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Mothers for Natural LawInternational News on Genetic Engineering in AgricultureBiweekly News 99/05/15Thanks to Cliff Kinzel and Richard Wolfson for these items.
Articles have been aggressively shortened. ------------------ PRESS RELEASE- FoE
Pioneer Maize Seed is Contaminated with an Illegal Variety, says Friends of the Earth Laboratory tests identify contamination by Novartis and Monsanto seeds Friends of the Earth (FoE) announced today that some of the Pioneer maize seed being sold in Germany, under the brand name "Benicia", which was turned over to police by BUND/FoE in Freiburg and analyzed by the official control laboratory(1), has been shown to be contaminated by a genetically modified (GM) variety which has not been authorized for cultivation in the European Union (EU). ------------------ Farming Online 4 May, UK GM Self-Defence Mechanism Against Insects Has Broken Down Maize that has been genetically modified to contain a toxin that kills insects attacking the plant, is losing its ability for this kind of self-defence. The toxin no longer works sufficiently well and insects have rapidly developed resistance to it. Farmers in eight southern states of the USA (where GM cotton varieties containing the same gene are also grown) are being required to plant a minimum of 50% of their maize crop using varieties that do not use the GM Bt technology. The areas planted to the non-GM maize are being referred to as insect refuges. ------------------ Promiscuity in transgenic plants
December 21, 1998 Researchers at the University of Chicago investigated outcrossing from ALS-resistant Arabidopsis thaliana to a susceptible biotype of the species. This species is highly self-pollinated, and thus the risk of cross-pollination would be considered low. Two types of herbicide resistant biotypes were used: a genetic mutant created through traditional breeding techniques and a transgenic biotype in which an ALS resistance gene from a different species was inserted at a single site in the plants genome. The resistant biotypes were planted at random spots in a field infested with a wild-type A. thaliana. At the end of the growing season seed was collected from the wild type plants and the progeny were tested to determine the source of pollen responsible for pollinating these plants (native vs. mutant vs. transgenic). Analysis of approximately 100,000 seeds found that the outcrossing rate was 0.3% for mutant plants and 6.0% for the transgenic plants. Thus, while the overall rate of outcrossing was low, the plants which had been modified for ALS-resistance through gene transfer were 20 times more likely to outcross than the non-transgenic resistant biotype. For more information contact:
------------------ Friday, May 7, 1999 Published at 02:40 GMT 03:40 UK
GM Pests Bite Back
By Helen Briggs of BBC Science Genetically modifying crops to protect them against pests may not work, according to research published in Science Journal. A US laboratory study concludes that one of the main pests responsible for damaging crops may be rapidly developing a resistance to GM products. Insect damage to crops like maize costs farmers billions of dollars a year. It is one of the arguments for planting crops that have been modified to produce an insecticide capable of killing the pests that feed on them. But this latest research, carried out at Kansas State University, is likely to fuel the debate over GM crops. Immunity through Exposure The researchers found that insects can become immune to insecticide through over-exposure, in the same way that bacteria, responsible for human diseases, can become resistant when exposed to too many antibiotics. The report confirms that corn borers, which attack maize, develop immunity to insecticide much more quickly than was previously thought. And this could spread rapidly as the insects breed. So far these experiments have only been carried out in the laboratory. But if the same results are seen in corn fields, it means scientists may have to think again about how to protect crops from attacks by pests. ------------------ date: May 6, 1999
New study shows that the refuge strategy for Bt resistance hastens spread of insects resistant to corn borer! Millions of acres of corn bearing genes for Bt toxins that poisons corn borer insects have been planted in the United States and Canada. This year Canada implemented requirements and the US recommends planting blocks of corn without the Bt resistant corn to provide a refuge where wild type corn borer insects will thrive. The theory is that mutations will take place in the insects making them tolerant of the Bt toxin. It is assumed that all resistance will be recessive so that when the mutant mates with the conveniently available wild borers the off-springs will all be sensitive to toxin and die when feeding on the genetically engineered Bt corn. However, if some dominant Bt mutants appear among the Bt tolerant insects those mutants will spread their genes by mating in the refuge and their off-springs will thrive on the genetically engineered Bt corn. The appearance of dominant borer mutants would create a disastrously rapid spread of borer resistant mutants because the refuge would provide a rich breeding ground for the resistant mutants (dominant mutants appearing in fields with out a refuge would have a long search for borers to mate with). This weeks Science (May 7,1999:965-967) "Inheritance of resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis toxin (Dipel ES) in the European Corn Borer" Haung, F., Buschman, L., Higgins, R. and McGaugen, W. report shows that dominant mutants conferring resistance to Bt toxin can be recovered from Corn Borers exposed to the toxin. Such mutants would spread like wildfire through corn fields with refuge plots because over half the off-springs of mating between mutant and wild type insects would be resistant to Bt toxin.The refuge would provide a rich breeding ground for spread of the dominant mutants. ------------------ Seattle: Biodevastation 3 Educational Gathering On Wednesday, May 19, and Thursday, May 20, 1999, an exceptional educational gathering will take place in Seattle, Washington called Biodevastation 3. This will be the third in a worldwide series of grassroots gatherings about genetic engineering. The e-mail below discusses the event and lists the outstanding group of speakers and activists who will be participating in the lectures. There is no charge to attend this event and a free lunch will even be served both days. It will be held at the Plymouth Congregational Church (in downtown Seattle), 6th and University, starting at 8:30 a.m. both days. If you would like to attend this free educational event, send an e-mail to the Edmonds Institute at beb@igc.org or call 425-775-5383. ------------------ Copyright 1999 New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad New Straits
Soya Bean the only Genetically Modified Food allowed Here SOYA bean is the only genetically modified food allowed in Malaysia, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Mohd Ali Rustam said. The commodity was approved for sale and distribution after it had gone through detailed checks by the Ministry. "Malaysia is not a favourite dumping ground for exporters," Mohd Ali told M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Teluk Intan). Unapproved genetically modified food may result in increased toxins in the body, cancer and bacteria immunisation to antibiotics. The Food Act 1983 prohibits the sale of food that may be poisonous. ------------------ INTERVIEW-GM Concerns Cut British Soya Use
By Chris Lyddon LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Consumer fears over genetically modified products have triggered a sharp fall in the proportion of products in British supermarkets containing soya, according to one leading practical expert. With suppliers telling them they could not get non-GM soya, British food manufacturers had in many cases responded to concerns by taking out all soya, said Bill Wadsworth, technical manager of Iceland Plc, a frozen food specialist which was the first major retailer to go non-GM. ``We were told we couldn't get non-GM soya, so we told suppliers to get out of soya,'' Wadsworth told Reuters in an interview at the company's headquarters on Deeside in North Wales. Later food producers did find non-GM supplies, but by then it was too late. They had already reformulated many products. When Iceland decided to stop selling GM foods it had been surprising how much soya was used. ``It was an eye opener for us,'' he said. ------------------ More Export Sales of U.S. Biotechnology is Goal of Bipartisan Effort Led by Sen. Ashcroft May 14, 1999 U.S. Newswire via NewsEdge Corporation : WASHINGTON, May 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is leading a bipartisan effort in the Senate to convince the President and other world leaders to give top priority to expanding world trade in biotechnology. The Ashcroft group today asked the President to take action to make biotechnology trade a top issue for world leaders at the upcoming G-8 summit June 18-20: -- The senators want the President to persuade other G-8 leaders to assign senior trade officials to develop a plan to take down trade barriers to biotechnology products such as genetically modified crops; -- After finding ways to expand the market for biotech products, the senators want the G-8 working group to seek action at the November meeting of trade ministers of the World Trade Organization. ...The letter to Clinton was sent jointly by Ashcroft and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who were joined on their letter by nearly one-third of the Senate. [Copyright 1999, Comtex] ------------------ EU scientists say beef hormone can cause cancer BRUSSELS, May 1 (Reuters) - A new report by European Union scientists finds strong evidence that one of six hormones used in the beef industry could cause cancer, a conclusion which could drop a bombshell into a transatlantic trade dispute. The scientists said however there were not enough data to draw final conclusions about whether five other growth-promoting hormones used to raise cattle in North America were safe for human consumption. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. ------------------ Agriculture Secretary Glickman late last week warned students and professors at Purdue University not to put "all of our eggs in the biotech basket," and compared enthusiasm for biotech to past enthusiasms for nuclear energy and Asian financial markets. In a speech delivered Thursday and released by the Agriculture Department over the weekend, Glickman said that, while "biotechnology can be an indispensable tool ... we have to be careful about ratcheting up the expectations on some of these technologies. ... We have a way in this country of latching on to solutions, pursuing them to the exclusion of others, and then watching them sometimes backfire." Noting that two British grocery chains last week said they will attempt to eliminate products with genetically modified ingredients, Glickman also told the Purdue audience that "we can't force these genetically engineered food products down people's throats," and said U.S. manufacturers of genetically modified organisms have a responsibility to educate foreign buyers and consumers. From Congress Daily, May 3, 1999
------------------ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is compiled for educational use only. |
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