posted by: "Sue Mayer" at sue.mayer@genewatch.org
GeneWatch UK Press Release
Wednesday, 6th September 2000
MONSANTO'S 'DESPERATE' PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN REACHES GLOBAL PROPORTIONS
A confidential internal report leaked to GeneWatch UK reveals that Monsanto is involved in a global campaign to promote GM foods by influencing which experts get on international scientific committees, promoting their views through supposedly independent scientists and gaining influence with key decision makers in government departments in developing countries.
Monsanto’s ten page internal report, headed ‘company confidential’, summarises the activities of its Regulatory Affairs and Scientific Outreach teams for May and June 2000. It describes developments in the regulation of GM crops in 20 countries world-wide and Monsanto’s efforts to influence them. The countries include Japan, Bulgaria, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil and Korea as well as the USA and the European Union.
“The leaked report shows how Monsanto are trying to manipulate the regulation of GM foods across the globe to favour their interests,” said Dr Sue Mayer, GeneWatch UK’s Director. “It seems they are trying to buy influence with key individuals, stack committees with experts who support them, and subvert the scientific agenda around the world.”
“The scale of their campaign shows just how desperate Monsanto is to save its business,” said Dr Mayer. “The report shows that they have virtually given up trying to influence the debate here in the UK, having failed to convince the public of their case. But it is worrying that Monsanto has clearly stepped up activity elsewhere, particularly in developing countries. And whilst Monsanto often claim they want to listen and engage in dialogue, it is quite clear from this leaked report that this is just window dressing for a behind-the-scenes campaign to promote their products come what may. Governments and scientists are going to have to take precautions against such pressure if they are not to lose even more consumer confidence.”
The following extracts from the leaked internal paper illustrate how pervasive the Monsanto campaign is:
“Global: Scientific outreach and Ag Regulatory was instrumental in assuring that key internationally recognized scientific experts were nominated to the FAO/WHO expert consultation on food safety which was held in Geneva this past month. The consultation and final report were very supportive of plant biotechnology, including support for the critical role of substantial equivalence in food safety assessments, antibiotic resistance markers used in these products, and the reservation of animal feeding studies to address specific questions rather than for routine safety”
“Thailand: A GMO detection lab was established by the Ministry of Public Health to develop methods to certify exports to Europe. The lab director Dr. Pakdi is a key player in international CODEX activities and has requested Monsanto’s assistance to train technicians and provide reference samples. Cooperation with this request is likely given the importance of the lab and Dr. Pakdi’s position.”
“Global: Contacts were made with the directors of Poison Control Centers (PCC) in many countries which should be especially useful to facilitate rational regulation because the Poison Center directors are relied upon heavily by state and local agencies;..?an editorial was drafted by Dr John Thomas, (Emeritus Professor of U.Texas Medical School in San Antonio) to place in a medical journal as the first in a planned series of outreach efforts to physicians; a meeting was held with Prof. David Khayat, an internationally well known cancer specialist, to collaborate on an article demonstrating the absence of links between GM food and cancers?..”
“Global: Monsanto representatives were successful at the recent Codex Food Labelling Committee meeting on maintaining two labelling options for further consideration by the committee?”
The full text of the leaked document is available on the
GeneWatch UK website: www.genewatch.org
Thanks to jill davies GE Legume inoculant - watch out!
hi all,
I’m forwarding this because it has serious consequences whether
or not you’re an organic grower, being that it’s now cover crop season.
While we are on the topic of legume inoculants, it is very
important to alert all organic/sustainable farmers to the fact
that there are currently genetically engineered Rhizobium inoculants
on the market. This can be pretty confusing. For example, Urbana
sells 2 alfalfa/clover inoculants - ‘Dormal’ which is not genetically
engineered and ‘Dormal Plus’ which IS genetically engineered.
For those of you who are certified organic farmers, most organic
standards do not allow the use of genetically modified organisms on
an organic farm. Genetically modified Rhizobium is just that.
There have been cases of organic farmers who have lost certification
on fields where they planted alfalfa seed that came pre-inoculated
with Dormal Plus. These fields lost certification for 3 years -
back to the start of transition - because this is considered a
prohibited material. Some organic farmers who ordered untreated
alfalfa seed (no fungicide) last year received alfalfa seed
pre-inoculated with Dormal Plus, even though they did not ask for it.
You really have to keep your eyes open! There are getting
to be more and more genetically modified agricultural products
on the market - its not just Bt corn and Roundup Ready soybeans
anymore, folks!
Therefore - before using any microbial inoculants - PLEASE -
verify with the manufacturer (not the dealer) IN WRITING that the
inoculant is not genetically modified. THEN - make sure you read
the label on each and every bag before planting to make sure that
you don’t inadvertently plant something that will jeopardize your
certification. Save your labels to document that you did not plant
seed with a prohibited inoculant. And talk to your certifier
about other products that may be genetically modified and
therefore may be prohibited.
This is for your protection!
Sustainable Agriculture Network Discussion Group
Mary-Howell Martens Thanks to NATURAL LAW PARTY WESSEX nlpwessex@bigfoot.com
GMO LABELLING OBLIGATORY FOR ALL FOODS
The Czech Senate has supported a government draft amendment
to the law on food products introducing obligatory labelling of
foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
The draft was approved in a vote on August 4 and was
supported by 44 out of the 54 senators who voted.
Following its earlier approval by the parliament,
the GMO labelling law is set to come into force later this year.
East Europe, August 2000
California Law Pins Some Segregation Costs to Biotech Seeds
(6 September - Cropchoice News) -- The law has passed both parts of the stat legislature and is
awaiting signature by the governor. Under the measure, a fee of
up to $5 per hundredweight of seed (about an extra $8 per acre)
would be levied on seed retailers who sell rice varieties with
“characteristics of commercial impact”.
From New Scientist magazine, vol 167 issue 2253,
26/08/2000, page 7
A pig of a problem FEARS about the wisdom of giving people pigs’ organs were reawakened
last week. A study in the US shows that transplanting pig tissue into
mice can lead to their becoming infected by viruses lurking in the pigs’
DNA, while another in France suggests that controlling these viruses
will be even harder than anyone thought.
It’s been known since 1997 that porcine endogenous retroviruses,
or PERVs, can infect human cells growing in culture. Now David Onions
of Glasgow University and his colleagues in the US have shown that
when pig pancreatic islet cells-the cells that make insulin-are
transplanted into mice with deficient immune systems, PERVs jump
the species barrier and infect mouse tissues. Their results will appear in Nature.
SCIENTISTS DEMAND GMO MORATORIUM
September 7, 2000
The Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Forum A10
Malcolm Sailor writes in this letter that a statement on genetically
modified foods, signed by 345 scientists from 41 countries to be
submitted to the State of the World Forum, Sept. 4 to 10, says:
“We, the undersigned scientists, call for the immediate suspension
of all environmental releases of GM crops and products,
both commercially and in open field trials, for at least five years;
for patents on living processes, organisms, seeds, cell lines and
genes to be revoked and banned; and for a comprehensive public
inquiry into the future of agriculture and food security for all ...
“According to the UN food program, there is enough food to feed the
world one-and-a-half times over. While world population has grown
90 per cent in the past 40 years, the amount of food per capita
has increased by 25 per cent, yet one billion are hungry. It is on
account of increasing corporate monopoly, operating under the
globalized economy, that the poor are getting poorer and hungrier ...
“Successive studies have documented the productivity and the
social and environmental benefits of sustainable, low-input and
organic farming in both North and South. They offer the only
practical way of restoring agricultural land degraded by conventional
agronomic practices and empowering small family farmers to combat poverty and hunger.”
Richard Wolfson, PhD In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 this material
is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes.
www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex for posting this
California is about to
enact a new law that will place a charge on sales of biotech
rice varieties. The fee would cover the cost of enforcing
segregation standards if GMO rice comes onto the market.
California’s biotech-pays approach is a reversal of the way
things are done in corn and soybeans. It places some segregation
costs on biotech seed, instead of saddling producers of
conventional varieties with all of the segregation headaches.
Can Xenotransplants ever be made safe?
Consumer Right to Know Campaign
for Mandatory labelling and long-term
testing of genetically engineered food
500 Wilbrod Street, Ottawa, ON Canada K1N 6N2
email: rwolfson@concentric.net
http://www.natural-law.ca/genetic
subscription to genetic engineering news of 12 months is $35
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