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Mothers for Natural LawInternational News on Genetic Engineering in AgricultureBiweekly News 99/02/16Thanks to Cliff Kinzel and Richard Wolfson for these items.
Articles have been aggressively shortened. The slight excess wordage of this issue is due to the text of item (4) being included in full out of respect for the organizations involved. ------------------ http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/Reuters19990212_149.html Feb. 12, 4:46 a.m. Scientists seek probe into GM foods report LONDON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Twenty international scientists on Friday urged more research into genetically modified foods and demanded the reinstatement of a British researcher who found that rats fed on GM potatoes suffered a weakened immune system. Arpad Pusztai was last year forced to retire from the prestigious Rowett Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland two days after giving a television interview in which he said it was ``very, very unfair to use our fellow citizens as guinea pigs.'' He was accused of having presented provisional data to the public without it having been reviewed by fellow scientists. The Guardian newspaper published the names of scientists from Britain, other European countries, the United States and Canada who had signed a public statement in support of Pusztai. They say they have examined all the published data and concluded that Pusztai was right to be concerned about the effect on rats, which after 10 days of feeding trials showed signs of harm to their kidneys, thymuses, spleens and guts. ------------------ Background from UK re: Dr. Arpad Pusztai For more information please contact Luke Anderson on: 07957 188621 The intention of this briefing is to clarify some of the key points which are being overlooked in the discussions centred on the research of Dr. Arpad Pusztai: 1. The potatoes which had the snowdrop lectin (GNA) added to them did not affect the rats in the same way as the potatoes genetically engineered with the snowdrop lectin even though the lectin was present in equal concentrations in both. This points to the process of genetic engineering itself. 2. The snowdrop lectin was used precisely because it was not thought to be toxic to mammalian systems. Indeed, the snowdrop lectin has been genetically engineered into a number of crops with a view to commercialisation (e.g. rice and oilseed rape). Cabbages genetically engineered with this lectin are being grown in trials this year in Holland. 3. Unlike the snowdrop lectin, ConA (the lectin taken from the Jackbean) is known to be toxic to mammalian systems. For this reason it was never seriously considered by Dr. Pusztai for use in food crops. This was a source of much confusion last August when the Rowett Institute told the press that these experiments had involved potatoes genetically engineered with the jackbean lectin. 4. Lectins are used in genetically engineered food that we are eating in the UK right now. Many crops, such as maize for example, have been genetically engineered with the Bt toxin, now understood to be a form of lectin. 5. The GM potatoes that were being tested by Pusztai were declared by the Rowett Institute to be substantially equivalent - therefore by the government's own criteria they would not have been subject to the long-term trials carried out by Pusztai and his team. The effect on the mammalian system would not therefore have been discovered within the present regulatory framework. ------------------ Over fifty organisations met in Ecuador in January and endorsed the following Declaration, in preparation for the Biosafety Protocol Meeting in Colombia from February 14-23. LATIN AMERICAN DECLARATION ON TRANSGENIC ORGANISMS Latin American peasant, indigenous, environmental and other civil society sector organisations, gathered in Quito, Ecuador, in January 1999, reject the invasion of transgenic organisms in Latin America the greatest area of agricultural biodiversity on the planet and now the second region in the world in terms of transgenic crop acreage and we declare the following: 1. We reject genetic engineering because it is an ethically questionable technology which violates the integrity of human life, of species which have inhabited our planet for millions of years and of ecosystems. 2. This technology is in part a consequence but also exacerbates a global development process that is based on inequity between regions, exploitation of people and nature, and the subordination of peasant and traditional economies of Third World countries to the profit drive of transnational companies (TNCs) in the food industry. 3. Genetic engineering is a technology driven by commercial interest. It is not necessary. It forces us to become dependent on the TNCs which control it, putting our autonomy to take decisions about production systems and food security into real danger. Especially in the field of agriculture, there are traditional and alternative technologies which do not pose such risks and which are compatible with the conservation of biodiversity. 4. Even though genetic engineering shares the same reductionist logic as the Green Revolution, it is radically different from conventional genetic improvement. 5. Science is incapable of predicting the risks and impacts affecting biodiversity, human and animal health, the environment as well as production systems -- which the deliberate release of transgenic organisms may produce. 6. The deliberate release of transgenic seeds is an extremely grave threat to the countries in our region which are countries of origin or diversity for cultivated plants and their wild relatives, as it could result in dangerous and irreversible forms of genetic pollution. 7. The commercial introduction of transgenic organisms into the market has been made possible by intellectual property laws which privatise life and undermine basic ethical values and principles such as respect for the integrity of life. We therefore reject every type of intellectual property over life forms. 8. The introduction of transgenic crops destroys productive traditional farming systems and local rural economies by violating, among others, the collective rights established under the Convention on Biological Diversity and other multilateral agreements such as Convention 169 of the International Labour Organisation and the UN Convention on Human Rights. 9. Equally, the introduction of transgenic organisms subverts the survival of cultural and technological practices by farmers, peasants, and indigenous, black and local communities, so that they may conserve, use, improve, innovate and exchange their seeds. This violates the millenary rights of these communities, which have been recognised by the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and Article 8(j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. 10. Furthermore, the large scale spread of production systems based on the use of transgenic organisms represents a terrible threat to national economies of the countries in our region. 11. We are warning everybody about this danger and we condemn the imminent introduction of controls over genetic expression such as the so-called "Terminator" technology but also others which will produce sterile seeds and have no other objective than to consolidate monopolistic power of the global seed cartel. In light of the above, we demand that: - No transgenic organisms should be released where they have not yet been released - The right of local and national governments to reject the introduction of transgenic organisms in their territories must be upheld - A moratorium on the release and commercial use of transgenic organisms and products derived from them should be established until complete evidence of their safety and absence of risk is secured and until our societies have had the full opportunity to understand and have informed debate about these technologies, including their risks and impacts, and exercise their own right to decide whether or not they should be used. - All decisions concerning the development, use and release of transgenic organisms should be subject to consultation and informed participation of all sectors of society which could be negatively affected, given that genetic engineering bears risks which can unleash unpredictable and irreversible impacts. Quito, 22 January 1999 The over fifty organisations that met in Ecuador are distributing the above Declaration and it is open to signatures. Please pass it on to others. Send your name and the name of the organisation you represent to: Acción Ecológica
email: ebravo@hoy.net ------------------ New rules on the menu for restaurant labelling By Nick Hopkins Guardian (London) Monday February 1, 1999 Restaurants will soon have to start labelling meals which contain certain kinds of genetically modified food, it was disclosed yesterday. The Agriculture Minister, Nick Brown, said the scheme, which could be implemented within weeks, was important because it defended the consumer's right not to eat such produce. The department has indicated that the new regulations will apply "from the Savoy Grill to the chip van on the A34". Mr Brown has been considering ways of enforcing a European Union directive passed last September which called on caterers and food suppliers to tell customers which of their foods contained GM soya and maize. The directive was largely ignored in the UK because it was self-regulating. Last week, Worcestershire Trading Standards Services published a survey showing that, of 200 items sampled at random, one third contained GM soya or maize. But only one of the foods carried a warning label. Now the Government is poised to introduce penalties for companies which refuse to label properly. Food suppliers and restaurateurs have been warned that new laws could be passed "within weeks rather than months" and that menus may have to be changed accordingly. ------------------ Copyright 1999 Telegraph Group Limited THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON) 05/02/99 Genetic corn in health food By Charles Clover, Environment Editor HEALTH food importers disclosed last night that they had destroyed 87,000 packets of organic tortilla chips found to be contaminated by genetically modified corn. De Rit, the British distributor of the Apache brand of organic chips, said that the most likely source of the contamination was cross-pollination of the organic maize around the farm in Texas that produced it. If so, the incident will create further pressure on the Government to tighten controls on the introduction of genetic crops in Britain. William Hague, the Tory leader, called in the Commons on Wednesday for a moratorium on all introductions until further scientific studies are carried out. Maize containing a gene from the cauliflower mozaic virus was detected in routine monitoring by DO-IT, the Dutch importers of Apache brand tortilla chips made from yellow maize. The virus is used as a promoter gene in maize engineered to be resistant to herbicides. George Carroll, managing director of De Rit (UK), said Terra Prima, the Wisconsin-based manufacturer, had tested all products and subsequent tortilla chips and these were given the all-clear. Maize would now be tested before use instead of after. ------------------ Subject: French supermarket chain bans GM THE French food company which established Britain's first hypermarkets removed all GM food from its shelves last night. Carrefour's customers had expressed concern about the products despite a major advertising and information campaign by the market leader, Monsanto. The Carrefour group has more than 200 stores in France and opened a huge branch outside Caerphilly, in South Wales, in the early 1970s. With an annual turnover of more than pounds lO billion it is one of Europe's leading retailers. A spokesman said: "Experts worldwide are divided on the risks posed by the spread and release of GM foods for both consumer health and the environment. Many questions are still unanswered. For the first time, man is crossing barriers between species. It seems impossible to us, at the present level of knowledge, to be able to measure the long-term consequences. The lack of transparency which surrounds GM foods is contrary to our policy of traceability." It will be a major operation for Carrefour, as 516 out of its 1,800 own-label products have, until now, contained genetically-engineered ingredients in some form. ------------------ American Cyanamid and Horizon Ag, LLC Announce U.S. Marketing Agreement for Herbicide Tolerant Rice February 8, 1999 PARSIPPANY, N.J., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation -- American Cyanamid Company and Horizon Ag, LLC have signed an agreement for development, marketing and support in the U.S. for new imidazolinone herbicide tolerant rice varieties. For information visit the Company's web site at www.cyanamid.com. ------------------ EPA Approves Eco Soil's Biological 'TX-1' as Biofungicide; BioJect Delivery Device is Part of Approval Packet February 15, 1999 SAN DIEGO, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation -- Eco Soil Systems, Inc.(Nasdaq: ESSI) announced today that the EPA has approved its microbial Spot-Less(TM) (Pseudomonas aureofaciens strain TX-1) as a biofungicide for the treatment of turfgrass disease. The approval includes the delivery of Spot-Less using the Company's BioJect system, a bioreactor that automatically ferments and distributes microorganisms through the irrigation system, according to John Doyle, vice president and BioJect product manager. ------------------ Washington Post Wednesday, February 3, 1999; Page A1 Monsanto estimates that it takes 10 years and about $300 million to create commercial products such as these [RoundupReady crops]. For every new kind of engineered seed that makes it to field trials, 10,000 have failed somewhere along the development pipeline, officials say. ------------------ The Financial Times (London)
A government scheme to use data from supermarket loyalty cards to assess possible health risks from genetically modified foods has collapsed, after retailers withdrew co-operation. ------------------ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is compiled for educational use only. |
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