------------------------------------------------------------
from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH guest editor
------------------------------------------------------------
Dear all

Welcome to WW36 bringing you the latest news in brief on the GM issue. Please circulate widely!

Apologies, by the way, to anyone who has written to me in recent months at the email address [email protected] and not received a reply. I thought you'd all suddenly gone quiet but it turns out I haven't been receiving emails sent to this address. While we try to find out what's gone wrong, please feel free to re-send any emails to me at [email protected].

Thank you for your patience!

Claire
www.ngin.org.uk

------------------------------------------------------------
WEEKLY WATCH number 36 - CONTENTS
------------------------------------------------------------
SETBACKS TO THE GM LOBBY
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
TOPIC OF THE WEEK 
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
FACTS OF THE WEEK
HEADLINES OF THE WEEK
SUBSCRIPTIONS

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SETBACKS TO THE GM LOBBY
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*MONSANTO'S ROUNDUP MAY ENCOURAGE BLIGHT - NEW SCIENTIST* Evidence builds that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, may be linked to a devastating toxic fungal disease that has caused tens of millions of dollars of losses for wheat growers in the eastern Prairies in recent years.

New Scientist reports that laboratory studies by scientists working for the Canadian government show glyphosate increases the risk of the fungal infection fusarium, which can kill humans and animals. If the studies are confirmed by field studies, farmers might be advised to use it less. That could be a major blow for backers of GM wheat in Canada, because the first GM variety up for approval in Canada is modified to be glyphosate-resistant. If it gets the go-ahead, there is likely to be an overall increase in glyphosate use.

- New Scientist, 16 August 2003
Read the complete article at:
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1286
See also, 'Scientists eye glyphosate-fusarium link'.
http://www.producer.com/articles/20030703/production/20030703prod02.html

*CONSUMERS WILLING TO PAY BIG NON-GM PREMIUMS - MULTIPLE COUNTRY STUDY*
A study by The Ohio State University; Agricultural University of Norway; University of Tsukuba, Japan; and Academia Sinica, Taiwan shows consumers are willing to pay substantial premiums for non-GM foods (vegetable oil and salmon were the examples used in the syrveys) in order to avoid GM counterparts. These premiums may exceed 50% of the discounted prices of GM foods. American consumers also showed strong support for mandatory labeling of GM foods. The researchers say, "This finding is useful for the producers and manufacturers of GM foods for assessing their potential markets."
Full paper: http://www.agbioforum.org/v5n3/v5n3a05-chern.htm

*CATHOLIC BISHOPS SPEAK OUT AGAINST GM*
The US/Monsanto lobby of the Vatican and its good friend, Italian Archbishop Renato Martino, are reported to be trying to extract a statement of support for GM crops from the Vatican and the blessing of the Pope.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1285

But the Martino lobby is meeting stiff opposition from Catholic clergy especially in the developing world:
 
...POOR NATIONS ARE BETTER OFF WITHOUT GM...
Catholic clerics working in the developing world reacted angrily to Martino's words. Father Giulio Albanese, head of the missionary news agency, MISNA, described them as a "provocation". In a statement, Fr Albanese said GM seeds "cannot but accentuate the dependence of the poor nations on the rich ones."

... AFRICAN BISHOPS DON'T WANT IT ...
Opposition to GM technology is growing rapidly within the Catholic church. "We do not believe that agro-companies or gene technologies will help our farmers to produce the food that is needed in the 21st century," said bishops from Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland in a statement.

The bishops said it was morally irresponsible to produce GM food and warned of damage to the environment and human health. "We think it will destroy the diversity, the local knowledge and the sustainable agricultural systems and that it will undermine our capacity to feed ourselves."

... NEITHER DO PHILIPPINE BISHOPS...
In the Philippines, the Catholic Bishops Conference has urged the government to postpone the authorisation of GM corn until comprehensive studies have been made. "We have to be careful, because once it is there, how can we remedy its consequences?" said Cardinal Rocardo Vidal.

... NOR BRAZILIAN BISHOPS
The Bishops of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB in Portuguese), accompanied by the Pastoral Land Commission Brazilian bishops, have written to the President of the House, Joao Paulo Cunha, describing the damage to health caused by GM foods. They call attention also to the loss of food sovereignty implied by the use of GM seeds.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1259

IS MARTINO FEELING THE HEAT FROM THE BISHOPS?
More recently, however, Archbishop Martino has contradicted reports that Vatican authorities were working on a policy paper that would support the use of GM crops. He stated that the Vatican is simply planning to convene a round-table discussion in the fall to study the ethical and scientific implications of using GM crops.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1284

Guardian journalist John Vidal predicts that this is the issue that will split the Catholic church. Read his article co-written with the Guardian's Rome correspondent:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gmdebate/Story/0,2763,1018256,00.html

For Catholic voices opposing GM from around the world:
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1245
For the background:
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1241

*BIOTECH INDUSTRY BASED ON 40-YEAR-OLD SCIENCE*
GRAIN has reprinted an article, "Unravelling the DNA myth", by Barry Commoner in which he points out that the Human Genome Project only identified 1/3 of the genes it would theoretically require to generate the number of proteins in the human body if a single gene encoded the amino acid sequence of a single protein.

In other words, we now know that there is not a one to one equivalence between genes and proteins which means GE is far more complicated than has ever been assumed (i.e. one cannot just insert a transgene and have a precisely predictable effect).

Commoner writes, "the biotechnology industry is based on science that is forty years old and conveniently devoid of more recent results, which show that there are strong reasons to fear the potential consequences of transferring a DNA gene between species."

The full article is at:
http://www.grain.org/seedling/seed-03-07-2-en.cfm

*PHILIPPINES TRIBESMEN BLAME BT CORN FOR ILLNESS*
More than 100

Go to a Print friendly Page

Email this Article to a Friend

Back to the Archive