GM WATCH MONTHLY REVIEW No. 36
Claire Robinson, editor

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MONTHLY REVIEW CONTENTS
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GM RICE CONTAMINATION SCANDAL
OTHER CONTAMINATION STORIES
GM FAILURES
GM BANS / RESTRICTIONS
CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF GOVERNMENT
TERMINATOR
PHARMING
RESEARCH
CORPORATE CRIMES
LOBBYWATCH
NEW BOOK

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GM RICE CONTAMINATION SCANDAL
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+ ILLEGAL GM RICE IN U.S. FOOD SUPPLY - FDA/USDA
Late on Friday 18 August it was announced that an unapproved GM rice (LLRice 601) grown only in Bayer field trials had been found contaminating US long-grain rice. http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6908

+ JAPAN SUSPENDS U.S. LONG-GRAIN RICE IMPORTS
Japan quickly suspended imports of all US long-grain rice. Japan has a zero-tolerance policy on imports of unapproved GM crops, and importers of crops tainted with unapproved GMOs must destroy them or ship them back to exporting countries.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6910

+ GM CONTAMINATION WIDESPREAD: BAYER KNEW IN MAY
An article in the New York Times shows that:
***Rice marketer Riceland Foods knew in January that there was contamination of rice destined for export and human consumption
***The contaminated rice appears to be widespread across Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas
***There appear to be many positive samples
***Bayer knew about this in May, but apparently did not inform USDA until July
31
***And USDA did not go public until nearly 3 weeks later.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6927

+ U.S. KNOWINGLY SHIPPED BANNED FOOD FOR A YEAR - UK AFFECTED
Britons have unwittingly been eating banned GM rice imported from the US for months, if not years, food safety experts fear.

Imports of the rice were stopped by the European Commission (EC) on 24 August. But investigations in the US show that it has long been "widespread" in grain destined to be shipped overseas.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6936

+ USDA HIDES ANOTHER BIOTECH DISASTER - FOR SAKE OF MONEY
At a press conference, US secretary of agriculture Mike Johanns indicated that an economic motive was behind the government's delay in informing the public about the contamination, as the government anticipated foreign rice importers might reject the product. Johanns said the USDA spent the time preparing tests for rice importers to check the product for contamination.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6953

+ ILLEGAL GM RICE CONFIRMED IN NETHERLANDS
A shipment of LL601 GM rice from the United States arrived in the Netherlands on 26 August, the European Commission said.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6962

+ EU STILL WAITING FOR DETAILS ON ILLEGAL RICE
EU food safety authorities are still waiting for Washington to provide more details about the unauthorised biotech rice strain. "We still have no formal information about the extent of the contamination, origin or timeframe for when this happened," one EU official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But we have heard informally from the rice industry that their preliminary testing indicates that the contamination may be much more widespread than first thought," he said.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6957

+ "ALMOST ALL THE TESTS ARE POSITIVE"
Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Richard Bell comments on the results of tests for the illegal GM rice: "Almost all the tests are showing up positive... I'm not aware of any milled rice it hasn't shown up in." He added, "The people who will gain the most will be the testing laboratories and attorneys."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6951

+ PROTEST DEREGULATION OF ILLEGAL RICE
On 22 August 2006 Bayer applied for the deregulation of LL601. This would instantly transform it from a contaminant to an administrative oversight. GM Free Cymru has protested to Neil Hoffman at APHIS and has asked for others to do the same. His e-mail address is [email protected]. GM Free Cymru's letter is at http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6939

+ U.S. GOVT OVERSIGHT OF GM CROPS SEEN LACKING
A superb Reuters commentary says criticism is mounting over the US government's failure to control experimental GM crops in the wake of the GM rice contamination.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6958

+ FARMERS FACE MASSIVE LOSSES AS MARKET CRASHES
Following USDA's announcement about the GM contamination, the market reacted negatively. Dwight Roberts, president of the US Rice Producers' Association (USRPA), said, "There is no good news with this... On (Aug. 21) the futures market fell 28 cents. (On Aug. 22), it fell the limit. Overnight trading was up a few cents but has since fallen. ... This is not what we wanted to hear." For losses on (Aug. 21 and Aug. 22) alone, "we calculate farmers lost about $150 million. We feel farmers shouldn't take the brunt of this." http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6957

+ LAWSUITS FLOURISH AS U.S. RICE FARMERS SUE BAYER OVER GM RICE
Rice farmers in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and California have sued Bayer CropScience, alleging its GM rice has contaminated the c