24 January 2003
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THE WEEKLY WATCH NUMBER 14
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from Andy Rees, the WEEKLY WATCH editor
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Dear all
Welcome to WEEKLY WATCH from NGIN bringing you all the latest news in brief on the GM issue.
This is the week when a series of the European Union's top officials came out openly and called the U.S. administration "liars" and "immoral" over their behaviour over GM food aid to Africa. And when NEWSWEEK ran the headline on GM, "America is isolated".
Across a broad range of issues there is mounting global opposition to U.S. lies and U.S. bully-boy tactics - and increasingly opposition is coming from within the U.S. itself.
Andy <andy@gmwatch.org>
www.ngin.org.uk
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WEEKLY WATCH number 14 - CONTENTS
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TOPIC OF THE WEEK - Mounting global opposition to U.S. lies and bullying
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK - US food aid to India stands rejected/UK GM
debate fiasco/ Devon votes to go GM-free/Skylark research slated/French
actors support Bove
SETBACKS TO THE GM INDUSTRY - multiple!
REPORT OF THE WEEK - What's behind Blair's gung-ho attitude on GM crops?
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK - The fantasy land of gene therapy and germline
GE
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
FACTS OF THE WEEK
LIES FROM THE GM LOBBY
HEADLINES OF THE WEEK
SUBSCRIPTIONS
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TOPIC OF THE WEEK - Mounting global oppositon to American lies and
bullyboy tactics
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EU COMMISSIONERS BLAST US 'LIES' IN GM FOOD ROW:
Here's the big lie: "environmental radicals and the European Union
are screaming 'genetic pollution' and threatening to withdraw aid and ban
agricultural exports from any countries that plant or distribute the [GM]
grains." That's from an article in the US paper The Sun Herald -
just the latest variant of a lie turning up repeatedly in the US media.
The irony is, of course, that the only threats have come from the US.
Remember the infamous Reuters headline, "Eat GM or starve, America tells
Africa"?
https://ngin.tripod.com/forcefeed.htm
In a letter to the Wall Street Journal, denying that either the EU,
or member states, have ever made their aid for African countries contingent
on those nations banning GM crops, EU Trade Commissioner Lamy states, "We
very much regret that US officials are peddling this rumor, and even more
that you gave credence to it without checking with the EU."
https://ngin.tripod.com/180103a.htm
Lamy then accused the US of using its foreign aid programme as a means
to "dispose of its genetically modified crop surpluses. The simple solution
is for the US to behave as a real aid donor," he said.
https://ngin.tripod.com/220103e.htm
Lamy was also quoted too by Dow Jones International News as saying:
"The fact that (the US) made this link is very simply immoral. Using the
starvation in some countries to accuse the EU of being luddite is purely
and simply unacceptable." He once again accused the US of using its foreign
aid programme as a means to "dispose of its genetically modified crop surpluses."
http://www.just-food.com/news_detail.asp?art=52895
European Development Commissioner Poul Nielson waded in with, "This
very negative lie has been circulated and repeated recently by [US Trade
Representative] Robert Zoellick." Nielson told reporters he wanted to propose
a deal to the Americans which would create a more normal situation.
"The deal would be this: if the Americans would stop lying about us, we
would stop telling the truth about them..."
https://ngin.tripod.com/200103d.htm
EU trade commissioner Lamy also hit out in an interview with Newsweek:
"Zambia is a sovereign country and makes its own decisions. Zambians do
not need to be heroic to assert their sovereignty... GM-free supplies are
available in surplus in southern Africa. Europe's policy is to provide
food aid procured in the region, rather than as a means of disposing of
domestic stocks."
http://www.msnbc.com/news/861362.asp
Donald Mavunduse of ActionAid has said, "the threat of starvation should
not be used as a bargaining chip for the introduction of GM technology.
African governments and civil society organisations have raised legitimate
concerns about GM. These concerns should be addressed, not ridden over
roughshod."
https://ngin.tripod.com/forcefeed.htm
And setting the record straight on Ambassador Hall's (the US Ambassador to the UN Food and Agriculture Agencies) recent atrocious remarks, organisations from all around the world sent a joint statement to 'deplore your inflammatory remarks (Reuters News Service, December 9) suggesting that African leaders who reject genetically engineered food aid should be tried "for the highest crimes against humanity in the highest courts of the world."' This is a very good read, see: https://ngin.tripod.com/180103a.htm
US GM FOOD AID TO INDIA STANDS REJECTED:
Meanwhile, India's recent official refusal of GM food aid from the
US, reinforces the fact that this is an issue of global concern and not,
as some in the US would have us believe, just the bubbling over of a Northern
trade dispute.
https://ngin.tripod.com/180103a.htm
BRAZIL TO SEND BACK OR DESTROY US GM-CONTAMINATED CORN SHIPMENT:
Similarly, the Brazilian government has apprehended a US corn shipment
this week, after traces of GM produce were found, and have demanded it
be returned or incinerated.
https://ngin.tripod.com/180103b.htm
THOUSANDS PROTEST IN PHILIPPINES AGAINST APPROVAL OF BT CORN:
And in the Philippines, "In Maltang, a thousand farmers and supporters
uprooted the test Bt corn in protest against the government's approval
leading to GE contamination. The suspicious circumstances behind
the approval of Monsanto's Bt corn licence needs to be investigated."
- Business World (The Philippines) January 16, 2003, Monsanto's Bt corn,
https://ngin.tripod.com/180103b.htm
AUSTRALIANS PROTEST SHIPMENT OF US GM GRAIN:
And in Australia, another shipment of US GM grain was met by protests
as the 19,000 tonne bulk corn shipment, destined for Victorian chicken
farms, was unloaded in Melbourne. This follows earlier protests,
when the same ship unloaded at Brisbane and Newcastle. The corn was
brought to Australia because drought had affected grain harvests.
https://ngin.tripod.com/200103d.htm
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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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US GM food aid to India stands rejected
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AgBioIndia has been instrumental in forcing two US agencies to withdraw
their appeal of India's decision to reject GM food aid from the US.
https://ngin.tripod.com/170103b.htm
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US embassy GM row latest
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In a letter to The Guardian (December 19 2002) concerning US food aid
to Africa, Lee McClenny, the US embassy press attache in London, claimed
the US had no non-GM contaminated maize available for food aid but that,
in any case, what the U.S. had donated to southern Africa, had not been
US maize but had been purchased from South Africa. This implied that the
corn rejected by the Zambians was NOT GM corn at all!!! The press atttache
has had to retract that claim while other letters to the Guardian have
pointed out the ready availability of non-GM corn if the Americans were
only willing to donate it.
https://ngin.tripod.com/230103c.htm
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UK GM debate fiasco
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The UK Government's proposed public debate on GM crops and food is
becoming a fiasco, say Friends of the Earth, after Welsh Rural Affairs
Minister Mike German called for the debate to be delayed until summer 2003,
and that it should include the results of the Farm Scale Evaluations, due
to be published in July.
https://ngin.tripod.com/230103b.htm
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Devon votes to go GM-free
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Devon County Council in the UK has voted to take steps to become GM-free,
and has called on the Government to ban GM crops.
https://ngin.tripod.com/230103b.htm
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Skylark research gets the slating it deserves
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Analysis of the hugely hyped research published by the UK's Royal Society
about how GM crops help bird populations is leading to some highly critical
comment.
"This study shows that the currently recommended techniques for growing
genetically modified sugar beet actually lead to fewer weeds surviving,
and thus potentially less food for skylarks and other farmland birds."
- 'Food for Skylarks,' Dr Mark Avery, Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds, letter to The Independent
https://ngin.tripod.com/210103c.htm
"But though the Royal Society's findings beggar belief, they are not
entirely surprising. The GM industry is now clearly clutching at straws:
having failed to persuade the world's public that GM technology will rid
the world of hunger... the agri-business lobby is now claiming its products
are good for the environment. The fact remains that these latest claims
are based on bad science." - Dr Caroline Lucas MEP
https://ngin.tripod.com/210103a.htm
In an excellent analysis the Soil Association points out that contrary
to what the media was told it actually states in the published research
that "delays in glyphosate treament had a significant effect on final sugar
yield" - the claim has been that yield was unaffected by the regime followed.
If yields are hit, farmers won't follow the regime.
https://ngin.tripod.com/210103c.htm
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French actors destroy GM crop in support of Bove
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A group of French actors, scientists and politicians destroyed a field
of GM rapeseed in support of anti-globalisation guru Jose Bove, who was
sentenced to a prison term in November for a similar action.
https://ngin.tripod.com/170103a.htm
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Food protest turns into free speech case for Alabama women
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Arrested while demonstrating against GM foods, two women activists
- Coffey, 62, and Tune, 79 - are now taking up another cause: free speech.
They say their First Amendment rights were violated by their conviction
this month on trespassing charges. "Our ability to speak out is being
gradually diminished," said Tune.
https://ngin.tripod.com/200103d.htm
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Bayer poisoned students to get pesticide restrictions eased
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Gene Giant Bayer CropScience, of Germany, one of the world's biggest
chemicals companies, faces an inquiry after it was found to have used students
to test a "highly hazardous" pesticide linked to serious disorders.
https://ngin.tripod.com/210103e.htm
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Minister outlines Brazil's green agenda
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Marina Silva (no relation to the new president) is the new Brazilian
minister of the environment. When she was still a senator, Silva
introduced a bill establishing a five-year moratorium on GM crops, allowing
only experimental planting for research purposes. The bill is yet
to be voted on, but GM crops have been effectively banned while a battle
is waged in the Brazilian courts.
https://ngin.tripod.com/220103c.htm
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Ugandan farmers avoid GM seeds
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In Uganda high-yield seed sales have been hit as farmers seek to avoid
GM seeds that are being imported.
https://ngin.tripod.com/220103d.htm
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Study shows US government ill-equipped to judge risks of GM fish
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A study issued by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology says
the US government is ill-equipped to judge the risks that GM fish pose
to the environment. The US government is currently deciding whether
to give the green light to a variety of salmon genetically manipulated
to grow at double the normal rate. Pew researchers fear these new
varieties could breed with wild salmon, challenging diversity.
https://ngin.tripod.com/230103d.htm
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SETBACKS TO THE GM INDUSTRY
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Nearly half of U.S. farmers surveyed said they were undecided or opposed
to growing GM biopharm crops, according to a Reuters poll.
https://ngin.tripod.com/230103a.htm
In a South Australian Farmers Federation survey, 56% said they would
not support commercialisation of GM crops unless no genetic pollution of
non-GM crops was guaranteed. About 80% said a moratorium on GM commercialisation
was appropriate.
https://ngin.tripod.com/210103d.htm
Desperate biotech corporations are deserting academic research despite
massive bailouts from our governments. In December, Syngenta announced
it intends to close its Torrey Mesa Research Institute (TMRI) by the end
of January. TMRI is barely four years old; it has led the company's
efforts to sequence the rice genome. The closure is seen by some
as part of an industry-wide cut back on research funding; it is "a big
retraction", according to Chris Sommerville, plant biologist in Stanford,
California. One senior scientist confessed himself "flabbergasted" at the
shutdown.
https://ngin.tripod.com/171102c.htm
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REPORT OF THE WEEK - What's behind Blair's gung-ho attitude on GM crops?
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Understanding Blair's drive to commercialise GM crops in the UK despite
massive public opposition has to be seen in a broader context of anglo-US
relations, one in which Blair is apparently prepared to drag the UK into
a disastrous war despite mounting public concern. The following two articles
look at this broader context and the second shows Blair is not the US's
only poodle! For two brilliant articles on the looming was
with Iraq, by John le Carre and John Pilger, see:
https://ngin.tripod.com/180103c.htm
see also CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK - SAY NO TO WAR IN IRAQ - Greenpeace
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ARTICLES OF THE WEEK - The fantasy land of gene therapy and human germline
therapy
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Dr Richard Nicholson, editor of The Bulletin of Medical Ethics, made
this comment on the record of gene therapy to date: "Ten years ago we were
being told that gene therapy was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Today its record stands at: Cures: nil. Deaths: 5. Major adverse
effects: at least a thousand."
After decades of failure, gene therapy appeared to have it's only real success - a fatal immune deficiency was apparently cured in 9 out of 11 boys in France. But now a condition resembling leukemia has developed in the second of those boys, causing the FDA to suspend 27 gene therapy trials - about 15% of the 200 current gene therapy trials, and * the 60 trials involving retroviruses.
A kind of dangerous fantasy land has overtaken many scientists and others
with regard to gene therapy and human germline therapy (where genetic modifications
are made to humans which will be passed on to all subsequent generations).
https://ngin.tripod.com/201102b.htm
Meanwhile an American artist, Eduardo Kac, using high-tech eugenics as an artform, commissioned a team of geneticists in France to create a transgenic rabbit named Alba, which glows in the dark, with the help of a fluorescent gene from a jellyfish. Some artists hope this will help the debate on gene therapy, but it's far more likely that such art exhibits will legitimise the idea of a new "artful" eugenics movement. Already, in laboratories around the world, researchers are creating new hybrid creatures that have never before existed. Scientists have fused together the embryos of a sheep and goat, two totally unrelated species, and given birth to a new creature called a Geep, a chimeric animal with the head of a sheep and the body of a goat. For more on such grisly experiments, see: https://ngin.tripod.com/201102c.htm
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QUOTES OF THE WEEK
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Biotechnologist Denis Murphy: "...more immediate and dramatic crop
improvements [for the Third World] will probably be forthcoming by using
the increasing arsenal of other (non-transgenic) biotech methods [MAS &
tissue culture] to facilitate advanced breeding programs... Many dramatic
yield benefits may be possible by simple improvements in management practices
and by better use of existing germplasm." - BBC's science message
board - 22 Jan 2003
https://ngin.tripod.com/220103e.htm
"Blame not the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for attempting to thrust
the hazardous GM foods on the poor in India. The US policy is to be squarely
blamed for such a situation!" Ashok B Sharma , Blame US Policy For Dumping
GM Food Aid, Financial Express (India), January 19, 2003, https://ngin.tripod.com/200103a.htm
"The deal would be this: if the Americans would stop lying about us,
we would stop telling the truth about them." - European Development Commissioner
Poul Nielson on US lies over food aid to Africa
https://ngin.tripod.com/200103d.htm
"Zambia is a sovereign country and makes its own decisions. Zambians do not need to be heroic to assert their sovereignty... GM-free supplies are available in surplus in southern Africa. Europe's policy is to provide food aid procured in the region, rather than as a means of disposing of domestic stocks." - Pascal Lamy, the EU's trade commissioner quoted in NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL, http://www.msnbc.com/news/861362.asp
"One by one, countries are coming out against crops with engineered
genes. America is isolated" - NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL headline
https://ngin.tripod.com/220103a.htm
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FACTS OF THE WEEK
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Bayer through its purchase of Aventis CropScience owns over half of
the GM crop varieties currently seeking approval for commercial growing
in the EU. Bayer is also responsible for the majority of GM field trials
in the UK. It is also the world's number two pesticide producer (behind
Syngenta).
https://ngin.tripod.com/210103e.htm
see also: https://ngin.tripod.com/agrevodiary.htm
Zambia exported $63 million worth of horticultural products in 1999-2000.
A substantial proportion of these crops designated organic.
https://ngin.tripod.com/220103e.htm
With more than 51 million tonnes of surplus foodgrains, the Indian Government
says that the money required annually to manage them equals the total annual
budgetary provision for rural development, agriculture and irrigation put
together.
https://ngin.tripod.com/170103b.htm
The US defence budget has been raised by another $60 billion to around
$360 billion pa.
https://ngin.tripod.com/180103c.htm
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LIES FROM THE GM LOBBY
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See Topic of the Week!
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HEADLINES OF THE WEEK: from the NGIN archive
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24 January 2003
Farm group says USDA put bad corn into feed chain
Canadian GM farmer says GM has drawbacks
Advisory Panels Stacked, Scientists Warn
Nanobiotech Comes Alive!/Greygoo Armageddon
Devinder Sharma on The GM Potato Hoax
23 January 2003
US farmers hesitant to grow "bio-pharm" crops
Monsanto at key juncture as seeks CEO
GM debate fiasco/Devon votes to go GM-free
22 January 2003
America is isolated - Newsweek
Stung into action
Silva lining - the battle over GM in Brazil
Ugandan farmers fear GM seeds/bananas are not suckers
EU commissioner slams "immoral" US food aid claims
Denis Murphy on the value of GM crops
21 January 2003
RSPB on 'skylark' research/etc.
Genetically Engineered Food Aid - briefing by Tewolde Egziabher
'Skylark' research hit yields
Farmers silent as GM decision nears
Gene Giants ignore suffering, poison, pollute - take action
20 January 2003
Blame US Policy For Dumping GM Food Aid
GM kids/gene therapy trials halted/germline engineering:from mice to
men
Dazzled by the science - hi-tech eugenics as a new art form
EU's Nielson blasts U.S. "lies" in GM food row
18 January 2003
EU says U.S. peddling lies about aid to Africa
Brazil to send back or destroy US GMO corn shipment/Monsantoin the
Philippines
The United States of America has gone mad/America'spoodles
17 January 2003
French actors destroy GM crops in support ofBove
US GM food aid to India stands rejected
AgBioIndiaunder attack
GM Debacle Continues
THE WEEKLY WATCH NUMBER 13
FOR THE COMPLETE NGIN ARCHIVE: https://ngin.tripod.com/nginlist.htm
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CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK - SAY NO TO WAR IN IRAQ - Greenpeace
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Every day brings a new development that seems to bring the world closer
to war in Iraq. Surprisingly, one major force for peace could be the United
Nations Security Council. Surprisingly, because the Bush administration
originally seemed to have little respect or time for the United Nations.
However, polls show that the US public, like most people around the world,
places more faith in the United Nations than do Bush and his oil industry
supporters.
So the Bush administration may need to go back to the UN Security Council before beginning a war in Iraq. If it does, Greenpeace believes that the Security Council should say No to a war in Iraq. There are many reasons for this, but one is that Iraq is not currently threatening the United States, and under international law, the United States cannot claim legitimate self defence.
But will the UN Security Council stand up to the Bush adminstration? In this time of global crisis, please write to the UN ambassadors that sit on the Security Council and ask them to uphold international law and refuse to approve a war in Iraq. You can use this link:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=476&s=blue2s
To find more information and more to do, please take a look at this article: http://act.greenpeace.org/1043107438