US attack on EU policy based on systematic deception (16/7/2003)

1.US attack on EU policy based on systematic deception
2.WA Report Recommends Staying GMO-Free
3.BUSH'S AFRICAN PHOTO-OP
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1.US attack on Eu policy based on systematic deception
Materials that US public interest lawyer Steven Druker is delivering to the European press and to government officials are available at:
http://www.globalcountry.org.uk/news.php?f=uk20030708p_gm.htm

Druker exposes how the US attack against EU policy on GM foods is based on systematic deception and also reveals how EU regulators are themselves misleading the public about GM food and have never truly upheld the "precautionary principle".

Points explained include:
*Although the Bush Administration attacks the "precautionary principle" as an illegitimate restraint on trade, it is actually the cornerstone of US Food Safety Law. US law clearly mandates that the precautionary principle be applied to GM food - andto an even stricter degree than does EU law

*GM foods gained approval in the EU only because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) covered up extensive warnings of its own experts, blatantly misrepresented the facts, and violated its own laws

*The EU regulatory process disregards sound scientific practices and has approved GM foods based on data that is grossly deficient and that in some cases even indicates potential health hazards
http://www.globalcountry.org.uk/news.php?f=uk20030708p_gm.htm
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2.WA Report Recommends Staying GMO-Free  
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/stories/s901549.htm

In Western Australia, a new report has found the state should maintain its moratorium on genetically modified crops until 2006 and investigate the possibility of remaining GM free into the future.

The state government's Environment and Public Affairs Committee spent the last year investigating the consequences of growing GM crops, talking to farmers, surveying major markets in the Middle East and Asia and travelling to Canada and the US for a first hand look at GM technology.

Committee Chair Dr Christine Sharp, from the Greens, says it became clear that WA is not ready to go down the GM road.

"Very initial segregation and supply chain management trials are still not complete," she said, "let alone designated to be successful. There's been no decisions on what are adequate buffers between GM and non-GM crops and that's just really the tip of the iceberg of a whole lot of practical and marketing issues which are simply not yet clear."

This is a transcript from the ABC National Rural News that is broadcast daily to all states on ABC Regional Radio's Country Hour and in the city on ABC News Radio.
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3.BUSH'S AFRICAN PHOTO-OP
PR Watch
"President Bush's stance on Africa should be evaluated on the basis of his administration's policies, not stage-managed trips," Njoki Njoroge Njehu, director of 50 Years Is Enough Network said. As Bush travels through Africa, many have criticized his trip as nothing more than a photo-op. "For example: The administration's position in the WTO limits or denies the means to procure HIV/AIDS medications at a reasonable price; the administration includes South Africa in the list of 35 countries to be punished for not exempting the U.S. from prosecution in the International Criminal Court; ... the 'emergency' $15 billion announced to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa has been spread over several years with no money available so far," Njehu said.

SOURCE: Institute for Public Accuracy, July 10, 2003
Web links related to this story are available at:
http://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2003.html#1057809600


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