GM WATCH MONTHLY REVIEW No. 45
FROM REVIEW EDITOR, CLAIRE ROBINSON
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.gmwatch.org / www.lobbywatch.org
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MONTHLY REVIEW CONTENTS
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ECONOMIC LOSSES DUE TO GM
- U.S. RICE
- CORN (MAIZE)
- CHINA'S EXPORTS
- PHARMA CROPS
- CONTAMINATING ORGANICS
- OTHER CROP LOSSES
GM BANS / RESTRICTIONS
- U.S.A.
- EUROPE
- INDIA
SPOOKS
SILENCING CRITICAL SCIENTISTS
GM APPLICATIONS / EXPANSION
BIOFUELS
HEALTH EFFECTS
- GM
- ROUNDUP
ENVIRONMENT
GM FAILURES
CORPORATE TAKEOVER
FOOD SECURITY
BEE CRISIS
LOBBYWATCH
CORPORATE CRIMES
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
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ECONOMIC LOSSES: U.S. RICE
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+ RICE FUTURES PLUMMET OVER GM RICE
Chicago Board of Trade rice futures have plummeted amid stories of GM-contaminated rice building up in Arkansas elevators, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7892
+ GM RICE CLAIMS EXCEED $1 BILLION
Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed and more are expected in the wake of the GM contamination of US rice. In one class action suit, attorney Don Downing has filed suit on behalf of hundreds of Missouri and Arkansas farmers, representing over 248,000 acres of rice.
Downing said, "Many farmers have decided to quit planting as much rice as they have in the past... the rice price isn't where it would have been had this not happened - and we've lost a chunk of our export market." Total compensatory damages may approach or exceed $1 billion - and that's before taking into account punitive or statutory damages.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7941
+ RABOBANK - LESS U.S. RICE FARMING DUE TO GM
According to Rabobank, rice acreage in the US in 2007-8 is likely to decline due to concerns over GM contamination, which has already led to the loss of a major share of the EU market.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7866
+ GM CONTAMINATED RICE RECALL IN GREECE
Supermarket chain AB Vassilopoulos is the latest to announce it's pulling US rice off its shelves after it was found to have been GM contaminated.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7920
+ GM RICE SCANDAL HELPS THAI RICE EXPORTS
The GM rice scandal in the US and natural calamities elsewhere in Asia could push Thailand's rice exports up nearly 20% this year.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7872
+ GM RICE SCANDAL OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIA
After the world's largest rice importer Ebro Puleva stopped trading in US rice, the Chairman of India's Agricultural Products and Processed Food Export Development Authority pointed out, "Since Indian rice is free from the GM contamination, this gap in supply certainly opens up vistas for additional market access for Indian exporters."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7954
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ECONOMIC LOSSES: MAIZE (CORN)
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+ U.S. CORN GLUTEN EXPORTS TO EU DOWN NEARLY 40%
According to USDA data, US corn gluten exports to the EU are 38.1% below the previous year. The EU has been the most important export market for US corn gluten feed and meal.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7912
+ ILLEGAL GM MAIZE: BURN OR RETURN
A shipment of US animal feed intercepted in Dublin Port and later in Rotterdam entered the EU illegally as part of a cargo contaminated by a whole series of unauthorized and toxic varieties of GM maize. The Netherlands must find and remove the maize from the market, says the European Commission. The Netherlands says it will return, or burn, the maize.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7821
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7865
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7854
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7919
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ECONOMIC LOSSES: CHINA
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+ CHINA SENTENCES FOOD AND DRUG CHIEF TO DEATH
The disgraced head of China's food and drug agency has been sentenced to death amid a wave of consumer safety scandals that have rippled across the world.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7943
+ CHINA THREATENED BY CONFIDENCE MELTDOWN
China faces a global challenge to maintain consumer confidence in its products following a series of health scares, a senior EU official said. US consumers have been alarmed by a spate of pet deaths blamed on tainted wheat gluten, while rice protein exported from China has been found to contain illegal GM contamination.
GM Watch comment: Like the US, China has never approved the commercial growing of GM rice, but GM contamination is damaging its exports and compounding a lack of confidence in Chinese products.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7913
+ GREEK CONFISCATION OF CHINESE RICE
Greece has ordered the confiscation of 88 tons of Chinese rice protein meal because it contains an unapproved GM event (Bt 63). Another 90 tons of Chinese product is being held awaiting test results. Border authorities will have the product destroyed or re-exported.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7827
+ CONTAMINATION SHOWS FOOD SAFETY TRUMPS PRICE
An article for the food industry portal FoodProductionDaily says recent contamination scandals, including illegal GM rice from China, have shown cheap ingredients are not cheap at all.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7844
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ECONOMIC LOSSES: PHARMA CROPS
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+ RICE WITH HUMAN PROTEINS APPROVED IN U.S.
USA Rice Producers have condemned the US government for giving approval for Ventria to plant over 3,000 acres of GM rice in Kansas, to produce human proteins intended to treat diarrhea. Group Chairman Paul Combs said, "The US rice industry is still reeling from the release of Bayer CropScience's genetically engineered LibertyLink rice into US Delta-region rice fields. We are living with the effect of unintended events and consequences. This decision will not generate any comfort among US commercial rice growers."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7887
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7889
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7915
+ GM SEED STRANDED AT CHILEAN AIRPORT
Close to 200 tonnes of GM seed is sitting at a Chilean port waiting to be loaded onto a ship for Vancouver. The GM safflower seed, engineered with fish growth hormone, was due to slip into Vancouver and be trucked to Calgary for processing, say the Canadian firm that engineered the seed for use in aquaculture. But their plan is in limbo because the Canadian government refused to issue the permit needed to import the seed into Canada.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7809
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ECONOMIC LOSSES: CONTAMINATING ORGANICS
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+ ORGANIC SOY 20% GM-CONTAMINATED
Organic soy 20% GM contaminated was discovered after a U.S. soy processor received a call from a customer saying his soy had tested positive for GMOs. "This has cost me my business and over $100,000," the processor said.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7956
+ ORGANIC INDUSTRY REJECTS GM CANOLA REPORT
The organics industry has rejected a report by the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE), which suggested that that export markets would accept a low level of GM contamination in organic products. "There are no markets around the world that will allow products to be called organic if they have a level of contamination from GM products," said Organic Federation of Australia (OFA) spokesman Andre Leu.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7871
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ECONOMIC LOSSES: OTHER CROPS
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+ UK TRIAL ABANDONED BECAUSE OF IMPACT ON OTHER FARMERS
Even though approval has been given for a GM potato trial in East Yorkshire. BASF will not proceed this year because of concerns about impact raised by local farmers.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7874
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7884
+ PLAN FOR GM TRIALS REVIVED IN THAILAND
Thailand's Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has revived a plan to conduct possible field trials of GM papaya, tomato, chilli, and pineapple. Previous Thai trials of GM papayas triggered an ongoing contamination problem as well as lost exports.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7840
+ AUSTRALIA: FARMERS OUTRAGED AT VICTORIAN CONTAMINATION PLAN
The Network of Concerned Farmers has expressed outrage at news that the Victorian state government is considering lifting its moratorium on GM canola. The issue of concern for the NCF is the unfair costs and liabilities that will be imposed on non-GM farmers due to the problems associated with segregating GM from non-GM crops in order to supply markets that are GM sensitive.
"If politicians want Australian farmers to follow in the footsteps of US and Canadian farmers who have faced additional costs, intimidating contracts and plummeting market acceptance of GM food crops, they should also be prepared to match the massive subsidies given to growers of GM food crops," said Mrs Julie Newman, National Spokesperson for the Network of Concerned Farmers.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7886
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BANS / RESTRICTIONS: U.S.A.
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+ JUDGE MAKES GM BAN PERMANENT
A US federal judge has barred the planting of GM alfalfa nationwide, ruling that the government didn't adequately study the GM crop's potential to mix with organic and conventional varieties. US District Court Judge Charles Breyer made permanent a temporary ban he ordered in March on Monsanto's GM alfalfa.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7829
Calls for the ban to be extended to Canada
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7836
+ U.S. STATES INTRODUCE NUMEROUS BILLS TO REGULATE GM FOODS
US state capitols are filled with bills aimed at protecting small family farming systems and consumers from GM foods.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7870
US House May Prevent States from Protecting Food Supply
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7939
+ NEW STATUTE PROTECTS DNA OF WILD RICE
The DNA of Minnesota wild rice gets special protection under a new state law adopted this year with the backing of Indian tribes.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7951
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BANS / RESTRICTIONS: EUROPE
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+ PATENT OFFICE REVOKES MONSANTO PATENT
The European Patent Office has revoked a species-wide patent on GM soy held by Monsanto.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7832
+ NEW GREEK BAN ON GM CORN
Greece's deputy minister of agriculture has signed a new revision of a January 2006 ministerial decree that prohibits commercialization and usage of the GM corn (maize) MON 810 in Greece.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7827
+ DE FACTO BAN ON GM CORN IN GERMANY
The German government has imposed much stricter regulations on Monsanto regarding the sale of GM corn (maize) MON810 seeds. According to the leading German newspaper, Der Spiegel, the new rules are tantamount to an outright ban.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7854
+ FRANCE WILL FOLLOW GERMANY ON GM CORN BAN
France will follow Germany's recent de facto ban on GM corn (see above), according to the country's freshly-appointed environment minister and deputy head of government - Alain Juppe.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7930
+ GERMANY: RIGHTS OF BEEKEEPERS UPHELD OVER GM CORN
A court in Germany has passed judgment in a case bought by a beekeeper, who has a GM corn (maize) field near him. The court judged that the state of Bayern had the responsibility to ensure that honey was not contaminated by pollen from Monsanto's Bt810 corn, and that the GM plants already growing should be pulled up or the pollen in the plant be otherwise made safe.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7875
+ TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT GM-FREE SEEDS
The European Commission has issued a so-called consultation on whether there should be thresholds for GM contamination in seeds, and if so at what levels. The consultation is open for an absurdly short time (until 5 June) and has not been publicized. A short guide to help people respond at
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/actionguides/gmseedsaction.pdf
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BANS / RESTRICTIONS: INDIA
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+ WHAT THE SUPREME COURT DECISION MEANS
On May 8th India's Supreme Court upheld once again the importance of biosafety by imposing very strict conditions on those GM crop trials which are to be allowed. For a very clear account of the decision and its aftermath
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7910
+ DEMAND FOR A GM-FREE TAMIL NADU
A big rally in the South Indian city of Chennai - organised by South Against Genetic Engineering (SAGE) - called for GM crops to be made illegal in Tamil Nadu. More than 10,000 farmers in the state are said to have lost heavily by cultivating Bt cotton.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7855
+ ANOTHER PARTY CALLS FOR GM BAN
A second Indian political party (AIADMK) is calling for an immediate ban on GM crops.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7864
+ FARMERS RANSACK MONSANTO-MAHYCO OFFICE
The Calcutta office of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco), a subsidiary of Monsanto, has been ransacked by farmers protesting GM trials in West Bengal. http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7909
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7917
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RESISTANCE IN THE U.S.
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+ AMERICANS NOT OK WITH GM FOODS
A poll commissioned by the biotech industry lobby group BIO shows that less than half of all Americans view GM foods in a positive light, and more than half American women find GM foods troubling.
http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=198965
+ NINE MASSACHUSETTS TOWNS VOTE AGAINST GM
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7847
+ CONSUMERS FLOOD FDA WITH CLONED FOOD OBJECTIONS
Over 130,000 comments to the Food and Drug Administration have been submitted by consumers who oppose the Agency's proposed plan to introduce food from cloned animals into the US food supply. A December 2006 poll found that nearly two-thirds of US consumers were unhappy with animal cloning. Rene Anand, an assistant professor of pharmacology at the Ohio State University says cloning is "inbreeding of the worst kind" that "could carry deadly mutant forms of natural proteins that could predispose humans to neurological diseases that would not be apparent for many decades."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7835
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SPOOKS
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+ UK SPY AT GM PROTEST
Paul Mercer, who was paid by arms company BAE to spy on the peace movement, also infiltrated a protest against milk from GM-fed cows, according to the Guardian's John Vidal.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7820
+ NEW ZEALAND: "I WAS PAID TO BETRAY PROTESTORS"
An Auckland private investigation firm is paying agents to infiltrate and spy on environmental, peace and other protest groups for its clients, including state-owned enterprise Solid Energy. The stories of two such spies are at
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7933
Greens co-leader Russel Norman said, "We have had tip-offs that NZbio may have been spying at least on anti-GE campaigners."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7942
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SILENCING CRITICAL SCIENTISTS
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+ SILENCING SILENT SPRING
How Monsanto tried to discredit the biologist Rachel Carson and her groundbreaking book.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7934
+ LEADING RESEARCHER EXCLUDED FROM GM RISK ASSESSMENT
In Switzerland, the National Fund has launched a 4-year study to assess the benefits and risks of GM plants. However, Angelika Hilbeck of the Institute for Integrative Biologie of the ETH Zurich - an internationally acknowledged researcher in risk assessment of gene technology - has been excluded from the project, called NFP 59.
Within the context of NFP 59, Hilbeck and her colleagues planned to assess if a product of a bacterial gene that has been introduced into a plant is still active after it has passed the digestive tract of a sheep or pig and has reached the soil in manure. Further, they planned to find out what happens to the gene product in the soil afterwards.
Hilbeck is convinced that the decision of the prime Swiss research funding organization has nothing to do with science. "Apparently, other criteria which we were never told about triggered the decision. It has never happened to me that a project has been shot down in such a way," Hilbeck says.
Other researchers sent protest letters to the National Fund. They state that almost every point in the statement rejecting the project was either "demonstrably false" or "unhelpfully vague".
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7953
+ AUSTRALIA: CSIRO DUMPS ANTI-GM EXPERT
One of Australia's leading agricultural specialists says he was dumped by the CSIRO because of his criticism of GM crops. Dr Maarten Stapper, a principal research scientist, worked for CSIRO for 23 years and is an expert on soil health, which, he says, is the key to better crops.
He said that senior CSIRO management bullied and harassed him and tried to gag his criticisms of GM crops. He left in March after his position with CSIRO's plant industry division was made redundant.
"I could have continued working for the CSIRO but I would have to give up all my beliefs about good agriculture and keep my mouth shut about GM," he said. "I didn't want that because I have a connection with the farming community and they trust me."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7932
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GM APPLICATIONS / EXPANSION
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+ GM MAIZE APPROVED IN BRAZIL
Brazilian regulator CNTBio has approved the commercial release of Bayer's GMO corn in controversial circumstances that verged on farce. Without recent changes the government made to the law to reduce the threshold for approvals, the approval would not have got the necessary votes.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7914
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7825
+ GM BRASSICA APPROVAL LACKED SCRUTINY - SCIENTIST
A former GM scientist, Dr Elvira Dommisse, said there was no proper scrutiny of evidence during the approval of GM brassica trials in New Zealand. She said, "One thing that needs to come through very clearly is the huge waste of public money if, at the end of ten years, rat feeding trials take place and the crops are found to be toxic or allergenic."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7947
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7938
+ SWEET BANANA ON TRIAL IN UGANDA
Uganda has imported GM sweet banana plants from Belgium for field trials.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7879
+ ROMANIAN MINISTRY OF AG INSISTS ON GROWING GM SOY
The Romanian ministry of agriculture and rural development has said it wants to re-introduce GM soy in Romania that it was forced to ban by its entry into the EU.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7923
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BIOFUELS
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+ BIOFUELS THREATEN FAMINE - UN
The global rush to biocrops threatens to bring food shortages and increase poverty, says a UN report. The report also says the crops are not guaranteed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7849
+ BIOFUELS AND GM CROPS: RECIPE FOR GLOBAL FAMINE
Just as boosting ethanol or biodiesel production fails to solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, so does investing billions of dollars in research into GM crops, says Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute. Both biofuels and GM crops require large-scale monocultures, which are a recipe for global famine, she says.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7824
Ecologist Special Report on the "facts, fictions and fabrications" behind biofuels
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7814
+ ROW OVER BAN ON GM-DERIVED BIOFUELS IN CYPRUS Cyprus faces sanctions from the EU as a result of its ban on the importation and cultivation of GM plants that produce biofuels. Green Party leader Giorgos Perdikis said biofuels could be extracted from normal plants, without GM.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7881
+ JAPANESE TEAM SET UP TO PROMOTE GM CROPS FOR BIOFUEL
Japan's agriculture ministry has set up a study team to spur commercialization of GM crops for biofuel instead of food as a strategy for gaining public trust for using GM crops, which have been strongly opposed in Japan.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7924
+ IPPC CALL FOR LARGE-SCALE BIOFUELS CONDEMNED A group of NGOs has condemned the International Panel on Climate Change's (IPPC) call for large-scale cultivation of GM crops for biofuels. Almuth Ernsting of Biofuelwatch says: "It is already clear that the burgeoning demand for biofuels that has been created to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is actually increasing them by deforestation in the tropics and accelerating climate change. So far, only 1% of global transport fuel comes from biofuels, yet already biofuels cause steep rises in grain and vegetable oil prices, threatening the food security of poor people and spurring agricultural expansion into forests and grasslands, on which we depend for a stable climate."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7834
+ ENVIRONMENTAL WARNING ON BIOFUELS
The drive to switch over to biofuels could lead to rising food prices and deforestation, a report has warned. The government and EU have said by the year 2020 they want 10% of all fuel in cars to come from biofuels. But a study by the Co-op Insurance Society suggests achieving this could have a severe environmental impact.
Prof Dieter Helm, a senior advisor to the British government, said: "People are felling rainforests to plant crops to grow energy fuels, biofuels. Think of the energy involved in felling those rainforests. Think about the damage to the climate being done by the loss of those trees. Think about the ploughing and the cultivation of fields. Think about the transport of those fuels, and you start to realise the carbon imprints are about much more than simply what happens to grow in a particular field at a particular point in time."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7868
+ STUDY QUESTIONS BENEFITS OF BIOFUELS
According to a study commissioned by the Swiss authorities, biofuels may be more harmful for the environment than their fossil counterparts.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7920
+ BIOFUELS THE NEXT THREAT TO AFRICA
Even if the UK were to turn over all of its land to growing biofuels instead of food, it would need 4 times the amount of land to make enough fuel to meet its current needs, warns the Gaia Foundation. Europe is therefore looking to Africa to provide the land that will grow the fuel. But large-scale biofuels projects launched in Africa are meeting with intense opposition.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7834
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HEALTH EFFECTS - GM
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+ RISING FOOD ALLERGIES MAY BE LINKED TO GM FOODS
The huge jump in childhood food allergies in the US is in the news often, but most reports fail to consider a link to GM, according to Jeffrey Smith.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7901
+ REVIEW OF JEFFREY SMITH'S BOOK, GENETIC ROULETTE
- the final word on GM health risks.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7885
+ NEW RUSSIAN STUDY REVEALS SERIOUS DAMAGE TO MICE FED GM SOY
Preliminary unpublished research in Russia has found serious pathological damage in mice fed a Monsanto GM Roundup Ready soy approved for human consumption.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7853
+ INDIA: MORE ON BT COTTON DEATHS IN LIVESTOCK
Though it's been years since reports first emerged of deaths among sheep and goats grazing on Bt cotton fields, no studies have yet been done to test toxicity in conditions that simulate real life open-grazing conditions.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7818
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HEALTH EFFECTS - ROUNDUP
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+ ROUNDUP MAY AFFECT REPRODUCTION AND FOETAL DEVELOPMENT
Monsanto's Roundup has toxic effects on human embryonic cells, a new study shows. The toxic effects of Roundup are noticed at very weak doses (for the experiment, the product sold in stores was diluted up to 10,000 times). Effects were observed at dilutions less than the residues in discussion to be authorized in GMO feed in the US. The authors comment that the research may contribute to a better understanding of the problems of miscarriages, premature births or sexual malformations of babies.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7893
+ AERIAL SPRAYING OF ROUNDUP DAMAGES DNA
Aerial spraying of the Roundup herbicide by the Colombian government on the border of Colombia and Ecuador has caused a high degree of DNA damage in local Ecuadorian people, according to a study. DNA damage may activate genes associated to the development of cancer, and may also lead to miscarriage or malformations in embryos.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7899
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ENVIRONMENT
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+ REPORT REVEALS BT CROP RISKS TO INSECTS AND SOIL
Plants containing Bt toxins could severely damage soil and beneficial insect populations, suggests a published review of international scientific studies.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7830
+ INDIA: BT COTTON AFFECTS SOIL MICROFAUNA - STUDY
Bt cotton has serious effects on the soil microfauna in the root zone of the crop, according to as yet unpublished research. This may be why soils where Bt crops have been grown are becoming less productive. The studies were part of a network project coordinated by India's Central Institute for Cotton Research. The study follows complaints from farmers on the reduction of yields in crops rotated with Bt cotton. It's worthy of note that agriculture departments, universities and companies are recommending more fertilisers are used on Bt cotton as it exhausts the soil.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7945
For other problems with Bt cotton showing up in published research
http://www.lobbywatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=86&page=1
Hungarian research backs up Indian findings
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7948
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GM FAILURES
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+ RESEARCH SHOWS HUGE VARIATION IN BT TOXIN IN GM MAIZE
A study has found massive variations in the amount of Bt toxin present in GM maize plants.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7883
+ INDIA: BT COTTON HAS FAILED IN VIDHARBHA - MINISTER
The Times of India reported - under the headline above - that, "If any proof about the failure of genetically modified Bt cotton in the main cotton growing area of Vidarbha was needed, it came on Wednesday from Maharashtra agriculture minister Balasaheb Thorat ... [who] admitted that the much-hyped, and high-priced Bt seeds were only adding to the burden of Vidarbha's farmers." This is an important admission from a state government that has consistently hyped Bt cotton, contributing to a higher uptake of Monsanto's GM cotton than anywhere else in India.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7859
+ FARM SUICIDES SPIRAL IN VIDHARBHA - 401 DEAD SINCE JANUARY
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7935
+ WORLD BANK AND FARMER SUICIDES
In an incisive article for the Times of India, Vandana Shiva writes, "...[World] Bank pressure enabled the entry of seed corporations like Monsanto. Today, most farmer suicides are precisely in those areas where Monsanto's seeds have spread." http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7839
+ GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT WEED PROBLEMS IN BRAZIL
A Brazilian TV report describes the serious problems of glyphosate-resistant weeds in Brazil as a result of the cultivation of GM soya.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7823
+ EU TO APPROVE SUPPORT FOR FAILING GM CROPS SECTOR
The EU is poised to approve further financial and political support for GM crops, despite growing evidence that the sector is failing.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7908
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CORPORATE TAKEOVER
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+ U.S. STILL BULLYING EU OVER GMOs
New documents obtained by Friends of the Earth reveal that the US continues to pressure the EU to market new GM crops and foods, despite the World Trade Organisation's recent verdict that the EU has a right to protect itself against GMOs. In an email exchange, US officials even insisted that the EU should steer clear of the term "GMOs" in order to minimize public opposition to its policies.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7944
+ CAL GRADUATES PROTEST WAMBUGU'S APPEARANCE
About 20 graduates from UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources wore green sashes or armbands to protest Florence Wambugu's appearance as their graduation ceremony's keynote speaker. The students said they disagreed with Wambugu's views on the use of biotechnology in combating hunger in Africa.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7916
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7890
+ BUSH'S "FOOD BULLY" TO HEAD WORLD BANK
Robert Zoellick, the former US trade representative, is succeeding Paul Wolfowitz as World Bank president. Zoellick drove the US's WTO case against the EU on GM food - a policy brilliantly picked apart in an article by political analyst Conn Hallinan at
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7921
+ THE CLOSING OF THE UNIVERSITY COMMONS
Three interesting articles on the increasing alignment to industry of university knowledge and resources.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7902
+ CALL ON EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SCIENCE
Dozens of prominent scientists are calling on the European Commission to support independent science in its next round of science funding, and to ensure transparency and democratic input in deciding funding and research priorities.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7926
+ TONY BLAIR TO QUIT
Tony Blair is soon to stand down as Britain's prime minister. Under Blair the UK has been the only EU country to consistently vote to oppose other countries' national bans on GM crops and foods. According to Blair's former environment minister, Michael Meacher, "Tony's natural mates are his big business friends."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7861
Blair will be remembered for agreeing with George Bush on Iraq and GM crops, and failing to convince the British people on either issue, says Peter Melchett.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7876
+ THE GM DOORWAY TO AFRICA REVOLVES
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7936
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FOOD SECURITY
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+ FOOD SECURITY THROUGH ORGANICS
Researchers have told a UN conference that a large-scale shift to organic agriculture could help fight world hunger while improving the environment. The researchers presented their study at an International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Rome (3-5 May 2007).
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7850
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7833
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BEE CRISIS
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+ GM CROPS COULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR BEE DIE-OFFS
An article for web mag thesimon.com suggests that GM crops may be responsible for colony collapse disorder, which is seeing huge numbers of bees die off and disappear.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7819
+ ANOTHER SUSPECT IN BEE DIE-OFF
The chief suspect in the bee die-offs, say many scientists, is imidacloprid, a potent chemical that can be sprayed on plants or coated on seeds, which then release the insecticide through the plants as they grow. Research has shown that in sublethal doses the chemical can impair bees' memory and learning, as well as their motor activity and navigation.
Sierra Club's Laurel Hopwood says, "This coating on seeds is new. Since 2005-2006, Monsanto, Syngenta, and Bayer have acquired patents to "coat" their GE corn, soy, canola, and cotton with this class of insecticides. This is NOT being tested by the regulators as a possible causative or contributing factor in CCD [colony collapse disorder]. They don't look, so they don't find."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7931
+ TAKE ACTION ON THE LOSS OF HONEYBEES!
Asking for the science to be done
http://www.sierraclub.org/biotech/whatsnew/whatsnew_2007-04-07.asp
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LOBBYWATCH
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+ DR SHANTHARAM'S BIG TIRADE
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7904
+ GM WATCH PART OF "NETWORK OF McCARTHYITES"
GM Watch and others, including the writer and journalist George Monbiot, have been attacked in the most lurid terms by Frank Furedi, the 'Godfather' of the far right (and GM-loving) LM group, whose supporters have become leading lights of UK pro-GM lobby groups like the Science Media Centre, Sense About Science, etc. In an interview for Spiked, Furedi "discusses environmentalism, conspiracy theories and the 'network of McCarthyites' slurring his name". This network, according to Spiked's editor Brendan O'Neill, is clustered around Guardian columnist George Monbiot and includes LobbyWatch, GM Watch and SpinWatch. The Furedi piece seems to have been triggered by an interview we published in which George Monbiot discusses the politics and tactics of the LM group.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7851
Andy Rowell replies to Furedi.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7857
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CORPORATE CRIMES
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+ BRAZIL: SYNGENTA THREATENS TO EXPEL FAMILY FARMERS
Syngenta is pressurising the Governor of the State of Parana to use the police to expel the family farmers of the Via Campesina currently residing on the Free Land encampment. The 120 families occupied the area over a year ago, in protest against Syngenta's illegal cultivation of GM soy and corn at the site, within the protected Iguacu National Park. Support the family farmers and protest to Syngenta.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7918
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7897
+ DID MONSANTO STEAL LOW-LINOLENIC SOYBEANS?
Monsanto - a company which has been found guilty of bribery, withholding information on the harm caused by its products, and "conduct so outrageous in character and extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency", now stands accused of patent theft! Two Iowa State University professors have filed a lawsuit claiming Monsanto infringed on their patent on a low-acid soybean. These soybeans were conventionally bred and only became GM when Monsanto added a transgene for resistance to its herbicide Roundup.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7925
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
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+ FUNDING, NOT NEED, DRIVES GM RESEARCH
Rhonda Janke, a sustainable agriculture professor at Kansas State University: "The amount of money going into sustainable or organic agriculture is minuscule compared to what's going into, say, genetic engineering. Even if no one in the state of Kansas saw the need for genetically engineered wheat, we'd have three or four people in my building working on it because that's where the money is - someone on the national level thought it was important, so there's money for it."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7937