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from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor
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Dear all

Welcome to WW45 bringing you all the latest news in brief on the GM issue.

The GM industry is on the ropes and they know it. A hundred corporate-friendly gene-bashers, and associates, have written to Tony Blair complaining about the public debate results, which they blame on the government's failure to correct "misleading" reports on GM in the media (see TOPIC OF THE WEEK). Be certain that the government will keep an eye on the BBC's opinion poll on whether the public debate was misleading, so go to
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3230489.stm
and make your views known.

Claire    [email protected]
www.ngin.org.uk

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CONTENTS
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TOPIC OF THE WEEK: SCIENTISTS ATTACK BLAIR OVER GM
SETBACKS TO THE GM LOBBY
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
HEADLINES OF THE WEEK
SUBSCRIPTIONS

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TOPIC OF THE WEEK
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SCIENTISTS ATTACK BLAIR OVER GM
More than a hundred scientists have written to Tony Blair, complaining about the handling of the public debate on GM crops. The group criticised ministers for not correcting "misleading" reports about GM technology in the media. They say they have been "demoralised" by the hostility to their work, and said public meetings had been hijacked.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3229685.stm
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1672

The scientists' letter is at
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1674

Added to the letter is a GMWATCH breakdown of the signatories' corporate affiliations, telling you all you need to know about why these people are so put out by the results of the public debate. To give a taster, one of the signatories, and the scientist quoted in BBC coverage of the story, is Prof Derek Burke. He's described in the letter as:

Professor Derek C. Burke Professor and Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia (1987-1995) Chairman ACNFP (1987-1997)

What isn't disclosed is: until 1998 Burke was director of Genome Research Ltd. While Vice Chancellor of UEA, he was also a member of the governing council of the John Innes Centre (JIC). Both UEA and the JIC have benefitted from investment in GM research, with the JIC enjoying multi-million pound investments from biotechnology corporations like Syngenta and Dupont.

Here's our take on another signatory. This one is described as:

Dr Martin Livermore Plant Scientist; Independent Consultant

This 'plant scientist' is surely not 'Dr' but 'Mr' Martin Livermore. If we're right, rather than earning his living as a plant scientist, Livermore is a former PR flack for DuPont, who now has his own agri-food PR consultancy Ascham Associates. He is also part of the anti-environmental Scientific Alliance.

Are there 2 Martin Livermores? We think we should be told.

For the rest of the signatories:
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1674

Has the debate on GM crops been misleading? Go to this BBC web address to have your say...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3230489.stm

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SETBACKS TO THE GM LOBBY
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EU DELAYS VOTE ON GM SEED RULES
The European Union has delayed until next spring a vote on the limits on the amount of GMOs allowed in cereal and vegetable seeds. The European Commission had proposed labelling seeds that contained between 0.3% and 0.7% GM material, depending on the crop. The biotech industry complained that the low level was too restrictive, while environmental groups felt the level was too generous.

Industry body EuropaBio has issued a press release saying it "strongly protests this decision which will further delay the implementation of much needed rules in this area.  There have already been several years of inaction on this issue, despite the Commission's duty to ensure fair and open markets for approved products in the European Union."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1668

BRAZIL LANDLESS PEASANTS' MOVEMENT FIGHTS GM APPROVAL
A leader of Brazil's Landless Peasants' Movement has said that the group hopes to overturn the Brazilian government's recent decision to accept GM soya after a long-term ban. Joao Pedro Stedile of the Movimento Sem Terra (MST), which represents over three million people, said that the group is trying to stop the bill being passed in Congress. If that failed, it would use biosecurity legislation to prevent plantings. Alternatively, a law restricting the use of glyphosate (applied to GM soya) after the crop has grown to a certain height on health grounds could make the planting of GM soya uneconomic.

Stedile revealed that the government agreed to permit GM soy to be planted in return for votes on legislative matters. The government made a deal with the governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul and his conservative party, the Partido de Movimento Democratico de Brazil (PMDB), that the PMDB would join the government's electoral coalition. The PMDB agreed on condition that the government must accept GM soya plantings. According to Stedile, the agreement was a coalition of the unwilling: "even the Vice President of Brazil didn't want to sign. Half of the ministers, the majority of the PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores - Workers' Party), were against, and the government suffered a great deal in public opinion."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1658
Read the full article, by Naomi Klein and Justin Podur, from which this information is taken, at
http://www.rabble.ca/rabble_interview.shtml?x=27562

BRAZILIAN STATE REJECTS GM SOY
As the Brazilian government bickers over a long-awaited bill on GM, the populist anti-GM governor of No. 2 soy growing state Parana, Roberto Requiao, has effectively shut off Brazil's main soy port by declaring Parana GM-free. Over 1,000 trucks carrying soybeans from other states on their way to the port and the state's massive crushing industry have backed up at Parana's borders because the state is testing cargoes and turning back trucks that test positive for GM soy.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1659

MONSANTO PUTS ARGENTINE INVESTMENT ON HOLD
Monsanto said it would hold off on a $40m Argentine investment due to a "lack of a clear midterm strategy in the country and lack of adequate intellectual property protection policy." A spokesperson said the company hopes to resume investing in Argentina, but to do so it "needs fair conditions to compete on an equal footing with the other players." As a result of the Argentine economic crisis, Monsanto's revenues in Argentina fell by ne

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