1.KUWAIT, MIDEAST NATIONS URGED TO BLOCK IMPORT OF GM RICE FROM US
2.EXPORTERS FLASH GM RICE ALERT

GM WATCH COMMENT: The Indian department of biotechnology official quoted in the second article below says about GM field trials, "There is no reason at all for concern when proper procedures are followed."

But those who conducted the GM rice trials in the US that led to the current contamination crisis say they not only followed the proper procedures but chose to exceed them.

This is the real problem with the claims made for GM containment, coexistence, etc. In the final analysis, the critical issue is not the care taken to prevent something happening but the actual concrete results.

Lobbyists and bureaucrats may be able to build a paper mountain with all the detailed reasoning and elaborate procedures that should ensure the prevention of GM contamination. Contamination incident after contamination incident, however, has shown their planning and procedures simply don't work.

There has been worldwide illegal contamination of wild plants, seed, food and feed, all thanks to GM crops. It has led to international shipments rejected, product withdrawals and legal cases costing millions.

The catalogue of disturbing incidents includes:

* Mixing of unapproved GM crops in food

* Inadvertent mixing of different GM strains even in high profile scientific field trials

* Ordinary crops being contaminated with GM crops containing pharmaceuticals

* Growing international distribution of illegal antibiotic resistant GM maize seeds
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6318

And it's not just a problem with crops. Even pork from genetically engineered pigs has been sold to consumers!!

And, as noted above, contamination has occurred even in countries conducting the most "carefully controlled" high-profile scientific evaluations, such as the UK's farmscale trials.

What hope is there then for India where the relevant national and local officials often do not know where GM trials are taking place; where farmers are often not even told that trial crops on their land are GM; and where unapproved GM trial produce has repeatedly been illegally harvested, sold and consumed, instead of being destroyed. Such violations have become a routine phenomenon, with no liability and monitoring mechanisms in place to check them.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6309
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6077

Contamination of the food chain is more than inevitable in such circumstances and India's rice exporters are absolutely right to be alarmed. (item 2)

On top of that, the more than 130 significant contamination incidents around the world we know about may well only be the tip of the iceberg. According to Dr. Sue Mayer of GeneWatch UK, which keeps an international contamination register: "Most incidents of contamination are actually kept as confidential business information by companies as well as public authorities."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7088

But if we look at what is known - as opposed to all the carefully argued detail of what we're told should or will happen - things become crystal clear.

This "ends analysis", based on the actual concrete results of GM experimentation, shows this technology cannot be contained once it leaves the laboratory. Indeed, experience suggests it sometimes cannot be contained even in the laboratory!

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1.KUWAIT, MIDEAST NATIONS URGED TO BLOCK IMPORT OF GM RICE FROM US Arab Times, Kuwait, 2 November 2006 http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/kuwait/Viewdet.asp?ID=9108&cat=a

Country lacks law to restrict genetically modified foods: Khaled Al-Fahad

KUWAIT (KUNA): Kuwait has no laws or regulations against importing Gene-tically Modified (GM) foods, Controller of Standards Control at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Department of Standards, Khaled Al-Fahad, told KUNA. The issue remains unclear on the international level, therefore, countries have been reluctant to join one of the two camps, he added. Al-Fahad continued this issue remains a hot topic internationally; once there is some global consensus on GM foods, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will follow agreements.

To date, this issue is surrounded by speculation and science has yet to provide definitive answers, said Al-Fahad. This issue has divided the international community into two camps. The first camp, headed by the US, finds GM foods to be acceptable and does not have any legislation to criminalize it. The US has argued that GM foods have no compromised nutritional value therefore legislation against it is uncalled for. Green Peace had announced previously that a type of GM American rice, unfit for human consumption, was found in a number of Mideast countries including Kuwait.

The organization called on local governments to stop importing the rice that could affect public health. They have added that no solid scientific evidence has surfaced to prove that these foods are unfit for human consumption. The second camp is headed by the Europeans who have criminalized genetically modifying foods and claim the serious effects of GM foods on humans have yet to be uncovered. They add modifying foods can also impact the environment.

This camp based its arguments on some limited scientific findings. The rest of the world has remained indecisive on this issue. The International Association for Food Protection has been disputing consumer’s right to know the origin of the food being consumed and how detailed labels should be. Unlabeled GM foods can only be recognized by costly laboratory tests, said Hashimiya Al-Enezi, Secretary of the Standing Food Committee.