THE ISSUE
FOR THE INDUSTRY
FOR THE CONSUMER
THE CAMPAIGN
GE NEWS ARCHIVE
|
Mothers for Natural LawInternational News on Genetic Engineering in AgricultureBiweekly News 98/09/15Thanks to Cliff Kinzel and Richard Wolfson for these items.
Some of the articles have been shortened. ---------------- Copyright 1998 The Financial Times Limited Financial Times (London)
Some Genes Able to 'Escape' Modified Crops Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered an unexplained increase in promiscuity of certain transgenic plants, according to a letter in today's Nature, the international science journal. Genes are usually considered unlikely to cross to other closely related weed species if those weeds normally self-fertilise. Yet the US scientists found that a transgenic form of a normally self-fertilising wild mustard plant was much more likely to breed with other plants than expected. The results show that genetic engineering can "substantially" increase the probability that modified or added genes can "escape" into related species, the researchers say. Because the underlying genetic mechanism is unknown, it is unclear whether the results extend beyond the gene studied, which confers resistance to a particular herbicide. But even if the findings are restricted to this gene, the scientists argue that their results are "of broad relevance because this transgene has been introduced into dozens of agricultural crops". --------- Farmers See Outbreak of Soybean Disease COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A soil-borne fungus is threatening soybean crops in parts of central and northern Missouri, a problem some farm experts are linking to a sought-after genetically altered soybean. The state's worst-ever outbreak of Sudden Death Syndrome is afflicting soybean crops and could affect production levels, officials said... Roundup-resistant beans make up 80 to 90 percent of the soybeans planted in Boone County this year, said Dave Schlemeyer, area sales manager of field crops with MFA. Other observers say the percentage is lower, but most agree that the Roundup beans are extremely popular... Brad Stubbs, a Columbia soybean farmer, said he could face a 50 percent yield reduction in some of his fields. ``In a rush to get these genetically-altered soybeans out, I think there was a rush to get some variations on the market that didn't really have good disease resistance,'' Stubbs said. AP-CS-09-03-98 0614EDT --------------- http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/genet1.html Quotes from a talk by Bill Christison, president of both the U.S. National Family Farm Coalition and the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, given at the Biotechnology Conference - St. Louis - July 18, 1998 Family Farmer Assesses GE Crops "The promise was that you could use less chemicals and produce a greater yield. But, let me tell you, none of this is true." "The first problem . . . they wanted us to sign a production contract which limited what we could do with our production. It is our practice to produce our own seed for the following year's planting. Because the contract forbids this, it would have cost us 3 times as much for seed. And, then, there's a problem of paying for a patenting fee of several dollars per bag. We found chemical cost for our farm would escalate to a minimum of twice as much and we should not be applying less chemical, but actually more chemical. Then, we found GMO seed actually produces a lower yield because of the varieties that had been altered. "Last year's yield book in Missouri printed by Pioneer Seed Co., a seed company with 45% of the market, shows a 5 bushels per acre average reduction in yield from GMO varieties." -------------- http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/ Copyright 1998 Gazeta Mercantil Inc. GAZETA MERCANTIL ONLINE September 11, 1998, Friday Sao Paulo - The launching of the brand Cirio in Brazil - the pastas, conserved goods, oil and tomato products produced by the Italian group Cragnotti - officially set for Friday, in Sao Paulo, will cost Bombril-Cirio approximately $30 million. Out of this total, $10 million were spent, from the beginning of the year up until now, in the development and planting of tomatoes, the segments of which are genetically engineered by the Italian company Cirio, with approximately 200 agricultural partners especially contracted in the states of Sao Paulo (Guaira complex) and in the interior regions of the states of Goias and Minas Gerais. (Marcia Raposo, Gazeta Mercantil) ------------- EU Threatens Three Countries over Gene Crop Bans BRUSSELS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Luxembourg and Austria will be in breach of European Union law unless they repeal bans on an EU-approved strain of genetically modified corn by midnight on Friday, European Commission spokesman Peter Jorgensen said. The 15-nation EU gave authorisation in 1997 for the corn, developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis to resist the corn-borer pest. But Vienna and Luxembourg banned the variety, alleging concerns about potential environmental risks. Jorgensen told reporters if Austria and Luxembourg failed to respect Friday's deadline, the Commission -- the EU's executive -- was likely to order them in writing to comply. If that had no effect, Brussels could take legal action against them, he said. France could also face a legal challenge from the executive following its decision in July to impose a two-year moratorium on the sale of a genetically engineered rapeseed produced by Plant Genetic Systems, Jorgensen said. PGS is part of German biotechnology firm AgrEvo. --------------- Greenpeace Dumps Gene Maize at Novartis's Door BASLE, Switzerland, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Environmental activists from Greenpeace dumped two tonnes of genetically modified maize at Novartis AG's Basle headquarters on Monday and demanded the company pull gene-altered seeds from the market. But Novartis defended the product as safe for humans and animals and distributed the maize to local farmers to feed their cows. Greenpeace had harvested the so-called Bt maize, developed by Novartis to resist the European corn borer pest, from fields in Germany and France last week to protest against the cultivation of genetically modified seeds. It said modified maize had been commercially planted for the first time in Europe this year on 15,000 hectares in France, Spain and Germany. ``If it is harvested in a few weeks, it could contaminate millions of tonnes of European maize,'' it added. ------------- PARIS, Sept 10 (Reuters) French Protesters Destroy Engineered Monsanto Crop Campaigners opposed to genetic engineering swooped in on a test site belonging to U.S.-based Monsanto Co (MTC.N) in southern France on Thursday and ripped up showcase crops of maize and soya, a French farm union said. Some 200 activists took part in the destruction of an unspecified number of experimental land plots at Monbequi in the Tarn et Garonne province near the Pyrenees, the union said, adding there would be further protests to try to get the crops banned. Monsanto was not immediately available for comment. --------------- Britain's Tesco Extends Gene Labels to Vegetable Oil LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) Europe's biggest food retailer, Tesco Plc, is planning to label vegetable oil which may originate from genetically modified (GM) soya, even though current tests show no GM material remains in oil. Tesco will label all own-label products containing soya oil and soya-derived lecithin, the group said in a statement... Tesco would continue to press for full segregation of genetically modified commodity crops, the statement said. ---------------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is compiled for educational use only. |
 |
To subscribe, send a blank email to ge-news-subscribe@egroups.com
Mothers for Natural Law
< Previous | Back to News Index | Next > |