from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor
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Dear all:

Reports are coming in from India about serious allergy problems among Bt cotton farmers and handlers that are reminiscent of the problems found with Bt maize in the Philippines. In addition, calls for compensation for Indian farmers who suffered from the failure of Bt cotton are escalating, and the Maharashtra Government has already announced special financial assistance for Bt cotton growers. (ASIA)

It can hardly be coincidence that a flurry of newspaper articles has just appeared claiming Bt cotton in India a great success! The articles turn out to be based on a highly suspect report by industry-friendly consultants commissioned by Monsanto! (ASIA)

We also have some interesting articles on the corporate-led corruption of science. (CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF SCIENCE).

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

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CONTENTS
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WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
EUROPE
ASIA
AFRICA
THE AMERICAS
AUSTRALASIA
CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF SCIENCE
LOBBYWATCH
COMPANY NEWS
TERMINATOR

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WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
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+ WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES STRONGLY AGAINST GM
A largely overlooked document released last year shows how the World Council of Churches - an international fellowship of Christian churches which represents virtually all Christian traditions - has come out strongly against GM. In a powerful statement, the World Council of Churches calls upon churches and individuals "to build partnerships with civil society, peoples movements, small scale farmer groups and Indigenous Peoples in opposing the science, philosophy and practice of genetic engineering in agriculture..."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6280

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EUROPE
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+ HUNDREDS PROTEST AGAINST GM SPUDS IN IRELAND
Hundreds of people mounted a demonstration outside the Dail on 22 February to protest against plans to plant GM potatoes in Co Meath. The German chemical firm BASF has applied for permission to plant a crop of blight-resistant GM potatoes as part of a five-year experiment at a Teagasc research centre in Summerhill.

Politicians from across the political divide were in attendance at the protest, along with farmers, consumers groups and green campaigners.

Eddie Punch from the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association said he and his colleagues were taking part because they believed Ireland should be able to market its food as natural and GM-free. "If we go down the GM road, we will compromise irrevocably our ability to sell to premium European markets [and] to the maximum number of consumers," he said.

Canadian expert Prof Joe Cummins claims the GM experiment presents a clear risk of contaminating conventional and organic Irish potatoes. "The people and wildlife of Ireland should not be exposed to inadequately tested genetic constructions," said the Emeritus professor of genetics at the University of Western Ontario.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6277

Sign the petition against the GM potato trial at http://gmfreeireland.org/action/index.php

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ASIA
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+ INDIA: BT COTTON SEEDS CAUSE ALLERGY
A three-member investigation team has concluded that a large number of farmers of Nirmar region suffer from allergies after coming in contact with Bt cotton seed. The team, comprising Dr Ashish Gupta, Ashish Mandloi and Amulya Nidhi, carried out the survey in five villages and interviewed 23 labourers and farmers of Barwani and Dhar district between October and December 2005.

The team said the toxins inside the Bt cotton seed were the main reason behind the allergy. Dr Gupta said that all respondents had itching of skin, while 86% of them had eruptions on body and 56% had swelling of face where as in some cases, the itching was so severe that they had to discontinue their work, or take anti-allergy medicine in order to be able to work.

The use of the Bt cotton seed in the past two seasons has made cases of allergies in the region surge.

The following is from the conclusions of the report:

"All the evidence gathered during the investigation shows that Bt has been causing skin, upper respiratory tract and eye allergy among persons exposed to cotton. The symptoms vary from mild, moderate to very severe to the extent that one woman had to be admitted for 9 days as a result of allergy. The allergy is not restricted to farm labourers involved in picking cotton but has affected labour involved in loading and unloading Bt from villages to market, those involved in its weighing, labourers working in ginning factories, people who carried out other operations in the field of Bt cotton, or farmers who stored cotton in their homes etc. Thus the symptom is affecting people widely exposed at different places. The symptoms were not restricted to one particular farm but several farms in 6 villages... The doctor of this area also has reported a spurt of allergic cases in the last 2 seasons in the cotton season.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6268
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6278

Rea