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NEWSLETTERS
05 May 2006
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THE GE INFORMATION BULLETIN
An independent digest of widely-sourced information relevant
to the GE debate
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No. 44 May 2006 (short-form edition)
http://www.geinfo.org.nz/052006/bulletin44.html
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IN THIS ISSUE:
> Salvage Prospect For 'Junk' DNA
> Watchdog Fails On GM Food: Chance
> EC Approved GM Crops Despite Fears
> GM Food - Is It Safe Or Not?
> Safety Checks On GMOs Flawed: EU Enviro Chief
> Biosci. Co.s Formalizing Ethical Decision-making
> US Interior Dept. Sued Over GMO Plantings
> Mali: Not On My Farm
> GM Trees Are Being Grown Secretly In UK
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SALVAGE PROSPECT FOR 'JUNK' DNA
BBC News, April 26, 2006 (UK)
The term junk DNA refers to portions of the genome which appear to have no specific purpose. But a team from IBM has identified patterns, or "motifs", that were found both in the junk areas of the genome and those which coded for proteins. The presence of the motifs in junk DNA suggests [it] may have an important functional role.
Full item on GEinfo website
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WATCHDOG FAILS ON GM FOOD: CHANCE
West Australian, April 10, 2006 (Australia)
Agriculture Minister Kim Chance [is] claiming the national food safety watchdog (Food Standards Australia New Zealand), does not adequately assess health impacts of GM crops.
Mr Chance opened fire in defence of the Governments move to fund one of only a few trials to be held worldwide into the effect of feeding animals GM crops. The plan attracted criticism from pro-GM scientists and FSANZ because the work will be conducted by a research group which is openly opposed to GM products.
Full item on GEinfo website
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EC APPROVED GM CROPS DESPITE FEARS
The Daily Telegraph, April 18, 2006 (EU)
The European Commission approved a range of GM foods and crops despite having serious doubts over their health and environmental impacts, according to green charities. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth said the documents revealed scientific arguments put forward behind closed doors in the EC's recent GM trade dispute.
In the documents, the Commission argues that there were "large areas of uncertainty about the health risks posed by GM produce," and that "some issues have not yet been studied at all."
Full item on GEinfo website
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GM FOOD - IS IT SAFE OR NOT?
The Star, April 15, 2006 (South Africa)
Ground-breaking new trials using both animals and human cells to test the safety of GM food products will begin soon at the country's only GM testing facility in the Free State.
Many agree that while tests have so far failed to show conclusively that GMOs are bad for your health, no long-term tests have ever been attempted.
Full item on GEinfo website
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SAFETY CHECKS ON GMOS FLAWED: EU ENVIRO CHIEF
Reuters, April 5, 2006 (EU)
EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas attacked the EU's top food safety agency on Wednesday for flawed risk assessments of GM crops and foods, saying it relied too much on data given by the biotech industry. In a strong hint he was unwilling to process new requests for approval of GMOs for growing until their long-term impact was known, [He] also warned against using such data as a sole information source.
Full item on GEinfo website
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BIOSCI. CO.S FORMALIZING ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING
University of Toronto Joint Center for Bioethics, April 3, 2006 (USA)
Pharmaceutical, biotech and bio-agricultural companies, grappling with an array of complex ethical issues, are gradually formalizing systematic approaches to ethical decision-making [and], faced with growing concerns, are recognizing and acting on public pressure to demonstrate business methods that are not just legal but ethical too, according to a two-year study by leading international ethics and bioscience researchers.
Full item on GEinfo website
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US INTERIOR DEPT. SUED OVER GMO PLANTINGS
Reuters, April 5, 2006 (USA)
A coalition concerned about the cultivation of GM crops in wildlife refuge areas filed suit against the US Interior Department, saying government workers illegally approved the planting. The plaintiffs said they discovered "a top Bush administration political appointee" overruled the wildlife refuge manager in allowing the genetically altered crops to be planted on land designated as a national wildlife refuge in violation of department policy.
Full item on GEinfo website
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MALI: NOT ON MY FARM
Le Monde Diplomatique, April 2006 (Mali)
For five days 43 small farmers met for an extraordinary exercise in participatory democracy. The provincial parliament invited cotton growers to form a citizens' jury to evaluate the potential advantages and dangers of introducing GM into Malian agriculture. The Sikasso forum was a response to the strong pressure being exerted upon African countries, led by US company Monsanto and the Swiss Syngenta Foundation.
Full item on GEinfo website
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GM TREES ARE BEING GROWN SECRETLY IN UK
The Independent, April 30, 2006 (UK)
The Government was forced to admit for the first time that GM poplar, apple and eucalyptus trees have been cultivated outdoors. All the plantations have either been destroyed by protesters or cut down at the end of experiments. Britain's only GM trees are now elms, resistant to Dutch elm disease.
Full item on GEinfo website
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The items in this Bulletin are excerpts from articles which remain the copyright of the original owners. The material is edited for brevity and published here for educational and public interest use only.
Subscribe to the Bulletin, download a PDF or Word version and read full stories at the GEinfo website.
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