WEEKLY WATCH number 214
from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor
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Dear all:

If you read nothing else this week, don't miss our extraordinary story from Brazil, which strongly suggests that in an atmosphere of transparency, GM crops could not be approved at all. (THE AMERICAS)

An article that deserves a far wider readership than it will receive on the brave young web mag where it's been published looks at the recent massive bee die-off. The article fingers the culprit as GM crops. It seems there is evidence from the Netherlands that they can cause "colony collapse disorder". (BEE CRISIS)

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

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CONTENTS
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THE AMERICAS
ASIA
BEE CRISIS
PHARMING
EUROPE
AFRICA
COMPANY NEWS
LOBBYWATCH
BIOFUELS
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
CAMPAIGNS OF THE WEEK

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THE AMERICAS
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+ JUDGE MAKES GM BAN PERMANENT
A US federal judge on Thursday barred the planting of GM alfalfa nationwide, ruling that the government didn't adequately study the GM crop's potential to mix with organic and conventional varieties. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer made permanent a temporary ban he ordered in March on Monsanto's GM alfalfa.

According to an Associated Press article, "The ruling is a major victory for anti-biotech crusaders, who have been fighting the proliferation of genetically engineered crops. It is the first ban placed on such crops since the first variety – the Flavr Savr tomato – was approved in 1994."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7829

+ GM MAIZE APPROVAL POSTPONED DUE TO TRANSPARENCY!
EXCERPT from an amazing report from the GM-Free Brazil Campaign:

For the first time in the history of the CTNBio (the National Technical Biosafety Commission) its regular meeting has been opened to outside observers. The most important direct result was that the commercial release of GM maize, on the agenda for immediate approval, has been postponed indefinitely.

For eleven years, the Commission's meetings were always held behind closed doors. But a court decision in response to a suit filed by a Regional Federal Prosecutor in Brasilia was issued the first day of the April meeting, and forced the CTNBio's doors open to the public.

The commercial release of Bayer's gluphosinate-ammonium tolerant GM maize was expected to be approved at CTNBio's meeting. But Greenpeace representatives walked into the CTNBio meeting room and requested observer status, without the right to speak. Rather than back down, the Commission's president simply threw up his hands and canceled the March meeting.

A month of confusion ensued in the wake of that decision. First, CTNBio president Colli threatened to suspend the meeting again if "outsiders" insisted on attending. Meanwhile, more civil society organizations and independent scientists also requested authorization to be allowed in.

Groups of professors from two major Brazilian universities published letters criticizing the Commission, its procedures and the way it deals with science, as well as demanding more transparency and public participation.

Although the people authorized to enter the room did not have the right to speak, the powerful effect of the Commission having "witnesses" to its debates and decisions was amazing.

The Commission always portrays itself as a "technical" body and argues that "ignorant" people should not interfere in such complex matters as GMOs, on which they have nothing to contribute.

Indeed, closing the CTNBio's doors is the only way that the federal government had maintained the appearance of a "science-based" commission. Those who witnessed this most recent meeting watched even its own internal rules being ignored and broken by its members. Field trials are almost automatically authorized, "following a historical pattern," as declared one of the members.

Just like at the GM maize public hearing held in February, once again the best scientific argument mustered by pro-GM members of the CTNBio is the same one used by biotech companies: "GMOs have been planted for over ten years in many countries and no negative impact has been recorded so far." Some members, however, do go straight to the point, explaining that "my project will be affected" if the CTNBio starts to demand more risk analyses.

Even so, the awareness caused by the presence of civil society was enough to have the commercial release of Bayer's GM maize taken off the agenda. CTNBio members were certainly ashamed to decide "in public" an authorization so full of both technical fragilities and administrative irregularities.

CTNBio president Walter Colli and the Science & Technology minister himself have indeed promised to fight hard to close the CTNBio's doors again.

Colli actually changed his earlier stance and declared last week that the commercial release of GM maize "is not a priority for the Commission at this time" and may not even be put on the next meeting's agenda in May. He seems to be following orders to wait until the Commission's doors are closed so that they can "be alone" to decide the matter "scientifically". If this happens, Brazilian democracy will be the biggest loser. For the GMO promoters who always say that opposition to GMOs is merely ideological, it is important that the CTNBio's decisions be taken in secret, to keep their myths alive. The veil over supposedly science-based decisions also helps keep the real economical interests behind them in the shadows.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7825

+ GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT WEED PROBLEMS IN BRAZIL
A Brazilian TV report describes the serious problems of glyphosate-resistant weeds in Brazil as a result of the wide