WEEKLY WATCH number 180 (23/6/2006) | |
from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor Dear all: I wonder just who is convinced by the US "regulator", the FDA's latest move to protect the safety of the nation's food supply. Apparently the FDA, which currently requires no oversight of GM crops, is to recommend - but not require - companies wanting to release such crops to report their work first and vouch for its safety! Oh, and this recommendation doesn't even cover GM pharmaceutical crops. Reassured, are we? The biotechnology industry certainly is. Its trade body - BIO - has praised the FDA for ensuring the safety of the food supply and recognizing that accidents with experimental proteins are "natural"!! Only in America. (THE AMERICAS) Meanwhile, in India the resistance to GM crops has been rising to remarkable new heights with even a Chief Minister and former promoters of GM coming out against the technology. They have been joined by Dr Pushpa Bhargava, a world-renowned pioneer of genetic engineering in India, who has called for GM seed to be immediately withdrawn from the market "just like faulty drugs". "It is an absolute scandal for us to allow further trials despite the failure of Bt cotton," says Dr Bhargava. (ASIA) Claire [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------ PODCASTS ------------------------------------------------------------ The latest GM Watch podcast (no. 4) is now available at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=158600210 In this podcast, producer Peter Brown interviews GM Watch's editors about the dangers of GM pharmaceutical crops and the latest concerns over Monsanto's GM cattle drug rBGH. ------------------------------------------------------------ + BRAZIL GM CRACKDOWN + US STATE LEGISLATURES INCREASINGLY TRYING TO LIMIT GM + ACTION ALERT FOR CALIFORNIA USA RESIDENTS In 2005, a groundswell of organizational and citizen response stopped the California pre-emption attempts - help prevent the passage of this bill once and for all. 1. Call, email or fax your own Assembly member to ask them to oppose SB1056. True Food Network http://www.truefoodnow.org/ has set up an online action page or use the sample letter at http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6650 Call your local elected officials and encourage them to do the same. 2. Attend the Assembly Agriculture Committee hearing in Sacramento on 28 June to voice your opposition (for details, contact Becky at 510-647-3733 or [email protected]) 3. Forward this email to everyone you know in California and urge them to take action! + FDA ADVISES VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE OF GM CROP TESTS Bill Freese, a science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety, criticized the action for not requiring testing and for assuming contamination would be slight. "It is designed to make it look like there is regulation when in fact it's just a green light to allow contamination of food with these untested substances," he said. Conversely, the Biotechnology Industry Organization praised the FDA for "ensuring food safety" while recognizing that accidents with experimental proteins are "natural." |