from Jonathan Matthews, guest editor
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Dear all:

Claire Robinson has just moved house and has had unexpected problems getting a broadband connection, so in Claire's absence here's a stopgap Weekly Watch. Our normal service will be resumed shortly.

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

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CONTENTS
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GM RICE CONTAMINATION SCANDAL
ASIA
THE AMERICAS
AFRICA
EUROPE
LOBBYWATCH
MORE LOBBYING OF THE VATICAN
CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

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GM RICE CONTAMINATION SCANDAL
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+ EU TO TEST ALL US RICE IMPORTS
European Union nations have voted to test all U.S. long-grain rice imports to make sure they don't contain GM varieties that haven't been approved by the EU.

All consignments of U.S. long-grain rice will be sampled and tested at EU entry ports before they can be distributed and sold, the European Commission said.

The EU action is aimed at detecting a banned GM rice strain named Liberty Link Rice 601. The tests will ALSO check for another unauthorized genetically modified rice, LL Rice 62, recently found in French imports of U.S. rice.

The Commission said it has to start mandatory tests because the EU and the U.S. failed to agree on how to check for genetically modified rice not legally allowed on sale in Europe.

Talks broke down after the sides could not agree on a way of testing the rice to "a high level of consistency and accuracy". Previously, a shipment of rice certified GM free by the Americans was found to be contaminated when tested in Europe.

The costs of testing will be borne by exporters. The EU is a major market for US rice.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7140

+ US SAYS RICE TRADE CAN'T CONTINUE
The U.S. says the burden of mandatory testing may be too much for the rice trade to continue between the U.S. and Europe. Since the EU increased monitoring for GM strains, U.S. rice shipments to Europe have halted. Floyd Gaibler, U.S. deputy undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services says the new European testing program is "simply too onerous for us to accept."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7140

+ THAIS REAP WINDFALL FROM GM RICE BAN
Thailand, as the world's leading rice-exporter, has reaped a windfall as orders for non-GM rice have kept rising over the past several months.

"We've got more orders from Europe to replace those which would otherwise have gone to the US," said Wanlop Pitchyapongsa of Capital Rice, a major exporter.

He also said that this shows that Thailand's strength lies in non-GM rice, which should be maintained as the chief selling point.

Thanakorn Jitratangbunya of Chia Meng Group, another big player, said the risk of experimenting with GM rice was high and it should not be allowed in Thailand.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7134

+ WEBSITE DOCUMENTS ALL GM RICE CONTAMINATION INCIDENTS
Friends of the Earth have set up a website documenting all the GM rice contamination incidents (US and Chinese) in Europe:
http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/rice_contamination.htm

+ TOUGHER MEASURES NEEDED AGAINST GM CONTAMINATION
Friends of the Earth Europe is calling on the European Commission to develop a much more pro-active strategy to stop GM contamination. Adrian Bebb said, "It is clear that you cannot grow genetically modified crops outdoors without the risk of contaminating the whole food chain. Ideally, outdoor growing should be banned. Failing that, biotech companies must be forced to disclose details about their experiments so that we can track contamination of foods and take preventative action to protect public health."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7179

+ GM RICE LEGAL CHALLENGE ISSUED AGAINST FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY

Friends of the Earth has filed a legal challenge against the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) over its failure to take necessary action to prevent consumers being exposed to illegal GM rice in their food.

http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7147

+ HOW REGULATORS TRIED TO SIDESTEP THE LAW
Prof. Peter Saunders asks, "BSE, drug trials and GM food, who are the regulators protecting?"
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7175

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ASIA
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+ FARMERS UNION DESTROYS GM RICE TRIAL
A GM Rice plot in Haryana, India, was destroyed by Bharatiya Kissan Union (BKU) - a major Indian farmers' organisation - after more than 500 farmers, including many farmers from Rampura village in the Karnal district of Haryana, where the trial was being held, congregated at the trial site and demanded its destruction. The famers wanted to prevent GM contamination.

Among the protesters who destroyed the trial plot was Paramjit Singh, t