Spanish GM soya blocked / US's first GMO labeling law / Oz farmers warn of US GM push (29/4/2004)

Excerpt: The WA Government says it is not worried about a complaint to the WTO about bans on genetically modified crops.

Agriculture Minister Kim Chance says he does not believe the US will succeed.

"I think the grounds on which they have attacked the European Union's import processes are spurious and the WTO appellant body will find them so," he said. (item 3)

some items shortened

1.Spanish GM soya blocked
2.US's first GMO labeling law signed into law
3.Oz farmers warn of US push for GM crops on domestic market
4.GM crop growers must follow refuge guidelines or face ban
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1.Spanish GM soya blocked
Thursday 29 April 2004
http://www.greenconsumerguide.com/index.php?news=1870

A ship importing thousands of tons of genetically modified soya into Spain this week was prevented from unloading by protesters from Greenpeace, who are demanding a stop to GMO contamination of conventional food supplies.

Campaigners boarded the 'Winner' vessel near Malaga harbour and displayed banners reading 'Spain does not want GE food' in Spanish and English. The group are calling for authorities to investigate the ship's documentation and legal status of the GM cargo.

The cargo originates from Argentina, one of the world's main exporters of soya, both GM and GM contaminated.

"GE soya does not feed the world as suggested by the misleading and cynical marketing of GE companies like Monsanto," Lindsay Keenan,  Greenpeace International GE Campaigner.

"GE soya does destroy the environment where it is grown in Argentina and then millions of tons of it are used to feed pigs, cows and chickens in Europe."
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2.Douglas signs nation's first GMO labeling law
The Barre Times & Montpellier Argus, USA, by Darren M. Allen
http://www.timesargus.com/04/Story/82750.html
27 Apr 2004

MONTPELIER - Gov. James Douglas Monday made Vermont the first state to require manufacturers of genetically modified seeds to label and register their products.

Under the bill, seeds that are genetically altered or engineered must be labeled as such after Oct. 1. Seed manufacturers must report their total sales in the state to the Secretary of Agriculture every Jan. 15.

The amount of genetically altered crops grown in Vermont is not precisely known, as the only data comes from seed manufacturers on a voluntary basis. Estimates last year by state officials pegged the figure at anywhere between 20 percent and 40 percent - or more or less, according to Bayard Littlefield, coordinator of the Vermont Genetic Engineering Action Network.

"The people who are opposed to this technology are pleased that the governor has signed this measure into law," she said.

She praised the new law's distinction between genetically altered seeds and hybrid seeds, and said the governor should be commended for listening to the hundreds of people who have descended on Montpelier during the legislative session.

The bill arrived on the governor's desk last Friday evening. Although he had five business days under the state constitution in which to sign or veto the measure, he decided to use his pen Monday. "The calendar is  dictating this," Douglas said.

His swift action on the measure took some of the bill's most ardent supporters by surprise.

"This is great news," said Amy Shollenberger, policy director of Rural Vermont. "I'm really encouraged that he went ahead and signed it right away. It's a great first step for Vermont to enact this right-to-know bill."
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3.Farmers warn of US push for GM crops on domestic market
Thursday, 29 April 2004
http://www.abc.net.au/northwestwa/news/200404/s1097028.htm

WA Farmers has warned the Federal Government to be prepared for a move by the United States to try to push their genetically modified (GM) crops onto the domestic market.

The warning comes after the US complained to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about moratoriums on GM crops.

The US, backed by Canada and Argentina, claims the European Union is trying to ban imports of GM crops and as a result is blocking potential trade.

WA was declared GM free last month but WA Farmers president Trevor De Landgrafft predicts the US may mount a legal case to push the issue in Australia.

The WA Government says it is not worried about a complaint to the WTO about bans on genetically modified crops.

Agriculture Minister Kim Chance says he does not believe the US will succeed.

"I think the grounds on which they have attacked the European Union's import processes are spurious and the WTO appellant body will find them so," he said.
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4.[GM] Corn growers must follow EPA refuge guidelines
Apr 23, 2004
http://deltafarmpress.com/news/bt-refuge-guidelines/

ST. LOUIS – The National Corn Growers Association says farmers who do not follow [the US regulatory agency] EPA's refuge guidelines for corn containing the bacillus thuringiensis or Bt gene in 2004 may not be allowed to plant those varieties in 2005.

Those include farmers in cotton growing areas of the South who may not plant more than 50 percent of their acreage in Bt varieties that are resistant to corn borers and other insects under EPA's insect resistance management guidelines.

"For the first time, there may be growers who will be denied access to the Bt technology for the 2005 growing season if they do not meet the refuge requirements again in 2004," the NCGA said in a press release to its members.  


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