| WEEKLY WATCH number 200 (18/11/2006) | |
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from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor Dear all: The 200th edition of Weekly Watch is bursting with news and information from right around the world. Amongst much else, watch out for a very important article from the Indian press - 'BT BUBBLE SET TO BURST - EXPERTS' - warning that pest resistance to GM cotton in Gujarat is making the technology redundant. "As for the rest of the country, it's only a question of time," says Dr K R Kranthi, a GM supporting scientist at the Central Institute of Cotton Research. This latest setback for the industry comes as opposition to GM is spreading like wildfire in India (ASIA). Finally, for some extraordinary insights into the corporate character of Bayer and Monsanto, see CORPORATE CRIMES. Claire [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------ GM RICE CONTAMINATION ------------------------------------------------------------ An article from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, "Rice farmers biggest losers over altered rice, exec says", gives a graphic and revealing picture of just what GM contamination has meant for US farmers, millers and exporters. It's a picture that should set alarm bells ringing worldwide whenever GM crop trials are proposed. Remember: no GM rice has ever been grown commercially in the US. There were only ever trials, and those trials were completed five years ago - back in 2001. So what has the GM contamination discovered some five years later meant for the US rice industry? *The industry's worst ever crisis *41% of US rice exports negatively affected As if all that weren't bad enough, another big headache for US rice farmers, as they struggle to eliminate GM contamination in order to try and regain market share in the future, is the lack of any certainty about the source of the problem. In August this year, a sample of Cheniere foundation seed grown in 2003 was found to contain a trace amount of LL601. Cheniere is the only seed rice that has tested positive for LL601. However, in the US's biggest rice growing state of Arkansas only 11-12% of all the rice acres were planted in Cheniere while 31% of Arkansas rice has been testing positive. In other words, three times more rice has been contaminated than one would predict if the Cheniere variety was the sole source of the contamination. And although Bayer is widely blamed for the multiple problems and the massive losses, so far the company has not stumped up a cent. ------------------------------------------------------------ + BT BUBBLE SET TO BURST - EXPERTS + TERMINATOR IN INDIA: TRIALS MAY HIT ROADBLOCK The paper says that GURTs, known as terminator technology, produces terminator seeds which do not germinate when saved for the next crop season. India's Plant Varieties Protection & Farmers' Rights Act banned the use of such seeds in India. + ANOTHER GM RICE TRIAL DESTROYED IN INDIA Suman Sahai writes in the Times of |
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