from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor
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Dear all:
Ten years after GM crops were first planted commercially in the US, Americans remain ill-informed about and uncomfortable with GM food, reports a survey that finally puts to bed the endless nonsense about American consumers' acceptance of GM foods and confidence in US regulation (THE AMERICAS).
Meanwhile, the New Zealand government is facing a $1 million bill to clean up the GM-contaminated corn it allowed into the country (AUSTRALASIA).
Claire 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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CONTENTS
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THE AMERICAS
ASIA
AFRICA
EUROPE
AUSTRALASIA
RESEARCH
COMPANY NEWS
CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK - TAKE ACTION
GM WATCH TRANSLATED
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THE AMERICAS
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+ AMERICANS STILL WARY OF GM FOOD - STUDY
Ten years after GM crops were first planted commercially in the US, Americans remain ill-informed about and uncomfortable with biotech food, according to the fifth annual survey on the topic.
People vastly underestimate how much GM food they are already consuming; lean toward wanting greater regulation of such crops; and have less faith than ever that the Food and Drug Administration will provide accurate information, the survey found.
The poll also confirmed that most Americans - particularly women - do not like the idea of eating meat or milk from cloned animals. The FDA recently said it is close to allowing such food on the market.
Overall, said Michael Fernandez, executive director of the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, which sponsored the survey, Americans are "still generally uncertain" about GM and cloned foods.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7373
+ SYNGENTA PROPERTY IN BRAZIL LIKELY TO BE SEIZED BY STATE GOVT
A 123-hectare experimental farm owned by Syngenta Seeds is likely to be expropriated by Brazil's Parana state government for illegal planting of GM corn and soybeans on the border of Iguacu National Park.
Parana's governor, Roberto Requiao, who previously banned exports of GMO soybeans from the Paranagua Port, said Syngenta was breaking a federal law that prohibits GMO plants within 500 meters of public parks.
Agrarian reform group Via Campesina, which had previously occupied the property before being ordered to leave by a judge, has now re-invaded it. Members of the local Landless Rural Workers Movement, better known as MST, is also said to be marching on the Syngenta property.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7358
+ U.S. FOOD SECTOR WARY OF GM WHEAT
The US food industry is still not ready to embrace GM wheat because of consumer wariness of genetic tinkering. Said Ron Olson, General Mills' vice president of grain operations, "The food market is not ready for that. Our stock would get killed."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7362
See COMPANY NEWS for a related story
+ PATENT OFFICE FINDS "SUBSTANTIAL QUESTIONS" RE MONSANTO'S PATENTS
In response to requests filed earlier this year by the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), the US Patent and Trademark Office will undertake a review of four patents related to GM crops held by Monsanto that the agricultural giant is using to harass, intimidate, sue - and in some cases bankrupt - American farmers. In its orders granting the four requested reexaminations, the USPTO found that PUBPAT had submitted new evidence that raised "substantial questions of patentability" for every single claim of each of the four patents.
Monsanto has filed dozens of patent infringement lawsuits asserting the four challenged patents against American farmers, many of whom are unable to hire adequate representation to defend themselves in court. The crime these farmers are accused of is nothing more than saving seed from one year's crop to replant the following year, something farmers have done since the beginning of time.
Third party requests for reexamination, like the ones filed by PUBPAT, are successful in having the challenged patent either changed or completely revoked roughly 70% of the time.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7371
+ U.S. AND BIO IN CODEX CONTAMINATION SCAM
The undemocratic WHO organization Codex has approved a U.S. government proposal to develop a food safety risk assessment process for adventitious presence. Industry body BIO has thanked the US government for pushing through the move at Codex. This may take some years but is still a source of concern.
COMMENT from Dr Michael Antoniou:
It is quite obvious that this is NOT the science-based food safety assessment that it is claimed to be but something for purely political and commercial convenience. [Dr Antoniou is Reader in Medical and Molecular Genetics at King's College London, and an expert on GM foods]
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7363
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ASIA
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+ CHINA FAILS TO GIVE COMMERCIAL APPROVAL TO GM RICE
China, the world's biggest rice producer and consumer, has yet again put off any commercial introduction of GM rice amid growing concerns about biosafety.
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=72601-nutrogen-gm-rice-biosafety
+ CHINA 'S BOWLFUL OF WORRY
China's once swift march toward government approval of GM rice has become further bogged down in worries over environmental damage and resistance from consumers.
The Chinese government is also wary of possible measures by the European Union and others against GM-contaminated rice from China. The EU is considered the largest potential market for Chinese rice exporters.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7369
+ LESSONS OF BHOPAL
December 3 was the 22nd anniversary of the chemical leak from a Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) pesticide plant in Bhopal. UCC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical which, like Monsanto, has been destroying lives and poisoning the planet for decades.
Like Monsanto, Dow produced the lethal Vietnam War defoliant, Agent Orange. Like Monsanto it dumped thousands of tons of dioxin-laced waste. And like Monsanto it is up to its ears in GMOs.
To contribute to the Bhopal medical appeal http://www.bhopal.org/donations/
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7353
+ FERAL GMOs AROUND JAPANESE PORTS
A study confirms that escaped GM oilseed rape (Canola) is growing around Japanese ports. The authors comment, "To our knowledge, this is the first published example of feral, transgenic populations occurring in a nation where the transgenic crop has not been cultivated commercially."
(Monitoring the escape of transgenic oilseed rape around Japanese ports and roadsides Environ. Biosafety Res. 4 (2005) 217-222)
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7352
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AFRICA
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+ WEST AFRICA - GM COMPANIES MOVING IN
Cotton growing in West Africa is booming, but land is running out, pesticide poisonings are on the up and the GM companies are moving in, says an article in the Guardian.
EXTRACT:
A citizens' jury held recently in Mali allowed public debate on whether to adopt GM cotton. It brought together 45 women and men farmers from different villages in the Sikasso region to interrogate 14 experts on the pros and cons of Bt cotton. The verdict from the farmers' jury was unanimously in favour of banning GM cotton.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7366
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EUROPE
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+ SCIENTIST IN GM POTATO WARNING
A scientist whose study helped ignite fears over GM food has warned that the decision to approve trials of blight-resistant GM potatoes in the UK meant preventing cross-contamination was "almost impossible".
Dr Arpad Pusztai caused an academic uproar when he reported in 1998 that rats fed on GM potatoes suffered organ damage.
The Hungarian-born nutritionist said he was opposed to the approved GM trials in Derbyshire and Cambridgeshire, which he described as an "extremely stupid move".
"If these potatoes are going to be grown on a large scale then it is almost impossible to avoid genetic contamination," he said.
"Sooner or later the same gene will get into our common potato. There is no demand for genetic modification in this country and it could be the death nail for the potato because it is not going to be bought by the general public."
He added that he felt the government had approved the trials in order to change the public's negative attitude about genetic modification. "We are dealing with a very unstable genome which will almost certainly be producing some toxic effects and if they get into our human food chain it will cause a huge calamity," he said.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7355
+ CHIP MAKERS OPPOSE GM POTATO TRIAL
The UK government's decision to allow trials of a new strain of GM potato has been met with strong opposition by the potato industry and the country's largest maker of chips.
The British Potato Council said its refusal to endorse trials of a potato modified to be resistant to late blight, which caused the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, was based on consumers' mistrust of GM technology.
The council said it was "paramount" that public concerns over GM trials were addressed and fears about possible cross-contamination were allayed before the trials began.
Bill Bartlett, the corporate affairs director of McCain Foods (GB), which is the largest manufacturer of chips in Britain, said: "McCain Foods is disappointed with this decision at a time when consumer attitudes do not support GM foods."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7355
+ INDUSTRY ADMITS CONTAMINATION OF FOOD "CANNOT BE EXCLUDED"
Friends of the Earth Europe has warned that Europe's potatoes will be at risk of contamination if GM potatoes are allowed to be grown commercially within EU countries. The potato has been genetically modified by the chemical giant BASF to increase its amylopectin content, which is used to produce starch. Although it is not intended to enter the food chain, BASF state that "it cannot be excluded that amylopectin potato... may be used as or may be present in food..." In this case BASF say it will be labeled as 'produced from genetically modified potato'.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7357
+ ALBERT FERRE ACQUITTED
A Judge in Lleida in the west of Catalonia, Spain has acquitted Albert Ferre. Albert was facing a fine of around 500,000 euros over the destruction in 2004 of a GM wheat trial in Gimenells (Lleida, Catalonia). The verdict recognises the lack of proof of the prosecution and also Albert's right to the presumption of innocence.
GM WATCH COMMENT: This victory is great news but it's not the only case of judicial persecution of the anti-GM movement in Catalonia. Josep Pamies, from Assemblea Pagesa of Catalunya (the Catalonian Farmers' Assembly), is being threatened with a 4-year jail sentence and a fine of 50,000 euros for his alleged involvement in events back in September 2003. There is still no date for Josep's trial.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7354
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AUSTRALASIA
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+ GM CORN TO BE DESTROYED IN NZ
Biosecurity New Zealand is conducting an investigation into where 400ha of GM corn was planted, and the extent of the contamination. Its spokesperson Peter Thompson said a staff error led to almost two tonnes of GM corn breaching the border in October. He said most of the corn has been planted, and it must be destroyed.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7356
+ MORE POSSIBLY GM CONTAMINATED CORN IDENTIFIED
The GM corn biosecurity breach is bigger than first thought. Last week ag ministry MAF was looking into how 1800 kilograms of GM-contaminated corn was incorrectly cleared into the country in October.
Biosecurity minister Jim Anderton says an estimated amount of 4420 kilos of contaminated corn is now being investigated.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7365
+ NZ GOVT MAY FACE $1 MILLION BILL FOR CORN BOTCHUP
The New Zealand government may face a bill of up to $1 million to clean up the latest GM border bungle.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7372
+ ALERT OVER SECRET GM SEED IN IMPORTS
GM Canadian canola is being imported into Australia but the chances are no one will tell you if it ends up in your margarine or mayonnaise.
The multinational grain trader Cargill said it had imported canola seed because of a sharp drop in Australian canola production caused by the drought.
Greenpeace has accused Cargill of undercutting Australian farmers with cheap imports that consumers do not want. "Polls consistently show that Australian consumers don't want to eat GE food, yet food producers are trying to sneak GE canola into the food chain," said a Greenpeace campaigner, Louise Sales.
The nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton said there was a risk that the canola oil could contain some protein, and there was no scientific evidence that GM food was safe to eat. "No one has been monitoring if there is a problem [with GM foods] ... we have no way of knowing," she said.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7359
+ GREENPEACE FAILS TO BLOCK GM CANOLA
Australia's first shipment of GM canola is on its way to the nation's grocery baskets after protesters held it up for three hours at a Newcastle dock.
Three Greenpeace activists were arrested for chaining themselves to their cars as a dozen protesters blockaded exits from the floating dock at Kooragang Island, part of the Port of Newcastle.
From Newcastle it will be shipped around Australia to producers of margarine, mayonnaise, canola oil and animal feed destined for the poultry and dairy industries.
Cargill has said it imported the grain to make up for a drought-induced shortfall in this year's canola crop.
GM WATCH COMMENT: Seems Cargill's trying to exploit Australia's recent drought as an excuse to dump otherwise unwanted (and hence massively-discounted) Canadian GM canola (oilseed rape).
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7367
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RESEARCH
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+ ECO-FARMING HELPS THE WORLD'S POOR - STUDY
Sustainable farming methods can help the poorest farmers in developing nations out of poverty, research suggests. Scientists found that techniques such as crop rotation and organic farming increased crop yields by an average of 79%, without risking future harvests.
The study, possibly the largest of its kind, looked at more than 280 projects in 57 of the world's poorest countries. The findings appear in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
The team of international scientists who carried out the four-year project found that the farmers enjoyed improved crop productivity, while reducing their use of pesticides and water.
One of the report's co-authors, Prof Jules Pretty from the University of Essex, UK, said the findings challenged the dominant view that the West knew best when it came to agriculture. "Most people think it is bad news from the south," Prof Pretty said, "but in many ways farmers in developing country are leading the way."
GM WATCH COMMENT: These findings are nothing new. As New Scientist commented back in 2001: "Low-tech 'sustainable agriculture,' shunning chemicals in favour of natural pest control and fertiliser, is pushing up crop yields on poor farms across the world, often by 70 per cent or more...
A new science-based revolution is gaining strength built on real research into what works best on the small farms where a billion or more of the world's hungry live and work... It is time for the major agricultural research centres and their funding agencies to join the revolution."
And still the poor wait... How much more money is going to be poured down the drain trying to poor-wash GM crops?
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7370
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COMPANY NEWS
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+ MONSANTO WILL HAVE TOUGH TIME MARKETING NEW GM SEEDS - FINANCE EXPERTS
Unless opinions in the food industry change, Monsanto may have a tough time marketing new GM seeds, says an article from the Motley Fool, an award-winning voice on investing and finance, which describes itself as "the world's premier multimedia financial education company".
The article argues that Monsanto has the most to lose from food companies' concerns over GM crops and that it cannot continue to flourish financially on a basis of GMOs going into the food chain covertly.
The Motley Fool has previously directed investors' attention to the potentially ruinous lawsuits proliferating against Monsanto and the lack of trust the company inspires in consumers.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7368
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CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK - TAKE ACTION
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+ STOP GM CORN IN BRAZIL
Please send a letter to President Lula da Silva, asking him not to approve the introduction of GM corn into Brazil. You can send your message to the Brazilian President online in just 2 minutes via Friends of the Earth: http://www.foei.org/cyberaction/brazil-gm.php
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GM WATCH TRANSLATED
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