GM WATCH MONTHLY REVIEW No. 50
FROM REVIEW EDITOR, CLAIRE ROBINSON
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Please forward this on to any friends and contacts who may be interested, and tell all your non-English speaking friends about our Monthly Reviews in Portuguese, Dutch and German.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=93&page=1

And if you'd consider joining the growing ranks of our wonderful volunteer translators, we'd be very pleased to hear from you. It's so important to get the word out on what's happening worldwide.

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

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MONTHLY REVIEW CONTENTS
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NEW RESEARCH
PROPAGANDA, FRAUD AND LIBEL
TAKE ACTION!
CONTAMINATION
RESISTANCE/BANS/RESTRICTIONS ON GM
REGULATION/LABELING
GM FAILURES
NON-GM SUCCESSES
ALTERNATIVE NOBEL PRIZE
BIOFUELS
HEALTH RISKS OF GM
CLONING
CODEX
LOBBYWATCH
NEW EUGENICS
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY

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NEW RESEARCH
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+ GM CORN MAY AFFECT AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS - STUDY
An extremely important new study shows genetically engineered Bt corn byproducts could be endangering aquatic life. It also raises big questions as to how U.S. and other regulators gave the go ahead to Bt corn without undertaking sufficient testing of their impact on aquatic ecosystems.

The study by scientists at Indiana University has been published online by the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences. Researchers, including Todd V. Royer, an assistant professor in the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs, established that pollen and other plant parts containing toxins from GM Bt corn are washing into streams near cornfields. They also conducted laboratory trials that found consumption of Bt corn byproducts produced increased mortality and reduced growth in caddisflies, aquatic insects that are related to the pests targeted by the toxin in Bt corn.

Caddisflies, Royer said, 'are a food resource for higher organisms like fish and amphibians. And, if our goal is to have healthy, functioning ecosystems, we need to protect all the parts. Water resources are something we depend on greatly.' Royer added, 'I think probably the risks associated with widespread planting of Bt corn were not fully assessed.' The research also raises a big flag about other Bt crops. Take, for instance, Bt trees which could contribute even more biomass to streams than corn.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8358
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8368
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8422

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PROPAGANDA, FRAUD AND LIBEL
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+ NEW IMAGE FURTHER DEMOLISHES MORRIS'S CLAIMS
Shane Morris's latest attempts at proving that the controversial 'wormy' sweetcorn sign wasn't up at the site of his GM research have spectacularly backfired - yet again. GM Watch has published a special composite image that computer scientist Tim Lambert has created that shows more clearly than ever that the 'wormy' corn sign is present in both the photos that Morris said showed it had been taken down. To see the new photographic evidence go to
http://www.lobbywatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=97&page=1

+ PAPER 'A FLAGRANT FRAUD' - RESEARCH ETHICS EXPERT
In a second open letter to Morris, Peter Melchett of the Soil Association notes, 'The current edition of the magazine Private Eye quotes a leading expert on research ethics at Cambridge University, Dr Richard Jennings, who describes your research as 'flagrant fraud'.'
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8350
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8352

For the background see http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8314

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TAKE ACTION!
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+ GM SUGAR TO HIT STORES IN 2008 - TAKE ACTION!
American Crystal, a Wyoming-based sugar company, and several other leading US sugar providers have announced they will source their sugar from GM sugar beets beginning this year to arrive in stores in 2008. US products containing GM sugar will not be labelled as such. Since half of the granulated sugar in the US comes from sugar beets, a move towards GM beets marks a dramatic alteration of the US food supply.

Meanwhile candy companies like Hershey's are urging farmers not to plant GM sugar beets, noting that consumer surveys suggest resistance to the product. In addition the European Union has not approved GM sugar beets for human consumption.
TAKE ACTION AT http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/oca/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=12700

+ TAKE ACTION - SUPPORT GM MAIZE BAN
European Environment Commissioner, Dimas, is reported to be opposing the cultivation in Europe of 2 new GM maize crops (both Bt) – Syngenta's Bt11 and Pioneer/Dow's 1507 because of the risk posed to the environment. But there is likely to be a lot opposition to Dimas from other parts of the Commission which are avidly pro-GM (see LOBBYWATCH). So we need to make sure that protecting the environment comes before industry interests. TAKE ACTION AT http://www.greenp