GMWATCH MONTHLY REVIEW No. 78
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Claire Robinson, Monthly Review editor
Website: http//www.gmwatch.org
Profiles: http://bit.ly/12UAI2
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMWatch
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MONTHLY REVIEW CONTENTS
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GM HYPE
BT BRINJAL
LOBBYWATCH
GM EXPANSION/APPROVALS
FEEDING THE WORLD
FAO GM PROMOTIONAL
GM FAILURES
CORPORATE TAKEOVER
RESEARCH
COMPANY NEWS
RESISTANCE
REST OF THE MONTH'S NEWS IN BRIEF
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GM HYPE
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+ THE FAIRY TALE OF GM CROPS
Since the first commercial cultivation of GM crops in 1996, Monsanto and the rest of the big six biotech seed companies, (Pioneer/DuPont, Syngenta, Dow, BASF and Bayer) have become masters at the art of story telling. They promised better yields, less chemicals needed for weed control, higher profits and a way to feed the world. But the real GM story is one of market control, environmental degradation, and deceived farmers and consumers, says an article for CounterPunch.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11975:the-fairy-tale-of-gm-crops
http://bit.ly/djKjaL
See also US farmers complaints at a recent meeting with Monsanto.
http://bit.ly/bdc3EN
+ BT COTTON HAS FAILED ADMITS MONSANTO
The picture now emerging about Bt cotton in India from pro-GM sources - Monsanto and India's Central Institute for Cotton Research - is as far removed from all the hype as one could get:
*the main pest is developing resistance to Bt
*new sucking pests have emerged as major pests causing significant economic losses
*productivity of cotton has fallen
*pesticide expenditure has gone up
Monsanto is now hyping its GM Bollgard II cotton as the answer but agricultural scientists are calling Monsanto's advice "ridiculous" as Bollgard II has no additional toxin to combat pink bollworm. In fact, US farmers recently complained about bollworms "slipping" through Bollgard II and needing to be treated with pesticides, at a meeting with Monsanto where they demanded a rebate on Monsanto's technology fee.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12019:bt-cotton-has-failed-admits-monsanto
http://bit.ly/cWuYlV
+ GENETICALLY MODIFIED FETISHISM
The chairman of the UK Environment Agency, Chris Smith, has extolled the benefits of GM in a speech to the National Farmers Union. In an incisive blog article, Jonathon Porritt commented, "for reasons I still can't fathom, people like Chris get hugely over-excited about GM whilst remaining resolutely underwhelmed by all those other aspects of sustainable food production and distribution that would make a far bigger difference to an infinitely greater number of people in a far shorter period of time.
"This is clearly not a rational process, whatever GM advocates may say. Indeed, I'd go so far as to suggest that Chris is only the latest 'big name' to have given into the phenomenon of what I can only describe as 'GM fetishism'."
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12005:genetically-modified-fetishism
http://bit.ly/a0MvqR
+ MORE ON FALSE CLAIMS BY DAVID KING
There's more on the pro-GM hype of former UK chief scientist Prof Sir David King in a good article in the Western Gazette:
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11977:more-on-false-claims-by-david-king
http://bit.ly/9dKcP6
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11937:the-liar-king
http://bit.ly/9YgYwx
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BT BRINJAL
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+ INDIA: BACK FROM THE BRINK
After India's environment minister Jairam Ramesh halted the commercialization of Bt brinjal (eggplant/aubergine), the pro-GM lobby has renewed its onslaught on the country, reports an article for Frontline by Aruna Rodrigues. One of the lies that the biotech industry relies upon to push GM crops is to compare GM crop cultivation with the worst examples of farming, which are beset by pest damage, degraded soils, and poor yields. It conveniently ignores best practice models using integrated pest management, modern organic and sustainable methods, and marker assisted breeding.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11976:india-back-from-the-brink
http://bit.ly/c0egxd
+ INDIA: THE GENE GUN AT YOUR HEAD
A long but informative article about India’s disastrous flirtation with GM Bt brinjal is here:
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11992:the-gene-gun-at-your-head
http://bit.ly/cRJMeB
+ PHILIPPINES FAST-TRACKS BT BRINJAL
The Philippines has used the same industry-produced "dodgy dossier" that was widely condemned in India to fast-track its own process to grant approval to Bt brinjal. India's environment minister Jairam Ramesh had refused to approve Bt brinjal in spite of its approval by GM "regulator" GEAC. In a PR move seemingly designed to undermine Ramesh, Philippines Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro wrote to India's pro-GM Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan: "Our decision to use the Indian dossier is a testament to the quality of your biosafety framework and to the work of your Genetic Engineering Approval Committee".
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12002:philippines-fast-tracks-bt-brinjal
http://bit.ly/8Xx6DP
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LOBBYWATCH
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+ OLD LIE ABOUT SAFETY OF ORGANIC FOOD RE-SURFACES
Roger Beachy, director of the USDA's newly formed National Institute of Food and Agriculture, has told a GRIST reporter that he is “concerned about the issue of microbial contamination” of organic food. The GRIST reporter assumed that Beachy was repeating the old lies circulated by Dennis Avery and others to the effect that organic food is dangerous because it's grown in manure. Beachy seems ignorant of the fact that most manure is used by conventional farmers, who (unlike organic farmers) don't have to compost it, a process that kills a lot of pathogens. Conventional farmers are also (unlike organic farmers) allowed to use toxin-filled and dangerous sewage sludge on their land.
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12004:gm-contamination-at-the-fao
http://bit.ly/a15OuS
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GM EXPANSION/APPROVALS
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+ GM POTATO APPROVED BY EU
The European Commission has approved a BASF’s GM potato, Amflora, for commercial cultivation in the EU, marking the bloc's first GM cultivation approval in 12 years. The potato is designed to yield industrial starch. The executive Commission approved the variety for cultivation after EU governments failed to reach a decision in 2007.
Amflora contains a gene that produces an enzyme which confers resistance to several antibiotics.
Health and consumer policy commissioner John Dalli said "stringent" controls will ensure none of the tubers were left in the ground, ensuring altered genes did not escape into the environment. But a member of the public who read the Independent article that quoted this claim said: "I grow potatoes and there are always some left behind. I defy any farmer or gardener to do otherwise. So that's just rubbish."
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11994:basf-gm-potato-approved-by-eu
http://bit.ly/bXeEuV
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12003:fury-as-eu-approves-gm-potato
http://bit.ly/9AtIBo
+ FRIENDS OF THE EARTH COMMENT ON AMFLORA APPROVAL
Friends of the Earth commented that though the potato was given official approval by the European Food Safety Authority, for the first time the judgment of the scientific body wasn't unanimous. Two EFSA scientists stated that the possibility of a transfer of antibiotic resistant genes to bacteria within the gastro-intestinal-tract cannot be predicted. FoE added that two other conventional potato varieties already on the market have the same characteristics as Amflora. The existence of these non-GM alternatives means that there is no reason for farmers to have to cultivate Amflora for the European starch industry and no need to introduce the risk of spreading antibiotic resistance.
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11998:public-let-down-by-eus-new-consumer-chief
http://bit.ly/cDVHmg
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FEEDING THE WORLD
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+ FOOD FOR AFRICA
Thousands of years of careful seed selection by African farmers has given rise to local varieties with valuable attributes such as drought and disease resistance. A marriage of indigenous knowledge and modern technology can produce varieties with increased yields and disease resistance without running the risks associated with GM, says a good article in the South African press by Andrew Taynton and Dulcie Krige.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12000:food-for-africa
http://bit.ly/9eaQcw
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FAO GM PROMOTIONAL
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+ PROTEST IN PERU AGAINST FAO GM MEETING
On 25 February, Peruvian indigenous organizations, local government bodies and civil society organizations in Cusco, Peru, held a meeting to formulate a strategic response to a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference in Guadalajara, Mexico, 1-4 March, that pushed for greater use of GM crops. A demonstration through the ancient Inca streets followed up this multi-stakeholder gathering.
The meeting produced a Declaration which underlines that the FAO agenda does not represent the best approach for tackling agricultural challenges, including those brought by climate change.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11984:protest-in-peru-against-fao-gm-meeting
http://bit.ly/cKbquy
+ POWERFUL SPEECH AGAINST GM CROPS BY POOR FARMER
A farmer from Bohol, Philippines made a powerful speech at the FAO conference. He said GM crops are "not the solution to poverty and hunger, but rather a cause of more food deprivation in the future". The speech is well worth reading in full at:
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11987:powerful-speech-to-fao-by-poor-farmer
http://bit.ly/bzKO7a
+ CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS CONDEMN FAO FOR SHAMELESS PROMOTION OF GMOs
A large collection of NGOs and civil society groups have signed an open letter condemning the FAO for its promotion of GM crops at the conference, which coincides with the Mexican government's move to introduce GM maize in field trials, threatening the center of origin of maize and its most important center of diversity with irreversible contamination.
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11988:fao-condemned-for-shameless-promotion-of-gmos
http://bit.ly/bfDU0C
+ STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER RESIGNS IN PROTEST AT BIAS
Pat Mooney of the ETC Group resigned from the steering committee of the FAO conference before it started, in protest at its pro-GM bias. Mooney said, "The overwhelming thrust of the guiding documents for the meeting are hopelessly biased in favour of biotechnology and skewed to persuade developing countries that they have no option but to climb on the biotech bandwagon. It's unacceptable that a supposedly neutral inter-governmental body like FAO would allow itself to be turned into a billboard for Big Biotech." Mooney said the FAO is "GM contaminated" due to its closeness with international seed companies, and that can be considered a "tragedy" for humanity.
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11989:faos-gmo-meeting-qbiased-for-businessq
http://bit.ly/b92Y6Y
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12004:gm-contamination-at-the-fao
http://bit.ly/a15OuS
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GM FAILURES
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+ U.S. FARMERS WANT "TECHNOLOGY REBATE" FROM MONSANTO
A report from a US farmers' newsletter tells what went on at a meeting between Monsanto and about 40 farmers, consultants and others. It's clear from the report that the farmers are far from happy with Monsanto and its GM cotton. Topics include fees relating to Roundup resistance issues and rebates for use of other herbicides to help combat the severe weed resistance problems that have developed as a result of the use of Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops. There is also reference to Monsanto's Bollgard II (Bt insect-resistant GM cotton) failing to control bollworms and so making pesticide use necessary. The report says that the farmers want a "tech rebate" from Monsanto because the GM technology they've paid for isn't working.
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11993:farmers-want-qtech-rebateq-from-monsanto
http://bit.ly/c9nvya
+ U.S.: MONSTER WEED ESCAPES CHEMICAL LASSO IN MID-SOUTH
Roundup resistant Palmer pigweed -- called a "monster weed" is continuing to pose serious problems for farmers in the Mid-South of the US. Larry Steckel, a University of Tennessee weed specialist in Jackson, Tenn., said farmers are now turning to herbicides used in the 1980s and 1990s to weed their fields. While Roundup costs farmers about $10 per acre per season, these other chemicals can cost $35-$40 per acre per season, shaving already thin profit margins. Steckel said, "Their fear is that it's going to be on huge acres of fields this year and I think it most likely will be. It's changed everything."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11999:monster-weed-escapes-chemical-lasso
http://bit.ly/cuWLE1
+ U.S.: MORE WEEDS RESISTING ROUNDUP
Kansas State University said scientists had found five kochia weed populations in western Kansas that have become resistant to glyphosate/Roundup. Kochia, also called fireweed, is a drought-tolerant weed commonly found on land in the western US and Canada where crops are grown and cattle are grazed. So far, more than 130 types of weeds have developed levels of herbicide resistance in more than 40 US states, more resistant weeds than found in any other country, according to weed scientists. Experts estimate glyphosate-resistant weeds have infested close to 11 million acres.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11980:more-weeds-found-resisting-roundup
http://bit.ly/dfFNT5
+ THE TRANSGENIC TREADMILL
There's an analysis by Prof Joe Cummins of the glyphosate-resistant weed problem and the terrible problems they are causing farmers (with full scientific references) at
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12008:the-transgenic-treadmill
http://bit.ly/bedYUb
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CORPORATE TAKEOVER
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+ INDIA: CRITICISING GM CROPS CAN LAND YOU IN JAIL
More news has emerged of India's proposed Biotech Regulatory Authority Bill, which would jail critics of GM crops. The bill's main aim is to create a single-window clearing-house for GM foods/crops the biotech industry’s dream. The bill would also allow the planned regulatory authority to have overarching powers over state governments and existing laws.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11979:gm-crops-are-just-a-red-herring
http://bit.ly/9ViVbY
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/11955-india-seeks-jail-for-gm-food-critics
http://bit.ly/bOCDly
http://www.gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11946:new-gm-bill-threatens-critics-with-prison
http://bit.ly/aPIUcF
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11952:science-minister-used-gm-lobby-data-to-push-bt-brinjal
http://bit.ly/b7xMnu
+ INDIA: GM CROPS ARE JUST A RED HERRING
Representatives of civil society groups from across the country addressed the media in the capital on 27 February denouncing the proposed Biotech Regulatory Authority Bill and the unsubstantiated hyping of GM crops in the context of food security. They urged Members of Parliament to reject the Bill, which was drafted by the Department of Biotechnology. They called it the "wrong bill by the wrong people for the wrong reasons". They questioned the Agriculture Ministry's and Science & Technology Ministry's hyping of GM crops as an important option for food security and called it a red herring, diverting attention and resources from real issues and lasting solutions.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11979:gm-crops-are-just-a-red-herring
http://bit.ly/9ViVbY
+ WHY BUSINESS WON'T SAVE THE WORLD
It's time to pour the generosity of "philanthro-capitalists" into development funds under democratic control, says an article by former Ford Foundation director Michael Edwards. He writes, "corporate philanthropy deflects attention away from the need to change core business practices so that developing countries can capture more of the value added by economic development". He advocates "removing patent protection from Monsanto and other companies ”¦ who aim to monopolise the market for new seeds".
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11985:why-business-wont-save-the-world
http://bit.ly/cod96p
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RESEARCH
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+ NEW STUDY SHOWS ROUNDUP KILLS FISH
A new study on fish, from New Zealand, showed that when applied at recommended rates on fields near a freshwater stream, Roundup didn't kill young freshwater fish outright. However, it increased the production of worm that's a parasite of the fish. And the combination of more parasites and moderate levels of Roundup aka "glyphosate" produced what scientists called "significantly reduced fish survival". The authors commented that their results "suggest that threshold levels of glyphosate currently set by regulatory authorities do not adequately protect freshwater systems".
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12006:new-study-shows-roundup-kills-fish-
http://bit.ly/altglu
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COMPANY NEWS
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+ PEAK MONSANTO?
Low commodity soybean prices, attractive premiums, and rising prices for GM seed are leading American farmers to plant more acres of non-GM soybeans this year. Representatives of soybean associations, universities, and grain buyers all say that demand for non-GM soybeans is growing, leading to more non-GM acres. "Is it possible that we've reached Peak Monsanto?" asks an article for GRIST.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11981:peak-monsanto
http://bit.ly/8XLBoj
+ MONSANTO'S NEW CORN, SOY MAY FAIL TO MEET FORECAST
Monsanto said new GM corn and soybeans it is counting on to drive earnings this decade may be planted on fewer US acres in 2010 than previously forecast. Monsanto shares fell the most since October. Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans may fall 20 percent short of the bottom of the company's forecast of 8 million to 10 million planted acres, Chief Financial Officer Carl Casale said. SmartStax corn seed may miss the St Louis-based company’s 4 million-acre target by a similar percentage, he said.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11981:peak-monsanto
http://bit.ly/8XLBoj
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RESISTANCE
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+ BRAZIL: FARMER FINED FOR CONTAMINATION OF THEIR CROPS
Brazilian farmers are reported to be preparing court challenges over the high cost of Monsanto's patent fee for GM crops and its deduction of royalties where GM crops are grown intentionally or unintentionally. Julie Newman of Australia's Network of Concerned Farmers said farmers in Brazil were forced to pay large fines for false declaration if they delivered non-GM which registered a positive GM test, plus they paid the patent user fee through automatic deductions from grain payments.
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11986:non-gm-farmers-fined-for-contamination-of-their-crops-
http://bit.ly/9U93bQ
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REST OF THE MONTH'S NEWS IN BRIEF
For those who do not receive GMWatch's Weekly Watch
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+ INDIA: 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.
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.
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 but the tactic failed miserably.
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.
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
+ SOME ON BT PANEL WERE PROMOTING OWN INTEREST
Four of the 16 members of the panel that recommended approval for commercialization of Bt brinjal were either growing Bt brinjal or working on projects funded by companies promoting GM food.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11935:indias-battle-against-monsanto-rages-on
http://bit.ly/cUjyjX
+ "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, says an 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
+ INDUSTRY BACKLASH AFTER BT BRINJAL MORATORIUM
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11934:the-busy-american-and-the-bt-brinjal-backlash
http://bit.ly/cIQE1v
+ SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MINISTER (OR WAS IT MONSANTO?) SAYS BT BRINJAL SAFE
Four days after environment minister Jairam Ramesh put a moratorium on the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal, Union Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan said it was safe. But investigations reveal that Chavan - a vocal supporter of GM crops - directly copied and quoted in an official letter material from reports published by a lobbying outfit funded by seed companies including Monsanto and Mahyco. Monsanto and Mahyco are respectively the patent holders and the Indian distribution rights holders of Bt brinjal.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11940:chavan-puts-weight-behind-bt-brinjal
http://bit.ly/cYgaSo
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?264220
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11952:science-minister-used-gm-lobby-data-to-push-bt-brinjal
http://bit.ly/b7xMnu
+ THE INADEQUACY OF BT BRINJAL SAFETY STUDIES DR JUDY CARMAN
Dr Judy Carman's devastating critique of the food safety studies done on GM aubergine/eggplant (Bt brinjal), submitted to the Indian government as part of the case against Bt brinjal approval is here:
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11932:the-inadequacy-of-gm-brinjal-food-safety-studies-dr-judy-carman
http://bit.ly/aru3Pp
+ COUP PLANNED BY PRO-GM MINISTRIES
According to trade and policy analyst Devinder Sharma, efforts are under way to wrestle away control of GM crops from Jairam Ramesh's environment ministry so that pro-GM ministries can call the shots from now on.
http://twitter.com/Devinder_Sharma/status/9227331836
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11953:coup-planned-by-pro-gm-ministries
http://bit.ly/cLTdY9
+ BT COTTON BOOSTING PESTICIDE USE PRO-GM RESEARCHER
Keshav Kranthi, a leading Indian entomologist and acting director of India's Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), has told the Indian government that the rapid adoption of GM cotton by farmers across the country has coincided with:
*the rise of hitherto unknown insect pests
*increased pesticide applications by farmers
*declining cotton productivity over the past three years.
-- And Kranthi is a pro-GM scientist.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11944:bt-cotton-boosting-pesticide-use
http://bit.ly/9pY7g0
+ 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.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11925:gm-wheat-rejected-in-26-countries
http://bit.ly/bKemd4
+ 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.
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
+ 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.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11927:a-rational-policy-on-gm-food
http://bit.ly/aCKOqv
+ FURTHER COMMENT ON ISAAA REPORT
http://gmwatch.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11995:setback-for-global-spread-of-gm-crops-
http://bit.ly/bFWmXr
+ 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 could benefit smallholder farmers across Central and East Africa.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11919:brilliant-non-gm-breakthrough-in-rwanda
http://bit.ly/caoWKO
http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-myths
+ CANADIAN FARMERS HURT BY GM CONTAMINATED FLAX
Canada is the world's leader in the production and export of flax. The price of flax fell 32 per cent before GM contamination had even been confirmed. Farmers don't yet know how widespread the contamination is or how it happened. It's likely, however, as in all cases of contamination, that farmers will bear the costs of the clean-up, says a good overview of the scandal for GRAIN.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11941:canadian-farmers-hurt-by-contamination-fiasco
http://bit.ly/bKCvTY
+ 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.
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, but opponents include groups that have traditionally been pro-transgenic.
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
+ MEXICO'S STRUGGLE FOR NON-GM CORN
In Oaxaca, Mexico, this year's theme of the 4th annual Zapotec Feria of the Cornfield was focused on the dangers of contamination from GM corn, with a showcase of indigenous corn based culture and food sovereignty.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11949:mexicos-struggle-for-uncontaminated-corn
http://bit.ly/cyQvEu
+ PENTAGON WORKING ON IMMORTAL "SYNTHETIC ORGANISMS"
The Pentagon's mad science arm, Darpa, 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.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11912:pentagon-working-on-immortal-synthetic-organisms
http://bit.ly/d9ngRw
+ UK: GM POTATO TRIALS IN YORKSHIRE AND NORFOLK
Two sets of GM potato trials are planned in the UK this year - one in Yorkshire and the other in Norfolk. Both have heavy security due to their unpopularity.
TAKE ACTION: How to object to the GM potato trials: (PDF)
http://bit.ly/daLMMS
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11938:gm-potato-trials-in-norfolk
http://bit.ly/ab1gv5
http://bit.ly/diKzO9
+ SWISS BAN EXTENDED
The moratorium on GM animals and plants that has been in force in Switzerland since 2005 is to be extended for a further three years to 2013.
http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/news/488.docu.html
+ NO NEED TO GENETICALLY ENGINEER VACCINES INTO FOODS
One of the key reasons given for the need to genetically engineer vaccines into food plants is that vaccines need to be kept refrigerated a daunting challenge for vaccine delivery in the developing world. GM food-based vaccines are claimed to remain stable and maintain immunogenicity at room temperature. But a new breakthrough offers a simple and cheap way of avoiding refrigeration without resorting to the risks of GM or the inevitable danger of contamination of the food supply with pharmaceutical products.
http://gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11948:no-need-to-genetically-engineer-vaccines-into-foods
http://bit.ly/a9Qy46
+ HEAD OF THE UNDP GETS IT RIGHT ON AGRICULTURE
The Chief Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme said that world food security depended upon getting "back to basics" with agriculture. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who now heads the UNDP, said, "I don't think GE [GM] is the solution to the food security problem."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11954:head-of-undp-says-gm-not-answer-to-food-security
http://bit.ly/aX9vXf
+ AFRICA'S LAND AND FAMILY FARMS: UP FOR GRABS?
Brilliant article by Canadian journalist Joan Baxter:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=17694
News and comment on genetically modified foods and their associated pesticides 
