WEEKLY WATCH number 164 (24/2/2006) | |
from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor Dear all: Reports are coming in from India about serious allergy problems among Bt cotton farmers and handlers that are reminiscent of the problems found with Bt maize in the Philippines. In addition, calls for compensation for Indian farmers who suffered from the failure of Bt cotton are escalating, and the Maharashtra Government has already announced special financial assistance for Bt cotton growers. (ASIA) It can hardly be coincidence that a flurry of newspaper articles has just appeared claiming Bt cotton in India a great success! The articles turn out to be based on a highly suspect report by industry-friendly consultants commissioned by Monsanto! (ASIA) We also have some interesting articles on the corporate-led corruption of science. (CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF SCIENCE). Claire [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES ------------------------------------------------------------ + WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES STRONGLY AGAINST GM ------------------------------------------------------------ + HUNDREDS PROTEST AGAINST GM SPUDS IN IRELAND Politicians from across the political divide were in attendance at the protest, along with farmers, consumers groups and green campaigners. Eddie Punch from the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association said he and his colleagues were taking part because they believed Ireland should be able to market its food as natural and GM-free. "If we go down the GM road, we will compromise irrevocably our ability to sell to premium European markets [and] to the maximum number of consumers," he said. Canadian expert Prof Joe Cummins claims the GM experiment presents a clear risk of contaminating conventional and organic Irish potatoes. "The people and wildlife of Ireland should not be exposed to inadequately tested genetic constructions," said the Emeritus professor of genetics at the University of Western Ontario. Sign the petition against the GM potato trial at http://gmfreeireland.org/action/index.php ------------------------------------------------------------ + INDIA: BT COTTON SEEDS CAUSE ALLERGY The team said the toxins inside the Bt cotton seed were the main reason behind the allergy. Dr Gupta said that all respondents had itching of skin, while 86% of them had eruptions on body and 56% had swelling of face where as in some cases, the itching was so severe that they had to discontinue their work, or take anti-allergy medicine in order to be able to work. The use of the Bt cotton seed in the past two seasons has made cases of allergies in the region surge. The following is from the conclusions of the report: "All the evidence gathered during the investigation shows that Bt has been causing skin, upper respiratory tract and eye allergy among persons exposed to cotton. The symptoms vary from mild, moderate to very severe to the extent that one woman had to be admitted for 9 days as a result of allergy. The allergy is not restricted to farm labourers involved in picking cotton but has affected labour involved in loading and unloading Bt from villages to market, those involved in its weighing, labourers working in ginning factories, people who carried out other operations in the field of Bt cotton, or farmers who stored cotton in their homes etc. Thus the symptom is affecting people widely exposed at different places. The symptoms were not restricted to one particular farm but several farms in 6 villages... The doctor of this area also has reported a spurt of allergic cases in the last 2 seasons in the cotton season. Rea |