Guest guest Posted September 9, 2005 Report Share Posted September 9, 2005 WEEKLY WATCH 140 " GM WATCH " <info Thu, 8 Sep 2005 20:49:36 +0100 --------------------------- WEEKLY WATCH number 140 --------------------------- --------------------------- from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor --------------------------- Dear all: As well as having catastrophic consequences for the appallingly neglected people of New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina has implications for the GM seeds trade, the US economy and the US media (AMERICA). Don't miss an important CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK. Claire claire www.gmwatch.org / www.lobbywatch.org ------- CONTENTS ------- THE AMERICAS AUSTRALASIA ASIA EUROPE AFRICA FOOD SAFETY COMPANY NEWS CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF SCIENCE LOBBYWATCH CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK --------------------------- THE AMERICAS --------------------------- + POVERTY AND HUNGER IN NEW ORLEANS AND AFRICA EXCERPT from excellent article by Robert Vint. US-style development does not only destroy the livelihoods of African farmers; since 1945 nearly 90% of US farmers have lost their jobs. Now that we can all see the poor and hungry in New Orleans we can see that the problem is not the absence of GM crops - it's the economy, stupid! All the leading development charities in the UK agree that hunger is a problem caused by inequality, lack of food sovereignty and the maldistribution of food and that GM crops are therefore not relevant to preventing hunger. They wrote jointly to Tony Blair to tell him not to use this fraudulent argument to promote GM crops. Food experts around the world share this view as do the food and farming organisations representing small and family farmers in the Third World. America likes to believe that it is the breadbasket of the world; in fact since the introduction of GM crops it has become a net importer of food. As it is becoming increasingly clear that it is unable to feed its own poor adequately, it is time the rest of the world started rejecting its misguided strategy for feeding the world and the dishonest economic ideology upon which it is based. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5681 + TAKE ACTION TO HELP THOSE AFFECTED BY HURRICANE KATRINA http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5695 Online action: Congress: Hold Bush Accountable on Failed Katrina Response http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=19560 Floor statement of Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH): " Indifference Is a Weapon of Mass Destruction " http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0902-10.htm + HURRICANE KATRINA'S SILVER LINING? 'Eco Sounding' by John Vidal in The Guardian, Sept 7: Whatever Hurricane Katrina's long-term effect on the way America thinks about global warming and oil dependency, it is probably going to make GM animal feed more expensive in Europe. Almost all US maize and soya goes through New Orleans and the port of Destrehan, and nothing is expected out for some time because of silting in the Mississippi. This should cheer up anti-GM activists in Britain who have been trying to persuade supermarkets to stick with non-GM supplies and not to accept produce that has been given GM feed. Comment by GM WATCH's Jonathan Matthews: Seems nature's shoved a bung up America's point of discharge for its tainted feed supply. Mind you, Bush & co'll doubtless give sorting this out a bit more priority than rescuing poor blacks off roof tops. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5691 + HURRICANE KATRINA'S IMPACT ON U.S. AG ECONOMY Comment by Scott Kilman in the Wall Street Journal: " While the hurricane's wind and rain caused relatively little damage to the nation's biggest crops, it has shut down grain-exporting ports around New Orleans for an indefinite period, depressing prices that Midwest farmers are fetching for corn, wheat and soybeans. " http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5691 + WHY HURRICANE KATRINA MAY HAVE SAVED THE U.S. MEDIA American broadcast journalism might have grown its spine back, thanks to Katrina, says a BBC report that perfectly captures the US media approach to a range of issues, including GM: EXCERPT FROM THE BBC PIECE: Giant corporations own the networks, and Washington politicians rely on them and their executives to fund their re-election campaigns across the 50 states. It is a perfect recipe for a timid and self-censoring journalistic culture that is no match for the masterfully aggressive spin-surgeons of the Bush administration. But last week the complacency stopped, and the moral indignation against inadequate government began to flow, from slick anchors who spend most of their time glued to desks in New York and Washington. The most spectacular example came last Friday night on Fox News, the cable network that has become the darling of the Republican heartland. This highly successful Murdoch-owned station sets itself up in opposition to the " mainstream liberal media elite " . But with the sick and the dying forced to sit in their own excrement behind him in New Orleans, its early-evening anchor Shepard Smith declared civil war against the studio-driven notion that the biggest problem was still stopping the looters. On other networks like NBC, CNN and ABC it was the authority figures, who are so used to an easy ride at press conferences, that felt the full force of reporters finally determined to ditch the deference. As the heads of the Homeland Security department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) appeared for network interviews, their defensive remarks about where aid was arriving to, and when, were exposed immediately as either downright lies or breath-taking ignorance. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5684 + GM SOYA DISASTER IN LATIN AMERICA A superb detailed report by Prof. Miguel A. Altieri, University of California, Berkeley and Prof. Walter A. Pengue, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is at http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5690 EXCERPT: Large-scale soybean monocultures have rendered Amazonian soils unusable. In areas of poor soils, fertilizers and lime have to be applied heavily within two years. In Bolivia, soybean production is expanding towards the east, and in many areas soils are already compacted and suffering severe soil degradation. One hundred thousand hectares of land with soils exhausted due to soybean were abandoned for cattle-grazing, which in turn further degrades the land. As land is abandoned, farmers move to other areas where they again plant soybeans and repeat the vicious cycle of soil degradation. In Argentina, intensive soybean cultivation has led to massive soil nutrient depletion. It is estimated that continuous soybean production has extracted about 1 million metric tons of nitrogen and about 227 000 metric tons of phosphorous. The estimated cost of replenishing this nutrient loss via fertilizers is US$ 910 million. Increase of nitrogen and phosphorus in several river basins of Latin America is certainly linked to the increase of soybean production. + MONSANTO THREATENS FARMER BLOG North Carolina farmer Tom Philpott, who runs a blog criticising industrial agriculture, has received by email a " cease and desist " order from Monsanto, objecting to his calling an article " Roundup, ready, " which the company claims infringes their trademark, as in Roundup Ready soybeans, etc! Happily, Tom does not intend to cease or desist. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5695 --------------------------- AUSTRALASIA --------------------------- + REMOVE YOUR UNWANTED GENES, BAYER Farmers from the Network of Concerned Farmers (NCF) protested at Bayer Cropscience headquarters in Melbourne on 6 September. Farmers delivered samples of canola to be tested and asked Bayer Cropscience to " remove their trespassing genes " from their properties. " The industry can not just ignore contamination until after we deliver our harvest and farmers can't accept any contamination if we are to be liable for the economic loss or additional costs caused by it, " said Geoffrey Carracher, NCF spokesperson and farmer from Minimay. " It's a moratorium and it is Bayer Cropscience's responsibility to recall their unwanted GM product just as it would be our job to collect our sheep if they wandered on the road or on to another farmer's property. " http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5685 + GOVT PRESSURED TO IDENTIFY GM-TAINTED CANOLA A new case of canola seeds being contaminated by GM varieties is putting pressure on the Victoria government to find the source of the contaminations. Incidents have occurred in Victoria and Western Australia, and last week in South Australia. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5685 + GENE TRANSFER FOUND IN SOIL AT GM CATTLE SITE? Allegations have been made by GE Free NZ thatAgResearch soil tests suggest 'horizontal gene transfer' could have occurred with soil micro-organisms in land where transgenic cattle have been grazing for 6 years. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5677 However, AgResearch Bio-technologies manager says tests have not found the specific gene used in the cattle in the soil bacteria. http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=79680 --------------------------- ASIA --------------------------- + JAPANESE SCIENTIST SPEAKS OUT AGAINST " VERY DANGEROUS " GM RICE TRIAL Microbiologist Dr Takahiro Kanagawa, a senior scientist at one of Japan's leading scientific research institutes, has written an open letter warning that a defensin-resistant GM rice under trial there could generate defensin-resistant pathogens with the potential to cause " far more terrible problems than antibiotic-resistant pathogens " . Defensins are made by plants and animals, and are important in providing them with protection against pathogens. Twelve citizens (mainly rice farmers) are taking legal action to try to halt the open-air trial. Read Dr Kanagawa's letter at http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5689 + THAILAND: MORE GM PAPAYA CONTAMINATION FOUND GM seeds have contaminated a third of 31 papaya orchards studied in July, Thailand's Human Rights Commission said, calling for tough public safeguards against the technology. Commissioner Vasant Panich said 11 of 31 samples tested on July 14 and 17 were contaminated with GM seeds in the eastern province of Rayong and the northeastern provinces of Mahasarakham, Chaiyaphum and Kalasin. The first contamination was found last year in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen, after Greenpeace accused the government of illegally selling GM papaya seeds from a research station there. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5687 + MONSANTO PROFITS AT THE EXPENSE OF FARMERS Monsanto has said that it had sold more than three million packets of its GM cotton seeds so far this year in India, a 131 percent jump over last year's sales. The rise is hardly surprising given that the company has gained approval to sell its seeds in northern Indian states like Punjab for the first time, but Monsanto's chief flak in India, Ranjana Smetacek, claims that the increase in sales is an endorsement by Indian farmers: " Our numbers show the willingness of Indian farmers to adopt modern technology. " In fact, Monsanto has been using every trick in the book to promote its GM cotton seeds in India in the face of studies that have documented the failure of its Bt cotton and even a ban on some varieties in some states as a result of their poor performance. Monsanto's Indian subsidiary has been busy hyping GM seeds to India's poor farmers as magical, as celebrity-endorsed and even as sexy! For its promotional work this spring in the Punjab, where GM cotton varieties have been approved for the first time, the company hired Bollywood star Nana Patekar to give glamour to its products. It also made use of Guru Nanak in its sales pitch to the state's Sikh farmers in order to try and give its seeds a semi-miraculous aura. And in its promotional tours of Punjabi villages Monsanto even resorted to using dancing girls! http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5693 --------------------------- EUROPE --------------------------- + CALL FOR GM CROP BAN AS EU COMMISSION OVERRULES MINISTERS AGAIN The European Commission has approved the import of Monsanto's GM oilseed rape GT73, making it available for food and animal feed across the EU. The decision came despite the decision of the UK, and most EU Member State governments, not to support the application. Member states voted 13 to six with six abstentions, including the UK, to ban imports of the crop and products made from it. But the Commissioners ignored the vote and agreed to allow the crop into Europe on the basis of an opinion by the European Food Safety Authority. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5686 + FARMERS CALL FOR BAN ON GM RAPESEED OIL IN IRELAND Following the EU Commission decision (see above), the Irish Cattle and Sheepfarmers Association has called on the government to ban the importation of GM rapeseed oil into Ireland. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5686 + UKRAINE AG MINISTRY SEEKS TO BAN GM SOY IMPORTS Ukraine's Farm Ministry has said it will ask the government and the parliament to ban imports and planting of GM soybeans in the country. Ivan Dymchak, deputy farm minister, said, " We want to have the status of a country which produces only clean agriculture products. " NLP Wessex comments: " Obviously these officials are not being bribed enough - yet!... Monsanto private jets loaded with cases of cash will no doubt now be zooming in on Kiev if their prior track record in Indonesia is anything to go by. " http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5696 + PHARMA FIRM " HAMPERED BY ANTI-GM ACTIVITIES " Meristem, the French leader in pharma plants, claims to have seen its progress hampered " by the anti-GMO spirit " . Since the beginning of summer, Meristem has seen the destruction of 20 hectares of its GM maize by so-called " voluntary mowers " . Meristem was established by French seed giant Limagrain which in 1994 took over the seed production assets of the French agrochemical giant Rhone-Poulenc. The two companies also developed common research programmes for developing GM crops within a joint venture. Limagrain says it has " made the strategic decision to concentrate on biotechnology and agro-industrial activities, and to dedicate *all* its resources towards this goal " (emphasis added). In other words, Limagrain has gone and bet its shirt on biotech but as the report notes a key challenge to such a strategy is " the acceptability of GMOs " . Just what a desperate fix Limagrain-Meristem has got itself in was made all too clear last summer when the press reported " the surprise emergence in France of a group of radical rural campaigners claiming to be in favour of open-field [GM] experiments " . These supposedly " radical rural campaigners " , who came to blows with French protesters seeking to clear a field of GM crops, turned out to be led by Pierre Pagesse - the boss of Limagrain! http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5694 ------- AFRICA ------- + FIASCO OF GM SHOWCASE PROJECTS IN AFRICA The recent halting of the Syngenta-originated GM maize trials in Kenya (after a scientist reportedly sprayed the GM maize with a pesticide designed to kill the pests that the GM maize was supposed to resist) follows the failure of the industry's two other GM showcase crops in Africa. The other two were: *** The failed GM virus-resistant sweet potato project in Kenya, which produced a crop that was both virus-prone and low-yielding; *** Monsanto's Bt cotton commercialisation in the Makhatini Flats in South Africa, where 80% of farmers dropped out of the project because they could not repay their debts from the higher seed cost. All 3 projects have been hyped to the skies as success stories that show the way forward for Africa. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5697 ------- FOOD SAFETY ------- + MORE ON THE GM SOY AND CORN ALLERGY TESTS Here's a response from Dr Michael Hansen of Consumers Union to the recent allergy study in which researchers gave skin prick allergy tests to people to see whether they reacted differently to GM corn and soy than conventional varieties. They reported finding no differences but the research has attracted marked criticism. Dr Hansen writes: " The most serious problem with the paper is that it doesn't answer the basic question of whether the inserted proteins - particularly the Cry proteins in the case of Bt crops - are allergens. The study only asks whether the process of genetic engineering increases the level of naturally-occurring proteins in corn that induce IgE-mediated [igE is a protein in the body that helps de-activate potential pathogens] food allergies, thereby increasing the severity of allergic symptoms. " This kind of study is the type that Monsanto and the other companies would routinely do. But it doesn't tell you whether the protein that you've engineered the corn to produce is an allergen. The real problem is how do you test for the allergenicity of inserted proteins when those proteins have not been routinely eaten by humans. " That's what led to the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the allergencity of GM foods, held in Rome in Jan. 2001. [A... conclusion from the Expert Consultation:] " When the expressed protein is derived from a source with no known allergenicity [as would be the case with the Cry proteins from Bt crops], the FAO/WHO 2001 decision tree proposes that the initial investigation would also be analysis of sequence homology to known allergens from food and environmental sources. If positive matches are found with known allergens, then the protein is considered likely allergenic... " Note that the authors of this new study say that the products they looked at - GE corn (Bt and herbicide-tolerant varieties) and RR soy - do not contain genes derived from sources known to trigger allergies. So, according to FAO/WHO, the first step should be to look at sequence homology (or similarity) between the inserted protein and known human allergens. But the authors didn't do that at all. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5692 ------- COMPANY NEWS ------- + GLOBAL SEED INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION 2005 According to ETC Group, the top 10 multinational seed firms now control half of the world's commercial seed sales. For a detailed breakdown: http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5695 + MONSANTO STONEWALLS ENQUIRIES ON CORRUPTION SCANDAL Socialfunds.com reports that Harrington Investments Inc. has filed a shareowner resolution with Monsanto asking its board to create an independent ethics oversight committee to monitor its compliance with laws as well as the Monsanto Pledge of integrity, honesty, decency, consistency, and courage, and Code of Business Conduct. The resolution recounts the company's $1.5 million settlement with the US Dept of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2005 over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A senior Monsanto manager authorized a $50,000 bribe to get a senior Indonesian Ministry of Environment official to repeal a 2001 environmental impact assessment decree obstructing market entry for GM crops. The SEC noted, " In addition, from 1997 to 2002, Monsanto inaccurately recorded, or failed to record, in its books and records approximately $700,000 of illegal or questionable payments made to various Indonesian government officials. " After several attempts to contact Monsanto for comment, SocialFunds.com spoke briefly with Monsanto public affairs director Chris Horner. The phone call abruptly ended before Mr Horner answered any questions and he did not respond to follow-up phone calls and email. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5675 ------- CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF SCIENCE ------- + FUTURE INNOVATION THREATENED BY SCIENCE FOR SALE Closer ties between business and university science threaten to stifle public debate about science and distort research priorities, according to an interesting report published by the well-regarded UK think-tank Demos. " The Public Value of Science: Or how to ensure that science really matters " argues that ethical considerations and public engagement should become part of everyday scientific practice. The report was launched 5 September at the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA) Festival in Dublin, to coincide with a keynote speech by Professor Robert Winston, this year's President of the BA. The report's authors recommend that the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee investigate the influence of business on academic research. There's a real danger, they say, that commercial pressures will restrict the openness of academic research, and stifle wider debate about the role of science in society. Copies of the report can be downloaded from www.demos.co.uk/catalogue/publicvalueofscience or ordered from Central Books on +44 (0)20 8986 5488. SEE EXCERPT BELOW. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5682 + GROWING COMMERCIALIZATION THREATENS SCIENCE Narrowly linking science with economic growth may undermine scientific endeavour and erode public trust in scientists, the president of the British Association for Advancement of Science (BA) has warned. In his presidential address at the launch of the week-long BA Festival of Science in Dublin, Professor Robert Winston said, " Even in the long established democracies, people do not feel they have ownership, control or even much influence over the technologies that are exploited by their governments and by commercial enterprises. " http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5680 + DETERMINISM AND REDUCTIONISM ARE BLIND ALLEYS Excerpts from the new DEMOS report, 'The Public Value of Science - Or how to ensure that science really matters': [The first blind alley is] determinism.The political insistence that we must be pro-science and pro-innovation squeezes out any discussion of what sort of science and innovation we want or need... Policy and regulatory debates tend to assume that a discussion about ends has already occurred - that the economic and social benefits of innovation are obvious and agreed. But this is rarely the case. A moment's reflection tells us that no one can be pro-innovation in every sense (do we really want better biological weapons? or human reproductive cloning?), but we lack a framework for dealing with the nuanced and complex set of scientific and technological choices that confront us. Particular trajectories are promoted as if there were no alternatives. All too easily, we fall back into a set of polarised debates in which participants are cast as either 'pro-innovation' or 'anti-science'. There is an assumption that choices which are inherently social and political can be determined by 'sound science'. Yet as Andy Stirling reminds us, " In reality, science seldom yields such unambiguous answers. Technology in any given field rarely unfolds in only one direction. From the energy sector, through chemicals to food and agriculture, it has been shown time and again that science actually delivers radically divergent answers under different reasonable priorities, questions or assumptions. " The second blind alley is reductionism. Even if it is accepted that science cannot be the sole, unproblematic source of authority in these debates, economics is then called on to perform an identical task. Questions about ends and purposes are again airbrushed out, this time to be replaced with the simple calculus of economic growth. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5682 ------- LOBBYWATCH ------- + SYNTHETIC INDEPENDENCE An article making light of the hazards of synthetic chemicals in foods topped Agnet's list bulletin recently. It makes no direct reference to GM but provides a classic example of the importance of understanding the source. The article is by Martin Livermore who is described as " a freelance science communicator, commentator and consultant " and it's published online by Spiked, which describes itself as " entirely independent " . Far from being " entirely independent " , Spiked is the organ of the far-right (formerly far-left!) political network that produced the hugely controversial magazine 'Living Marxism' aka 'LM'. Those behind Spiked are fanatically pro-GM and industrial agriculture, and oppose more or less all environmental and food safety concerns. Although the article's author, Martin Livermore, also likes to describe himself as " independent " , he runs an agri-food PR consultancy and previously did PR for chemicals-and-GM giant DuPont. He is also a Fellow of the far-right International Policy Network. Agnet's long list of funders has included Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, DeKalb - now part of Monsanto, and Pioneer Hi-Bred. The latter is part of DuPont - Livermore's previous employer. Livermore's article is at http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5683 + MODERN ENEMIES OF REASON Mike Moore, the former director-general of the World Trade Organisation, has written an article about those opposing GM crops, which has been widely circulated via pro-GM listservs like AgBioView and Agnet. Moore's article is headlined, " Modern enemies of reason " . The following paragraph perfectly captures its style of argument: " There are, however, enemies of reason who pose as progressives and, like others, claim to be saving the world. The environment is their vehicle of power. Fundamentalists oppose stem-cell research, which offers ways to treat some of mankind's most devastating diseases and injuries. But pharmaceutical research is moving out of Britain due to rabid activists who last year were responsible for over 300 attacks on research facilities and staff. " So, according to Moore, " enemies of reason " use environmental issues as a means of exerting political leverage. Moore illustrates this assertion via stem-cell and pharmaceutical research, which leads him onto the claim that " pharmaceutical research is moving out of Britain due to... attacks on research facilities and staff " . The only problem with this line of argument is that it is complete garbage: 1. Stem-cell and pharmaceutical research are not environmental issues. 2. Stem-cell research (whatever one's views on it) is thriving in Britain, unlike the US. 3. Neither stem cell research nor pharmaceutical research is moving out of Britain, although some very specific research involving animals has gone due to campaigns by animal rights campaigners (not environmental campaigners). In other words, the person defining others as " enemies of reason " appears incapable of either logical thought or factual accuracy. http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5679 ------- CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK ------- + ACTION NEEDED TO STOP TERMINATOR Indigenous peoples, local communities, peasants and small-scale farmers' organizations and others have the opportunity to send written comments on the potential impacts of Terminator to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) before September 30, 2005. Terminator (also called Genetic Use Restriction Technology - GURTs) refers to plants that are genetically modified to render sterile seeds - preventing farmers from saving and re-using harvested seeds. SAMPLE DEMANDS to put in your letter/email and more info are at http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5698 WRITING YOUR SUBMISSION: You can present your written comments in any format you prefer. You may also send comments in the form of audiotape with recorded comments from community members, representatives or elders. Please use the following reference in your submission so that your comments go to the right place: " Ref: SCBD/STTM/DCO/va/48601 " Advice on the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Genetic Use Restriction Technologies " . SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO (by email and/or fax if possible): Hamdallah Zedan, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Environment Programme World Trade Centre 413 Saint-Jacques Street, Suite 800 Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 1N9 scretariat FAX: 1 514 288 6588 Please also send a copy of your submission to the Ban Terminator Campaign: lucy ----------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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