15 December 2001

BOOMING GM-FREE SOYBEANS HELP BOOST BRAZIL'S ECONOMY

1. BOOMING SOYBEANS BOOST BRAZIL'S ECONOMY
2. COLORADO FARMERS FEAR COST OF RULING OVER SEED PATENTS
3. BIOTECH SCIENCE EXPLAINED

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1. BOOMING SOYBEANS BOOST BRAZIL'S ECONOMY

December 13, 2001
Reuters [shortened]
Reese Ewing

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Throughout Brazil's history, rubber, sugar and coffee booms have fueled economic growth, but today, soy is the commodity shaping Latin America's largest economy.

Soybeans have spurred a virtual gold rush, bringing people and development to country's the Center-West plains and poorest states, creating new business for logistic and freight companies and helping secure the country's first trade surplus in six years.

This year, the 2002 crop promises to live up to its high billing, as abundant showers on the newly planted crop could foreshadow a new record harvest between February and May.

The soybean boom in Brazil is good news for the country's economy but not for U.S. farmers, who could see their crop overtaken by the Latin American country within a decade if present growth patterns persist.

Government crop researchers have developed strains of soy especially suited for the diverse soils and microclimates in Brazil -- a country roughly the size of the continental United States.

But the big selling point is that it's more profitable than other crops.

Brazil's soy products are also winning fans on global markets because it is the only large agricultural producer in the world that still officially bans the sale of genetically modified crops, giving it added appeal among health conscious consumers in big trading blocs like Asia and Europe.

Cesar Borges de Souza, president of the large Caramuru grains cooperative, was quoted as saying, "Although Europe and Asia are not yet paying a premium for Brazil's GM-free grains, they are looking here first to buy, which gives us a significant advantage."

Analysts also say soy farmers have benefited from concerns over the recent outbreaks of mad-cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, around the world. The high-protein bean is substituting in livestock feeds for bone-meal -- believed to spread the disease among herds -- and health conscious consumers are simply eating more soy and less beef.

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2. COLORADO FARMERS FEAR COST OF RULING OVER SEED PATENTS

December 14, 2001
Knight-Ridder Tribune [via Agnet]
Steve Raabe

According to this story, Colorado farmers worry that seed costs could double after a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling on seed patents.

Responding to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling says farmers cannot save for the next year's crop, David Dechant, who owns a farm near Hudson, about 30 miles northeast of Denver, was quoted as saying, "We're concerned. If we can't save seed, it could allow a handful of companies to overrun the market."

The story says that seed-saving is not as common as it once was. Many farmers routinely buy new seed each year.

However, the ruling affirms the right of seed developers to require farmers to sign contracts prohibiting seed-saving and allows seed-patent owners to check farmers' crops for violations.

Not all crop seeds are patented. But for seed protected by "utility patents" issued over the past 16 years by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, farmers must buy new seed every year, under the court decision.

The 6-2 opinion protects hundreds of utility patents granted to agriculture giants such as Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co.'s Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. unit. Both companies operate ag-service offices in Colorado.

Biotechnology firms have spent billions of dollars over the past decade to alter crops genetically. Without patents on these plants, industry officials claim, researchers wouldn't be able to protect their modified versions from copycats.

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3. BIOTECH SCIENCE EXPLAINED

December 14, 2001
Alaska Highway News

Dr. Ingrid Northwood of the department of molecular biology and biochemistry at Simon Fraser University, one of several experts that spoke on a variety of issues surrounding genetic engineering at the What's Behind Biotech workshop, was quoted as telling participants that,
"We cannot control how we are exploiting DNA and there is not enough research to say what effect genetic engineering will have. Genetic engineering belongs in a lab. Right now we are not even close to having the necessary technology.  The difference between what I do as a researcher and what the agriculture industry is doing is control. The lab is a very controlled environment. There are many safeguards in place because we (the researchers) want to protect ourselves."

Northwood was further quoted as saying, "Cells spend a good deal of effort to protect their integrity," and that every cell has safety mechanisms to prevent the mixing of genes that may not be compatible, and to secure the survival of the species. While selective breeding can enhance special qualities, creating a hybrid is only doing what the plant will allow.