from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor
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Dear all:

US agronomist Dr Charles Benbrook is advising Australian farmers and policy makers not to follow North America down the biotech cul-de-sac.

"Across the southeastern US, where soybean and cotton farmers have relied almost exclusively on GM technology for several years, the system is on the brink of collapse, the volume of herbicides used is setting new records and farmers' profit margins are shrinking," Benbrook warns. (BENBROOK TOUR / GM FARMING).

Claire [email protected]
www.gmwatch.org / www.lobbywatch.org

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CONTENTS
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BENBROOK TOUR / GM FARMING
FOOD SAFETY
ASIA
EUROPE
AFRICA
SOUTH AMERICA
AUSTRALASIA
LOBBYWATCH
VACCINE SCANDALS

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BENBROOK TOUR / GM FARMING
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+ GM CROPS A FLOP IN THE USA, BENBROOK TELLS OZ
Non-GM farmers are continually told by the biotech industry and its supporters that they are suffering a huge competitive disadvantage by not growing GM crops. And Australian famers, in particular, have recently been on the receiving end of intensive lobbying to this effect.

But according to the leading independent US agronomist, Dr Charles Benbrook, "US farmers have lost billions of dollars in export sales" as a result of GMOs. Dr Benbrook is touring Australia (Nov 28 - Dec 9, 2005) to warn government ministers and farmers about the problems with the first decade of GM crops in the US.

"Across the southeastern US, where soybean and cotton farmers have relied almost exclusively on GM technology for several years, the system is on the brink of collapse, the volume of herbicides used is setting new records and farmers' profit margins are shrinking," Benbrook points out.

Based on his analysis of the US experience, Benbrook predicts that widespread planting of today's GM crops "will erode the sovereignty of Australian agriculture and allow multinational companies to gain a larger piece of the profit pie at the expense of farmers."

Details of the Australian tour are at
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5985

+ CANADIAN FARMERS GET $1.2 BILLION PROP
The Canadian Government has announced federal assistance aimed at propping up Canada's grains and oilseeds producers - including producers of soya and canola - to the tune of $1.2 billion. The extra money is to help them deal with "unprecedented [and unspecified] challenges" they have encountered in recent years.

Loss of market access is certainly one to consider. According to a Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) economic study of GM crops, "the US share of the EU's maize imports has fallen to virtually zero (from around 2/3 in the mid-1990s), as has Canada's share of EU canola imports (from 54% in the mid-1990s). GM-adopting countries have lost market share to GM-free suppliers".
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5985

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FOOD SAFETY
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+ T J HIGGINS - DISINGENUOUS OR JUST DISHONEST?
The spin on the recent Australian study showing harmful effects in mice from consumption of GM peas was principally provided by the biotechnologist who developed the GM peas - T. J. Higgins.

Higgins' claims both that the study shows that the regulatory system is working and that "there isn't a single piece of evidence that [GM food's] any less safe than conventional food."

As to the former claim, Julie Newman of the Network of Concerned Farmers points out that, "Health testing is only done by the company that is wanting approval for release but luckily, CSIRO did these voluntary feeding tests. Why aren't these feeding tests compulsory?" Dr Brian John calls the latter claim simply "a lie, typical of the lies pushed out by those who promote the interests of the GM industry".
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5968

+ GM PEA TEST DOES NOT SHOW REGULATORY PROCESS IS WORKING - EXPERT
Excerpt from interview for ABC News:

PAULA KRUGER [ABC reporter]: The CSIRO has tried to spin a positive out of the failed project by saying it shows that measures designed to protect the public from unsafe GM products are effective.

But that is not the view of Dr Judy Carmen the Director of the Institute of Health and Environmental Research.

JUDY CARMEN: First of all, I think the people who did this study should be congratulated, because this is the kind of study that should be done on all GM foods.

... One of the problems with this study is that, as I said, it hasn't actually been done with other GM foods and needs to be done.

So while Dr T J Higgins is saying that this shows that the regulatory process is working, unfortunately it doesn't, because this pea has never made it to the regulatory process.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5969

+ GM PEA SCIENTIST CALLS FOR MORE TESTING OF GM CROPS
According to New Scientist, Paul Foster of the Australian National University in Canberra, who led the immunological work on the GM pea is "calling for improvements in screening requirements for genetically engineered plants, to ensure comprehensive tests are carried out."

EXCERPT: [Foster] adds that slight differences in protein synthesis might also occur in other plants with other genes, meaning each new GM food should be very carefully evaluated for potential health effects. "If a GM plant is to go up for human consumption, there should be a detailed descriptive list of how one should go about anal