NOFA/Massachusetts Social Action Center
Genetic Engineering News
July, 2008
compiled by Jack Kittredge
NOFA/Mass Social Action Coordinator
Nurses Oppose rBST, Call for Labeling GMOs
The House of Delegates of the American Nurses Association passed a resolution at their annual conference in early July making it ANA's official position to oppose rBGH. More than that, the ANA supported labeling of all GMO's and country of origin. The official resolution will be released soon, but in the meantime, here is a section from the report:
"Therefore be it resolved that the American Nurses Association: Support the development of national and state laws, regulations and policies that specifically reduce the use of rBGH or rBST in milk and dairy production in the United States, Work collaboratively with other nursing organizations and hospital and healthcare organizations to eliminate purchasing milk and dairy products for use in the health care industry that contain artificial hormones such as recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) and any other food containing inappropriate additives, Educate nurses regarding the known and projected harmful effects of the use of food additives, rBGH and other hormones and antibiotics in milk and dairy production and in agriculture, Support the public's right to know through support of appropriate food labeling including country-of-origin and genetic modification, and of nutritional information for food served in institutions, restaurants, and fast food chains . . ."
source: personal Email, July 5, 2008
Over 250 Faith Organizations Reject GMOs, Patents On Life
More than 250 faith-based organizations called on their leaders to eliminate the root causes of hunger such as poverty and unjust social structures. In a statement, the faith-based coalition, which includes dozens of Catholic religious orders, echoed the concern the Pope has expressed for the protection of small farmers. They also cautioned against GM crops and patents on life and urged a review of biofuel production.
source: http://db.zs-intern.de/uploads/1212652732-faostatement_final_eng.pdf
Uganda: GM Banana Fails To Defeat Diseases
A GM banana being trialed in Uganda has failed, falling victim to the disease (Black Sigatoka disease) it was designed to resist.
source: http://africasciencenews.org/asns/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=487&Itemid=1
Over A Dozen Feeding Trials Show Reason For Concern
A Soil Association press release included the following evidence that despite GM industry claims, over a dozen GM feeding trials (12 animal, 1 human) show negative health impacts of GM: *Russian rat trial of GM soya: high mortality and stunted growth in offspring (Ermakova, 2005) *Italian mice trial of GM soya: metabolic effects on body organs (Malatesta et al, 2002 and 2003; Vecchio et al, 2004) *FSA-commissioned human trial of GM soya by Newcastle University: GM DNA transfers out of food into the body's gut bacteria (Netherwood et al, 2004) *Monsanto rat trial of GM maize: changes in body organs indicating toxic effects (report by Monsanto, 2002; review by Dr Pusztai, 2004; Seralini et al, 2007) *Aventis chicken trial of GM maize: mortality doubled and significant change in composition of meat (reports for the Chardon LL hearing, 2002; review in Food safety - contaminants and toxins, CABI publishing, 2003) *Aventis rat trial of the novel protein of GM maize: reduced body weight and metabolic effects (same references as for Aventis chicken trial) *UK study on sheep: in a few minutes, the genes in the GM maize move into the bacteria in the mouth, changing their characteristics (Duggan et al, 2003) *Monsanto rat trials of GM oilseed rape: reduction in body weight and increased liver weight (significant as the liver is the organ of detoxification) (US FDA, 2002; Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms, 2004) *Australian mice trial of GM peas: allergic reactions, including inflammation of lungs (Prescott et al, 2005) *Calgene mice trials of GM tomatoes: gut lesions and 7 of 40 died within two weeks (review in Food safety - contaminants and toxins, CABI publishing, 2003) *UK Government-commissioned rat trial of GM potatoes by Rowett Research Institute: gut lesions (Ewen and Pusztai, 1999) NB: These studies were all designed to identify health impacts; the animal trials often referred to by the GM companies as 'showing no negative impacts' are largely irrelevant as proof of safety, because they are mostly studies carried out for commercial purposes on the efficacy of the feed, rather than 'toxicological' studies involving tissue analysis.
source: http://www.soilassociation.org
GM Sugar Beets Being Planted
Western farmers in the U.S. are planting their first season of Monsanto's Roundup Ready GM sugar beets. Over half the sugar in processed foods comes from sugar beets and the rest comes from sugar cane. Both sugars are often combined in products and not listed separately on labels. Once food producers start using GM beet sugar in cereals, breads, baby foods, candies, and other products, we will not know if we are eating GM sugar because GM ingredients are not labeled. The only way to avoid eating GM beet sugar will be to buy organic foods and foods containing 100% cane sugar or evaporated cane juice.
In December 1998, the USDA approved Monsanto's first GE sugar beet for commercial planting and sale. Several months later, at Monsanto's request, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) increased the maximum allowable residues of the herbicide, glyphosate, on sugar beet roots from just 0.2 parts per million (ppm) to 10 ppm. Sugar beet roots contain the sucrose extracted, refined, and processed into sugar. EPA's policy change represents a staggering 5,000% increase in allowable toxic weed killer residues, some of which could end up in sugar. The Agency has also increased allowable glyphosate residues on dried sugar beet pulp, a by-product of sugar processing, from 0.2ppm to 25 ppm. Dried sugar beet pulp is fed to dairy and beef cattle, particularly in Europe, Japan, and Korea, and it is also fed to racehorses in the U.S.
Sugar beets are wind pollinated and their pollen can travel long distances. As such, GE sugar beets have the potential to cross pollinate with related Beta species such as chard and table beets, placing both conventional and organic farmers at risk of contamination.
source: Center for Food Safety Fact Sheet, June 2008
Monsanto Completes Its Purchase of De Ruiter Seeds
Monsanto has completed its proposed acquisition of Netherlands-based De Ruiter Seeds for $850 million. Monsanto said it will start to transition the De Ruiter Seeds business into its vegetable seeds division alongside its other business units, Seminis and the International Seed Group.
source: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1684988/
GM Coexistence a Myth
'There is no place anywhere in the world where coexistence of GM and conventional canola has been achieved. In Canada, they did not even try to achieve coexistence. They did in the US but had to abandon their attempts after just one year. In Canada it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to even source uncontaminated non-GM canola seed for sowing. I have no confidence whatsoever that coexistence of GM and non-GM canola is achievable?in Australia or anywhere else in the world.' -- Kim Chance, Minister for Agriculture, Western Australia
source:?http://www.gmfreeireland.org/news/index.php
Western Australia Premier Calls For GM Product Ban
Western Australia premier Alan Carpenter has called for a nationwide suspension of approvals for foods containing GM crops until health research?is carried out. He said the regulator, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, should not approve any more GM foods for human consumption until independent scientific trials were conducted to determine their safety.
source: http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/754/38977
'Advantage' of RR Canola Over as Soon as Plant Boot High>
The one supposed advantage of GM Roundup Ready (RR) canola is that it can be sprayed with glyphosate without damaging the plant. But according to the Network of Concerned Farmers, this advantage ends after the plant has?reached 6-leaf stage, when you can no longer spray glyphosate. In addition: Roundup Ready seed costs at least twice non-GM seed, An upfront stewardship fee of $1,000/property is charged (half price this?year), A 'discounted introductory fee' of $10.20 per tonne is charged on all canola delivered for the 2008 season (end point royalty system), Legal fees may be required to assess two contracts before signing, and In the following season, the farmer will also need to?regularly scout and control unwanted volunteer canola plants, add further chemicals to glyphosate in order to kill unwanted GM glyphosate-tolerant canola volunteers, limit glyphosate use in following rotations and tillage or use the more ?toxic paraquat/diquat, which are recommended alternatives.
source: http://www.non-gm-farmers.com/
Hospitals Take Healthy Food Pledge
All told, 127 hospitals nationwide have signed the "Healthy Foods in Healthcare Pledge," an effort supported by the Health Care Without Harm coalition and Physicians for Social Responsibility. Eighty hospitals are buying up to 40 percent of produce locally, more than 90 are buying hormone-free milk, all have increased purchasing of fresh fruits and vegetables, and 50 are buying meat produced without use of antibiotics or hormones. "Many facilities for one reason or another haven't formally signed the pledge," but are supporting the effort, said Lena Brook, a spokeswoman for Physicians for Social Responsibility.
source: San Francisco Business Times - June 9, 2008
California's GMO Bill Approved by Senate Ag Committee
AB 541 is one step closer to becoming California's first state law protecting farmers from the hazards of genetically engineered crops. Having already passed the Assembly, it passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on June 5th. It has the support of Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the California Farmers Union, California Certified Organic Farmers, the California Farm Bureau, the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, and many food safety and environmental organizations.
AB 541 will enact protections for California farmers against frivolous lawsuits that intimidate and harass those who have not been able to prevent the inevitable - the drift of GE pollen or seed. It will level the playing field for farmers accused by agricultural biotechnology companies and other patent holders of contract violations, and discourage the practice of biotech companies sampling crops without explicit permission from farmers and prosecuting based on unverifiable testing results.
Specifically, the newly amended bill would provide for:
1. Protection from patent infringement lawsuits for farmers unknowingly contaminated by GE crops. Currently, farmers with crops that become contaminated by patented seeds or pollen have been the target of such lawsuits without clear recourse or defense.
2. The establishment of a mandatory crop sampling protocol to be used by patent holders when investigating farmers they believe may have violated patents or seed contracts. This protocol would require the farmer's written permission for sampling, and provide for a state agriculture official to accompany the patent holder during the sampling and collect duplicate samples for independent verification if requested by either party.
source: press release from Assembly Member Jared Huffman, June 5, 2008
Toxic Seed Treatments Cause of Bee Decline In U.S.
In light of the mounting evidence that new seed chemical coatings are deadly to bees and the action of Germany in calling for an immediate suspension of these seed treatments, the Sierra Club has reaffirmed its call for a US moratorium on the neonicotinoid chemical treatments to protect bees and crops. Germany's federal agricultural research institute noted, "It can unequivocally be concluded that poisoning of the bees is due to the rub-off of the [neonicotinoid] pesticide ingredient clothianidin from corn seeds." Bayer and Monsanto have acquired patents to coat their proprietary corn seeds with the neonicotinoids.
source: http://www.gmfreeireland.org/news/index.php
Egyptian Corn Pirated By Monsanto
Following Egypt's recent approval of the cultivation and commercialization of a GM pest-resistant corn variety that marks the first legal introduction of GM crops into the Arab world, Nagib Nassar, Egyptian professor of genetics and plant breeding at University of Brazil, said, "At the end of the day what was originally an Egyptian variety will become not only registered in Egypt but owned by Monsanto." Tarek Saif, biotechnologist at Egypt's National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, said Egypt's collaboration with Monsanto started with the word "partnership" to pave the way for public acceptance of GM plant and ended with "ownership" for Monsanto. "How did an Egyptian variety become owned by Monsanto just as a result of crossing it with its line?" Saif asked.
source: http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1099
Small Is Bountiful
Our best chance of feeding the world is a mass return to peasant farming of small holdings, says George Monbiot in an article for the UK's Guardian. The data shows that in spite of the myth that large-scale means efficient, in fact, the smaller the farm, the greater the yield: "A recent study of farming in Turkey ... found that farms of less than one hectare are twenty times as productive as farms of over ten hectares. ... [This] appears to hold almost everywhere." This has implications for land ownership that most governments don't want to think about. A large number of people need access to land in order to grow the food we need.
source:?http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2008/06/10/small-is-bountiful/
GM and Organic Can't Coexist
A new study has found that the cultivation of GM maize in two regions of Spain caused a drastic reduction in the cultivation of organic maize, making their coexistence practically impossible. This is the main conclusion reached in one of the first such field studies of coexistence in Europe that was carried out by researcher Rosa Binimelis of the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She analyzed the situation in Catalonia and Aragon, Spain where the commercial cultivation of transgenic crops was introduced in 1998.
The concept of "co-existence" was introduced in Europe in 2002 to deal with the emerging concerns derived from the admixture of different cultivations and to make it easier to lift the existing "de facto" moratorium within Europe so as to introduce new transgenic cultivations. But the study found that the maize production process makes it difficult and expensive to segregate GM from organic and conventional production. There are no specific silos for organic maize while only a minority of cooperatives in the region restricts the use of GMOs. Difficulties also arose between proponents and opponents of GM technology over how to avoid the possible occurrence of contamination and how to deal with it should it happen, over attempts to define technical measures that would guarantee coexistence, and the problem organic farmers face in claiming compensation should contamination occur, due to technical uncertainties in measuring the level of "contamination" or its origin. As a result, the cultivation of GM maize has increased at the expense of organic maize in both the regions.
source: press release, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Industry Says rBST Slows Global Warming
A new biotech industry study concludes that injecting cows with a growth hormone known as recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) designed to increase their milk production is environmentally friendly. Why? Because it has the potential of reducing the number of greenhouse gas-emitting dairy cows on the planet without decreasing milk production. "By using rBST, we could produce more or the same amount of milk with fewer cows," says animal nutritionist Judith Capper of Cornell University, co-author of the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. "That means less land use, feedstock, nutrients, greenhouse gases, excretion-all positive effects on the environment."
Some scientists and consumer advocates, however, are skeptical. The study was conducted with a scientist, Roger Cady, who is also the rBST technical project manager for Monsanto, the Saint Louis-based agricultural giant that manufactures and markets it under the brand name POSILAC. In addition, the lead scientist, nutritional biochemist Dale Bauman of Cornell University, has been a paid consultant for Monsanto since the 1980s, though he declined to disclose how much the company has paid him over the years. He insists that Monsanto did not influence his decision to spend as much as $10,000 in university funds for this study.
Dairy farmers, however, have another simple option to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without resorting to bovine growth hormone: Researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia say they can be cut 50 percent simply by changing cow feed to include more digestible grasses, thereby reducing the methane output.
source: Scientific American July 2, 2008,
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=can-bovine-growth-hormone-slow-global-warming&sc=rss
GM Crops Needed In Britain, Says Minister
The Independent reported that Labor Ministers were preparing to open the way for GM crops to be grown in Britain on the grounds they could help combat rocketing food prices and food shortages in the world's poorest countries. Leading the charge is Gordon Brown's environment minister Phil Woolas.
source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gm-crops-needed-in-britain-says-minister-849991.html, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1027610/Ministers-industry-accused-exploiting-world-food-crisis-relaunch-campaign-GM-food.html, http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/columnists/2008/06/24/big-six-pleased-the-gm-genuie-has-escaped-the-bottle-91466-21139261/
Official Review Admits Agrofuels' Role In Food Crisis
The Guardian has reported how Britain and Europe will be forced to fundamentally rethink a central part of their environment strategy after a UK government report found that the rush to develop "biofuels" has played a "significant" role in the dramatic rise in global food prices, which has left 100 million more people without enough to eat, and even their environmental benefits are in question.
source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/19/climatechange.biofuels
Non-GM Crops Dominate World Agriculture in Spite of False Reports
Non-GM crops still provide most of the food and animal feed in the world, covering more than 97% of agricultural land, compared with only 2.4% growing GM crops. The new analysis was carried out by GM Freeze after Giles Oldroyd of the pro-GM John Innes Centre claimed on BBC Radio 4's Today program that 25% of global arable land was under GM crops - a figure obtained from the National Environmental Research Council's website. The GM Freeze analysis shows that in fact over 90% of global arable land is used to cultivate non-GM crops. Even in the USA, where GM crops have been widely adopted, over 85% of agricultural land is growing non-GM crops and two thirds of arable land grew non-GM crops in 2007.
source: http://www.gmfreeze.org/uploads/GM_crops_land_area_final.pdf
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