Global crisis as illegality spirals out of control - India, China, US... the wor

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GMW: Global crisis as illegality spirals out of control -

India, China, US... the world

 

" GM WATCH " <info

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 14:53:32 +0100

 

 

 

Global crisis as illegality spirals out of control - India, China,

US... the world

 

 

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

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The nightmare of a hazardous technology running out of control on a

global scale:

 

*contamination of the global food chain by illegal GM rice in China

 

*thousands of tonnes of illegal GM maize entering the food chain over 4

years in the US

 

*the increasing hazard of GM pharma crops

 

*governments throwing in the towel in India, Mexico, and Brazil by

" legalising " the illegal proliferation of GMOs

 

*the continuing unrestricted proliferation of illegal Bt cotton in

Indiaand the government's complete failure to seek compliance with its

own

biosafety regulations

 

" When will this end! The release of untested GMOs into the environment

and the food chain is unacceptable, and undermining consumer rights to

safety, to a healthy and sustainable environment, and to information.

People need to know what they are eating, have choice and to know that

their food is safe. " - Consumers International (item 2)

 

" Recklessly approving new Bt cotton varieties, without doing anything

about the widespread violations, sends the signal that the GEAC is more

concerned about obliging the seed industry than protecting the farmers

and the environment. " - Dr Suman Sahia (item 1)

 

1.GOVERNMENT NOT ANSWERABLE IN INDIA

2.International consumer body condemns illegal GM contamination of food

chain

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1. " GOVERNMENT NOT ANSWERABLE TO NGOS " …GEAC chairman at Bt cotton

meeting

 

PRESS RELEASE, 13 April 2005

 

" The government is not answerable to NGOs, " said Sri Suresh Chandra,

chairman of the GEAC, to Dr. Suman Sahai of Gene Campaign.

 

This came in response to Dr. Sahai's question whether the GEAC would or

would not take on board suggestions made by the civil society groups

who had been invited to make presentations before the GEAC at its meeting

to approve Bt cotton for central India on 13 April, 2005. The GEAC was

not willing to commit either on whether it would conduct a review of

the past performance of the Monsanto-Mahyco Bt cotton, as Gene Campaign

and others have demanded, or take action against the rapid spread of

illegal Bt cotton varieties.

 

The GEAC also refused to commit itself to taking any action against the

violation of the government rules according to which farmers must plant

20% of ordinary cotton around Bt cotton and which most farmers do not

do.

 

In the 5 minutes that were allotted to her for Gene Campaign's

presentation. Dr. Sahai said that GEAC must conduct a comprehensive

review of

the performance of the Monsanto-Mahyco Bt cotton in these past three

years, before any further approvals were granted to Bt cotton. Dr Sahai

added that two other issues of concern must be dealt with before fresh

approvals were granted. These were the rampant proliferation of illegal

varieties of Bt cotton which continued unchecked and the fact that most

farmers were not following the mandated

procedure of setting aside 20 percent of their land as an insect

management refuge. Gene Campaign has repeatedly asked the GEAC to take

action

against these worrisome developments which will have grave

environmental consequences and boomerang on the farmers, causing them

losses.

 

Gene Campaign's point is that the GEAC must first take stock of the

situation on the ground where so much was going wrong with the

implementation of Bt cotton, and the government's own rules were being

openly

flouted. Instead of approving more and more Bt cotton varieties in every

meeting, GEAC should do a mid term corrective, improve the systems and

ensure compliance before proceeding.

 

Recklessly approving new Bt cotton varieties, without doing anything

about the widespread violations, sends the signal that the GEAC is more

concerned about obliging the seed industry than protecting the farmers

and the environment.

 

Gene Campaign which had represented to the GEAC against renewing

permission to the Monsanto Bt cotton, in view of its poor performance,

had

presented the results of three years of field studies conducted by it

which showed that farmers planting Monsanto's Bt cotton had by and large

incurred losses and raised procedural matters like transparency,

accountability and public participation in decision making.

 

Dr. Sahai said it was a great pity that the government in India

continues to be in the imperialist mode. All over the world,

transparent and

participatory governance was being adopted but this does not seem to

have occurred to the bureaucracy in India. The subject of GMOs is

sensitive and unless responsibly handled, it could lead to great

damage. The

best safeguard against this kind of risk was in fact public

participation. Dr. Sahai added that the government had to be

accountable to NGOs and

to all other constituents.

 

Dr. Suman Sahai

Gene Campaign

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2.PRESS RELEASE: CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL

 

The global voice for consumers u La voix des consommateurs à travers le

monde u La voz global para la defensa de los consumidores

 

Illegal GM rice discovered in food chain

 

Consumers International (CI) is deeply concerned at the reported

discovery of unapproved genetically engineered (GM) rice being sold

and grown

illegally in the Chinese province of Hubei. According to Greenpeace,

the international laboratory Genescan confirmed that transgenic DNA was

present in samples of rice seed and rice from companies, farmers and

rice millers. Greenpeace estimates that 950 to 1200 tonnes of GE rice

could have entered the food chain after last year's harvest.

 

David Cuming, CI GM Campaign manager says:

 

'This is the second recent report of unapproved GMOs entering the food

chain and is of significant concern to consumers. Last month it was

unapproved GM Bt corn in the food chain. When will this end! The release

of untested GMOs into the environment and the food chain is

unacceptable, and undermining consumer rights to safety, to a healthy and

sustainable environment, and to information. People need to know what

they are

eating, have choice and to know that their food is safe.'

 

Notes to editors

 

Rice is a staple food for much of the world. So far genetic

engineering has been predominantly in soybean, maize, cotton and

canola. The

introduction of GM rice into the food chain could have important

consequences for human health. Greenpeace says the samples of GM rice

in China

contain genetically modified Bt rice – a strain that is a concern to

human health as it contains a protoxin that is a potent immunogen, and no

food safety assessment has been made for any Bt rice.

 

The discovery of untested GM rice in China (and the unapproved Bt corn,

produced by Syngenta, in the US and abroad) raises questions about the

integrity of the companies and individuals involved in GM production.

It also reveals weakness in regulation systems. Strict safety guidelines

and independent testing need to be implemented and we also need strict

rules to prevent such contamination from occurring.

 

Consumers International are campaigning for labelling and traceability

of GMOs, independent safety testing of GM food and establishment of

GM-free areas.

 

Consumers International is a federation of consumer organisations

dedicated to the protection and promotion of consumer's rights worldwide

through empowering national consumer groups and campaigning at the

national level. It currently represents over 250 organisations in 115

countries. For more information, see: www.consumersinternational.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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