Fast Track lobbying and diplomatic arm-twisting is just the tip of the
iceberg. Other recent moves by government and industry on the biotech
front include the following:
. Don't worry about the monarchs. Based on incomplete and short-term
(industry-funded) studies, the global media dutifully reported in
September that GE corn doesn't kill a "significant" number of monarch
butterflies. The Gene Giants were shaken by studies published in 1999
showing that Bt corn pollen killed monarch butterflies. Never mind
that the same indentured scientists who reached the recent "don't
worry" conclusion admitted that one variety of GE corn-now to be taken
off the market-does indeed kill monarchs and their relatives. Never
mind that Bt corn kills beneficial soil microorganisms and beneficial
insects such as the lacewing or ladybug. And never mind that all GE
herbicide resistant crops, such as corn or soybeans sprayed with
Roundup or other broad spectrum herbicides, kill the monarch
caterpillar's sole food source, the milkweed plant. In addition, as
Dr. Rebecca Goldberg, a public interest biotech expert, told the New
York Times Sept. 9, the recent monarch studies are based upon
short-term observations, and thus are unlikely to detect "long-term
sub lethal" damage to the monarchs or their relatives.
. Over the objections of public interest groups, the US Environmental
Protection Agency in October gave the green light to reregister or
continue to allow the massive cultivation of Bt cotton and corn crops.
EPA approval was made despite mounting evidence that Bt crops damage
the environment, harm public health, and threaten the use of non-GE Bt
sprays, which are essential biopesticide control agents in organic and
low-chemical input agriculture.
- Genetic pollution in Mexico. Nature magazine (10/11/01) reported
that Mexico's irreplaceable traditional and heirloom corn varieties
are becoming contaminated with GE Bt corn. Although the Mexican
government has repeatedly declared that growing GE corn in the country
is prohibited, given that the nation is the world center for corn
biodiversity with 25,000 varieties, scientists have recently
discovered gene-altered corn growing in 15 rural communities in the
southern state of Oaxaca. Mexican authorities, despite a supposed ban
on growing GE corn, have allowed US grain exporters like Cargill to
dump massive quantities of US corn (much of which since 1996 has been
GE) on the Mexican market, supposedly only for human food and animal
consumption, but which obviously now has been planted or cultivated
across the country. Dr. Doreen Stabinsky from Greenpeace USA
described this contamination of traditional varieties as "only the tip
of the iceberg" and warned that "the international community must
agree on immediate preventative measures to avoid further
contamination."
- Reuters reported Sept. 19 that Monsanto and the US government,
despite widespread opposition from farmers and the Canadian Wheat
Board, are pushing ahead to secure approval for the commercialization
of GE wheat. Over 200 Canada farm groups sent a letter to Ottawa on
July 31 stating that "Overwhelming numbers of Canadian farmers and
consumers, as well as customers for Canadian wheat overseas, have said
they do not want GMO wheat." US wheat farmers in North Dakota and
other states have expressed similar statements, warning that GMO
contamination of US crops will damage the nation's billion dollar
export market for wheat, much as US corn and soybean exports have
already been damaged.
- Greenpeace reported on Sept. 7 that open field trials of GE rice
containing human genes are now being conducted in California.
Kimberly Wilson, spokeswoman for Greenpeace, stated that "There is
just no excuse to allow drug producing crops to be grown out in the
fields where they can contaminate the environment and the food chain."
Reuters reported Sept. 4 that the Asian nation of Sri Lanka had backed
off on its policy banning GE crops, under major pressure from the US
and the World Trade Organization. The Bangkok Post (9/27/01)
described a similar situation in Thailand, where heavy pressure has
been applied on the government to suspend its ban on field-testing GE
crops.
- Bt cotton, up until now illegal in India, has been found growing on
25,000 acres in the state of Gujarat. E. A. Siddiq, chairman of an
Indian Department of Biotechnology committee that monitors transgenic
crops, says: "This is a foretaste of a frightening situation where
transgenics will be out of control and all over the place." (Nature
10/11/01)
- Ignoring the will of 90% of the population, Canadian Members of
Parliament voted Oct. 17, against mandatory labeling of GE foods.
(Ottawa Citizen 10/18/01)
- 800 organic soybean farmers rallied in Belem, Brazil to accuse
gunmen working for large ranchers of murdering eight of their members
who had spoken out strongly against GE soybeans. GE soybeans are
illegal in Brazil, despite massive pressure by Monsanto, the American
Embassy, and a number of large ranchers and landholders. (London
Independent (10/8/01).
- Monsanto warned US corn farmers in late-October that commercial
strip tests will not be able to detect at least one variety of the
company's new herbicide resistant (Roundup Ready) corn. Despite last
year's debacle over likely allergenic StarLink corn illegally getting
into the food supply, which resulted in a massive recall of over 300
brand name food products and precipitated a steep decline in US corn
export sales, Monsanto continues to push ahead for approval to plant
new GE crops, even when these crops are not approved for
commercialization in key overseas markets such as Europe and Japan.
(Associated Press 10/24/01)
- In a briefing for journalists Oct. 4, the American Medical
Association (AMA) put together a panel of industry-sponsored
researchers who claimed that GE foods could be produced which enhance
health, have better nutrition, alleviate world hunger, reduce
allergenicity, and carry vaccines to combat disease. (Biotechnology
Newswatch 10/15/01). The AMA in the past has been accused of being a
cheerleader for Monsanto and the biotech industry. The British
Medical Association, on the other hand, has called for a global
moratorium on GE foods and crops, maintaining that they have neither
been proven safe for human health nor the environment.
- The industry think tank, International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), trumpeted on Oct. 18 that global
acreage of GE crops continues to grow-with a projected total of 125
million acres under cultivation by the end of 2001. What the ISAAA
fails to highlight however is that GE crop acreage has drastically
leveled off in the last 24 months after years of doubling and
redoubling. In 2000 there was only an 8% growth in GE crops. The
ISAAA also failed to mention that three, and only three, countries
(the US, Canada, and Argentina) continue to produce 98% of the world's
Frankencrops-which still include only four major industrial crops
(soybeans, corn, canola, and cotton), with one company, Monsanto,
holding patents on 80% of all cultivated GE crops.
- The US Department of Agriculture has announced that it will license
the notorious Terminator technology to its seed industry partner,
Delta & Pine Land Co. The USDA and D&PL are co-owners of three
patents on the controversial technology that genetically modifies
plants to produce sterile seeds, preventing farmers from re-using
harvested seed. (For details, see
www.rafi.org)
