from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor
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Dear all:

There's some dramatic evidence of the bursting of the biotech bubble this week. The supposed great success story of Bt cotton in China has been exposed as hype, by a Cornell study that shows the farmers are now using as much pesticide on Bt as they were on non-Bt cotton, as secondary pests take over. Yet the Bt seeds are three times more expensive... (ASIA)

Ventria Bioscience's experiments with its GM rice-derived medicine on Peruvian children are reported to have had a disastrous outcome, with at least two children developing severe allergies. And the rapid destruction of the South American rainforest for GM soy is having terrible environmental effects that could soon expand to involve the whole planet. And Ignacio Chapela notes how US military support for the GM soy expansion is adding deadly power to an already raging fire. (THE AMERICAS)

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

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CONTENTS
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GM MEDICINES
THE AMERICAS
CAMPAIGNS
ASIA
EUROPE
AUSTRALASIA
WORLD BANK & TECH CHOICES
LOBBYWATCH

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GM MEDICINES
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+ INFANTS IN GM STUDY IN PERU DEVELOP SEVERE ALLERGIES
Two children have developed severe allergies after an experiment with Ventria Bioscience's transgenic serum intended to treat diarrhoea, according to an article in Peru's 'La Republica' . Fabrizio and Jordano are among 140 children in Peru who received a pharmaceutical extracted from GM rice that contains plant-human genes. The mothers are demanding that the ministry of health monitors the state of their children.

Said Diana Canessa Garay, mother of Fabrizio, "After they gave him the serum, my baby became sickly, delicate. Now he is allergic to everything, to chocolates, mandarins. I do not know what will happen to him later, the ministry of health must do a followup investigation of his health." Another young mother, Johana Sanchez Turreate, also fears for the life of her 3-year-old son Jordano, who also developed allergies after receiving the serum.

Garay said that when a nurse offered the treatment she did not explain that the rehydrating salt was of transgenic origin and that its sale is prohibited because it is still in experimental phase.

Flora Luna Gonzales, biologist, university professor and expert in transgenics, commented, "The long-term consequences can be many. The children who have consumed this serum can suffer diseases like Alzheimer's, because if the altered protein has a fault it can produce an amyloid [insoluble fibrous protein] substance that is deposited in the neurons and alters their function. The minister of Health lies when she assures us that these experiments with transgenic products will not bring future consequences to these defenceless children." English translation: http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6792

Spanish original: http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6790

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THE AMERICAS
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+ PARAGUAY: ROUNDUP READY MILITARY
The US military, under the excuse of fighting terrorism, is establishing bases and new collaborations with the Paraguayan military. Many are asking why.

EXCERPT from a commentary by Ignacio Chapela:
... internal military and paramilitary repression has found an immediate use in promoting the spread of GMO soy. Herbicide resistant transgenic soy has brought to this South American region a form of agriculture that is incompatible with campesino or indigenous ways of life. Instead of changing agriculture to fit people, the landscape is being cleansed through violence to make it fit mechanized, high-input, monoculture soybean production. National armies are now protecting GMO, export-oriented soybean plants against the diverse ecosystems of the region, but also against the citizens of those countries who insist on rejecting them. Infusing the CIA and the US military into this formula simply adds deadly power to an already raging fire. http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6794

A recent article in The Nation exposed how the US military is advising the Paraguayan police and military on how to deal with farmer groups who oppose the illegal take over of their lands for GM soya cultivation.

EXCERPTS: "The US troops talk with the farmers and get to know their leaders and which groups, organizations, are working there, then establish the plans and actions to control the farmer movement and advise the Paraguayan military and police on how to proceed...."

[US military instruction is being used to assist internal repression.]

"The most recent case of this violence is the death of Serapio Villasboa Cabrera, a member of the Paraguayan Campesino Movement, whose body was found full of knife wounds May 8. Cabrera was the brother of Petrona Villasboa, who was spearheading an investigation into the death of her son, who died from exposure to toxic chemicals used by transgenic soy producers. According to Servicio, Paz y Justicia (Serpaj), an international human rights group that has a chapter in Paraguay, one method used to force farmers off their land is to spray toxic pesticides around communities until sickness forces residents to leave." http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6794

+ ARGENTINA: SOYA-FICATION BRINGS ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVASTATION
In a revealing article, agronomist and geneticist Alberto Lapolla explains how Roundup Ready GM soya makes possible the rapid expansion of soya farming into region