NOFA/Massachusetts Social Action Center
Genetic Engineering News
January 2009
compiled by Jack Kittredge
NOFA/Mass Social Action Coordinator
Petition to Stop Vilsack's Confirmation at USDA
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is trying to get 100,000 names on a petition to block the confirmation of Thomas Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture in the Obama administration. Vilsack, the Governor of Iowa, is a strong supporter of ag bio-tech, to the point of initiating a law in Iowa to pre-empt local regulation of seed so no Iowa county could do what California counties have done - block the planting of GE seed. If you would like to send a message that Vilsack is not the change you voted for you can sign the petition at: http://www.organicconsumers.org/vilsack.cfm
source: OCA Action Alert
GM Animal Feed Has Poor Conversion Rate
Results from studies in Germany and the USA conducted by farmers show that animals raised on non-GM feed produce better quality and a higher quantity of meat than animals fed on GM feed. The same studies reported health problems, such as stomach ulcers, found in the animals fed on GM feed.
source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/
GM Salt Tolerance "Too Complex" To Achieve
Growing crops in salt water is becoming necessary to overcome shortages of fresh water, but GM has failed to provide any salt-tolerant crops, says an article in the journal Science. The Dutch researchers say that trying to genetically engineer salt tolerance into crops has so far proved impossible because "the genetic manipulations necessary to achieve this may too complex to be achieved at present."
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7765109.stm
Contamination Risk Underestimated -- Study
New research from France shows that current guidelines on the safe isolation distances for GM maize may not adequately prevent cross pollination of conventional crops. The findings suggest that if GM maize becomes more widely adopted by farmers, then existing models will underestimate the 'safe' distance between GM and non-GM crops.
source: http://www.environmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx
UK: GM Contaminated Crop Grown in Blunder
A GM contaminated crop of oilseed rape has been illegally grown on a Somerset farm in a blunder that could see the genes spread to other fields, weeds and honey. The GM trait in the oilseed rape is designed to protect the plant against heavy spraying with weed killers developed by Monsanto. If this trait is transferred to related wild plants it could pass on this same chemical resistance, creating so-called super weeds.
source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1098476/
Chinese Want GM-Free and Chemical-Free Foods
Chinese shoppers are clamoring for chemical-free and GM-free foods in the wake of the melamine poisoning calamity that harmed over 50,000 children.
source: http://www.grassrootsnetroots.org/articles/article_16190.cfm
Demand For GM Soya Drops In The State Of Parana, Brazil
This year the seed trade in Parana offered more conventional soya seeds than GM ones for the 2008/09 harvest. According to the Secretary for Agriculture and Supply Valter Bianchini, the Paraná farmers are planting less GM soya after having verified that the conventional crop has lower production costs.
source: Agęncia Estadual de Notícias do Paraná (Paraná State News Agency, 12/18/2008)
GM Foods Are "Health Risk" - India's Health Minister
India's health minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss has made a strong statement warning of the health risks of GM food. Speaking at a farmers' meeting, he said, "GM food is a health hazard. No independent health impact tests have been conducted on the safety of Bt brinjal (eggplant). But people are pushing for its introduction in the market. The health ministry will take all necessary steps to see that GM food is not commercialized unless all the safety criteria are met. As a minister of PMK [Indian political party] and as the health minister, I will always oppose this technology."
source: http://www.gmfreeireland.org/news/index.php
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/10/stories/2008121054150400.htm
Vatican Cardinal: "GMOs a Way of Making Money"
On January 1, 2009, Cardinal Renato Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, gave a wide ranging interview to the Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano on political, economic and social issues which have attracted the Vatican's attention during 2008. In reflections on the scandal of hunger in the world, the Cardinal said that famine and lack of nutrition are to be blamed on the poor distribution of plentiful foodstuffs, not overpopulation. The responsibility for the food crisis "is in the hands of unscrupulous people who focus only on profit and certainly not on the well-being of all people," he said.
A more just system of distribution and not the manufacture of genetically modified foods is the key to addressing the problem, he continued, "If one wants to pursue GMOs (genetically modified organisms) one can freely do so, but without hiding (the fact) that it's a way to make more profits," he said. If Cardinal Martino's remarks have been correctly reported, then this looks like a massive setback for the GMO industry. Previously the Cardinal had been seen as little short of Monsanto's man in the Vatican, working hand in glove with the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See to try and achieve the papal blessing of GMOs as a key tool in the fight against hunger.
source: letter of Fr. Seán McDonagh, SSC
Wales: Secret Maize Harvest Starts GM Row
Plant biologist Jonathon Harrington claims to have defied the Welsh Assembly Government's declaration that Wales is a GM-free zone by secretly planting and harvesting GM maize on his land. ?Harrington, who claims to have grown the maize on his farm at Tregoyd near Hay-on-Wye, said, "I wanted to make the point that we should welcome GM crop technology and that Wales could not be described as a GM free zone. Far from shunning this technology, AMs should be pressing for it to be introduced as soon as possible in order to overcome some of the problems faced by our agricultural industry." ??Harrington did not explain how this GM maize, which he admitted performed 'poorly', is supposed to help Welsh farmers.
source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/
Monsanto Acts Quickly to Resolve Harvest Mistake
Monsanto Co. has claimed responsibility and pledged "to take appropriate actions," to prevent experimental cotton and cottonseed from entering the marketplace as either fiber, livestock feed or oil products. Ty Witten, biotech cotton trait development lead for Monsanto, said about two-tenths of an acre of experimental cotton was mistakenly harvested in Dawson County, Texas, in late October, co-mingled with other cotton and that a small part of that was ginned and some seed may have been processed. Approximately 60 tons of cottonseed was harvested, of which less than 0.5 percent was from the unauthorized GE cotton.
"As soon as we learned of the incident we acted quickly and worked with USDA and other agencies," Witten said. "We regret the incident, but everyone involved pulled together. We take stewardship seriously." Witten said Monsanto representatives also worked closely with the gin and processor to isolate the experimental cotton. The U.S. government is investigating whether a small amount of meal from the unauthorized GE cotton variety may have been inadvertently released into the animal feed supply. The processor is holding potentially affected material (both processed and unprocessed) pending further investigation.
source: http://southwestfarmpress.com/news/monsanto-mistake-1219/
First Ever Organic And Non-GMO Project Joint Inspections Judged A Success
Organic inspectors with Quality Assurance International (QAI) recently completed the first three on-site inspections for the Non-GMO Project's Product Verification Program, with more inspections scheduled soon. R.W. Garcia, SK Food, and WholeSoy & Co. are the first companies to go through these joint inspections. According to Allan Perkins of R.W. Garcia, the joint inspections offer "a big time and cost savings way to participate. You can achieve both certifications with one auditor and one audit. The organic and Non-GMO Project audits fit well together."
The onsite audit is second in the Non-GMO Project's two-step verification process. Prior to inspection, all companies undergo a document-based review of GMO avoidance practices like traceability, segregation, and testing at critical control points. This information is compared with the consensus-based Non-GMO Project Standard in order to assess compliance. A "Non-GMO Project Verified Seal" will begin appearing on retail packages beginning in October 2009. In the meantime, a list of participating companies and the 350+ enrolled products can be found on the Project's website: www.nongmoproject.org.
The Project emerged as an industry-wide initiative nearly two years ago, when its Board of Directors expanded beyond the original founding retailers to include stakeholders from every sector. Led by CEOs and top executives from industry leaders such as Eden Foods, Lundberg Family
Farms, Nature's Path Foods, Organic Valley, UNFI, and Whole Foods Market, the Project has successfully implemented North America's first independent, third party standard and verification program for production systems designed to avoid GMOs.
source: Non-GMO Project press release, December 15th, 2008
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