WEEKLY WATCH number 161 (2/2/2006) | |
from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor Dear all: This week saw a lawyers' bonanza as rows over GM crops escalate. Monsanto has been suing European importers of Argentine GM soy for royalties it has been unable to collect in Argentina on its Roundup Ready technology. The WTO has delayed its ruling on the EU's GM embargo yet again (EUROPE). And India's monopolies commission has issued notices to Monsanto to cease charging exorbitant royalties on its Bt trait (ASIA). Meanwhile, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, acting as pawns of the US, have been instrumental in helping to undermine the international ban on Terminator technology (TERMINATOR). And Missouri is spending huge amounts of public money on avoiding "unpleasant surprises and controversies" for biotech companies wanting to set up home there (THE AMERICAS). Claire [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASIA ------------------------------------------------------------ + ORGANIC FARMING COULD REDUCE RURAL POVERTY - U.N. STUDY South Asian farmers who have switched over from using synthetic fertiliser to more eco-friendly, traditional forms of organic farming have earned more and achieved a higher standard of living, says a study by the United Nations. However, small farmers are often excluded from supportive government reform programmes that encourage organic farming, says the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). "In China and India, organic production is growing steadily," said the report. The study looked at the role of organic agriculture in rural poverty reduction. In addition to bringing about higher prices for agricultural produce, lower unemployment and less rural migration, "organic farming reduces the health risks posed by the use of toxic chemicals, as well as the high costs of chemical pesticides and fertilisers. (Also), the environment benefits from improved soil management and less polluting techniques," said the IFAD. + INDIA: FLEECING THE RURAL POOR But the reality of rural life, Sharma says, is very different. Even with India's Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, admitting in parliament that Bt cotton had failed in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, and with India's regulatory body refusing to renew permission for the cultivation of three Mahyco-Monsanto Bt cotton varieties, the company has successfully refused to provide a single rupee in compensation to the farmers who believed its promises. In fact, around the world the agbiotech industry refuses to accept any liability for the impact of its products. Even the deaths of indebted farmers - fooled by aggressive marketing into buying the company's expensive seed - count for nothing. http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6196 + SCIENTIST TAKES APART BT COTTON CLAIMS Dr Gurian-Sherman exposes the falseness of these claims and concludes that the kind of spin to be found in the article "is typical of proponents of GE crops, who don't seem to have enough confidence in their technology to make accurate and realistic arguments." Dr Gurian-Sherman is senior scientist at the Center for Food Safety in Washington, DC, and was formerly with the US Environmental Protection Agency, where he was responsible for assessing human health and environmental risks from GM plants and microorganisms. R K Sinha & Bhagirath Choudhary, the authors of the article Gurian-Sherman takes apart, are from the biotech industry-backed ISAAA and the All-India Crop Biotechnology Association (AICBA). + OUTRAGE AT INDIAN WELCOME TO MONSANTO MAN + SOUTH KOREA: BLAST FROM A DARK PAST In the wake of Agent O |