda after a decade of research. The fifteen varieties, developed by the Rwandan Agricultural Research Institute (ISAR) in collaboration with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), could benefit smallholder farmers in similar areas across Central and East Africa.

The beans are resistant to legume diseases and are also higher yielding, producing triple and even quadruple the yields of the commonly planted bush beans. The beans can be grown year-round. "The climbing bean varieties do well in nutrient-poor soils and take about four months to mature, thus offering farmers the possibility for four planting seasons annually with a hectare yielding 3 4 tonnes each harvesting season," said Robin Buruchara, regional coordinator for CIAT in Africa.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11919:brilliant-non-gm-breakthrough-in-rwanda
http://bit.ly/caoWKO

GMWatch comment: This is an excellent example of the success of traditional plant breeding practices - multi-disease resistant, very high yielding, no mention of GM and apparently freely distributed without IP ties. What would the GM lobby give for one good success story like this - instead of being reduced to endless promises and fairytales?
http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-myths
 
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THE AMERICAS
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+ BAYER TO PAY $1.5 MILLION IN SECOND LAWSUIT OVER GM RICE
Bayer was ordered by a jury in the US to pay $1.5 million in damages to three farmers for losses they incurred because of contaminations of Bayer's GM rice, the second in about 500 similar cases pending. The jury's ruling in a St. Louis court against Bayer follows a related case in December, in which Bayer was ordered to pay $2 million.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11908:bayer-to-pay-15-million-over-gm-rice
http://bit.ly/aknwRO

+ WHO WANTS BAYER'S GM RICE IN BRAZIL? ONLY BAYER
Bayer is pushing for approval of its GM rice LL62 in Brazil. The country’s GM regulator, CTNBio, has maintained a steady flow of GM approvals over recent years, but this time may be different. Opponents include researchers, consumer groups, environmental groups, and even groups that have traditionally been pro-transgenic, such as Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Company, a public entity which has supported GMOs), Farsul (Agricultural Federation of Rio Grande do Sul), and Federarroz (Federation of Rice Grower Associations of Rio Grande do Sul).
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11908:bayer-to-pay-15-million-over-gm-rice
http://bit.ly/aknwRO

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EUROPE    
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+ GM-FREE REGIONS NETWORK NEWS
The GM-Free Regions' Network, which includes 51 regional governments of the European Union, has announced the success of its third conference on non-GM labels and GM-free agriculture, which took place in Brussels 3-4 February 2010.

The Network noted achievements so far:

*Producers of GM-free soy have organized themselves so that the spectre of a shortage of this raw material has been removed.

*In Brazil and the US, the amount of land dedicated to GM-free production stopped decreasing and that in some cases, the trend was reversed. In addition, GM soy is banned in India.

*In several countries of the EU national laws were set up to allow identification of meat and dairy products without resorting to GMOs in animal diet.

*Many sectors are trying to reduce their dependence on imported vegetable protein and to commit themselves to more sustainable and socially responsible farming.
http://www.gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11928:declaration-of-gm-free-regions-network
http://bit.ly/blVo6v

+ BULGARIA PLANS 5-YEAR BAN ON GM CROPS
Bulgaria plans to bring in a 5-year ban on cultivation of GM crops due to the Bulgarian public’s negative opinion of GMOs.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11915:bulgaria-plans-5-year-ban-on-gm-crops
http://bit.ly/bLKjuI

+ UK: NEW GM POTATO TRIALS PLANNED
The John Innes Centre plans to run GM blight resistant potato trials. They’ve spent GBP20,000 on security to try and stop the trials being disrupted.
http://bit.ly/diKzO9

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SYNTHETIC BIOTECHNOLOGY
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+ PENTAGON WORKING ON IMMORTAL “SYNTHETIC ORGANISMS”
Report from Wired.com:
The Pentagon's mad science arm may have come up with its most radical project yet. Darpa is looking to re-write the laws of evolution to the military's advantage, creating "synthetic organisms" that can live forever - or can be killed with the flick of a molecular switch.

As part of its budget for the next year, Darpa is investing $6 million into a project called BioDesign, with the goal of eliminating "the randomness of natural evolutionary advancement." The plan would assemble the latest bio-tech knowledge to come up with living, breathing creatures that are genetically engineered to "produce the intended biological effect”. Darpa wants the organisms to be fortified with molecules that bolster cell resistance to death, so that the lab-monsters can "ultimately be programmed to live indefinitely”.

Of course, Darpa's got to prevent the super-species from being swayed to do enemy work - so they'll encode loyalty right into DNA, by developing genetically programmed locks to create "tamper proof" cells. Plus, the synthetic organism will be traceable, using some kind of DNA manipulation, "similar to a serial number on a handgun”. And if that doesn't work, don't worry. In case Darpa's plan somehow goes horribly awry, they're also tossing in a last-resort, genetically-coded kill switch.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11912:pentagon-working-on-immortal-synthetic-organisms
http://bit.ly/d9ngRw