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NEWSLETTERS
09 Jun 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. 45 June 2006 (short-form edition)
http://www.geinfo.org.nz/062006/bulletin45.html
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IN THIS ISSUE:
> Churches Oppose 'Terminator' Technology
> Individuals Could Pay For GE Contamination
> X-SCID Gene Therapy Substantial Cancer Risk
> Argentina Will Sue Monsanto Over GMO Soy
> German Firm May Abandon GM Potato Trials
> GM Foods To Be Banned From Moscow Schools
> Codex: Discussions Heat Up On Animal Biotech
> Biotech Grower Upsets Just About Everybody
> EU Backs Poland's GM Crop Ban
> German Politician Supports Re-think On GE Corn
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CHURCHES OPPOSE 'TERMINATOR' TECHNOLOGY
Spero News, May 15, 2006 (Online)
The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, called upon churches and ecumenical partners to take action to stop 'terminator technology'.
"Terminator technology locates food sovereignty, once the very backbone of community, in the hands of technologists and large corporations. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 1.4 billion people depend on farmer-saved seed as their primary seed source," explains the WCC general secretary.
Full item on GEinfo website
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INDIVIDUALS COULD PAY FOR GE CONTAMINATION
NewsTalkZB, May 28, 2006 (New Zealand)
There are concerns individuals could end up paying for GE contaminations. The Green Party says it has received a memo indicating New Zealand insurance companies are moving to deny cover for any harm resulting from genetic engineering.
GE Free NZ Spokesman Jon Carapiet says most studies show the public does not want GE in the environment, yet ironically they might end up paying for it.
Full item on GEinfo website
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X-SCID GENE THERAPY SUBSTANTIAL CANCER RISK
Salk Institute, April 26, 2006 (USA)
New studies conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies show that the only human gene therapy treatment to date considered to be largely successful, is riskier than realized.
Although replacement of IL2RG can cure X-SCID, the scientists urge caution in the use of such therapy on the basis of their new findings. "If you replace a gene that has multiple effects, you have to know more about its regulation and its ability to affect other genes, and that requires extensive preclinical work and a much more careful analysis," Verma says.
Full item on GEinfo website
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ARGENTINA WILL SUE MONSANTO OVER GMO SOY
Planet Ark, May 18, 2006 (Argentina)
Argentina will sue Monsanto in Spain and possibly France for the company's detention of Argentine soy shipments in Europe, stemming from a conflict over biotech soy royalties.
Monsanto has no patent in Argentina but nearly all local farmers plant Roundup Ready seeds. Some farmers buy certified seed, but many others buy contraband or legally extract and reuse the GMO seeds on their farms for free.
Full item on GEinfo website
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GERMAN FIRM MAY ABANDON GM POTATO TRIALS
Unison, May 24, 2006 (Ireland)
The German chemical firm that received permission to grow GM potatoes in Co Meath is reportedly considering abandoning the trials. The Environmental Protection Agency decided earlier this year to let the trials to ahead on a farm in Arodstown, despite intense opposition to GM food in Ireland.
Full item on GEinfo website
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GM FOODS TO BE BANNED FROM MOSCOW SCHOOLS
Itar-Tass, May 15, 2006 (Russia)
Foodstuffs containing GM products will be banned from Moscow schools and pre-school childcare centers, follow[ing] an instruction issued by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.
"Scientists have not fully studied the effects of GM products on the human body yet," [a] source said.
Full item on GEinfo website
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CODEX: DISCUSSIONS HEAT UP ON ANIMAL BIOTECH
Bridges Trade BioRes, Vol. 6 No. 10, June 2, 2006
Codex members have been developing draft guidelines for the conduct of food safety assessments of foods derived from GM animals.
The EU argued that given GM animals have attracted even more public concern than GM plants, governments should be given the explicit authorisation from Codex as an international standard-setting body to take into account moral, ethical and other public concerns regarding animal biotech.
Full item on GEinfo website
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BIOTECH GROWER UPSETS JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY
Associated Press, May 14, 2006 (USA)
In its quest to genetically engineer rice with human genes to produce a treatment for childhood diarrhea, tiny Ventria Bioscience has made an astonishing number of powerful enemies spanning the political spectrum.
US rice farmers in particular fear that customers in lucrative, biotechnology-averse countries like Japan will shun US crops if biopharming is allowed to proliferate.
The company has applied to the Food and Drug Administration to approve the protein powder as a "medical food" rather than a drug. That means Ventria wouldn't have to conduct long and costly human tests. Instead, it submitted data from scientific experts attesting to the company's powder is "generally regarded as safe." There is no requirement to label any food products in the US as containing GE ingredients.
Full item on GEinfo website
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EU BACKS POLAND'S GM CROP BAN
Food Navigator, May 10, 2006 (EU)
Poland's controversial ban on the use of 16 varieties of GM maize has been backed by the European Commission, despite warnings the law broke EU rules.
Poland's government, which passed the ban in the country's parliament last week, used cultivation rules set out in a 2002 EU Directive to justify its stance.
The clause says any Member State can ban crop varieties that are not suitable for growing on its land.
Full item on GEinfo website
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GERMAN POLITICIAN SUPPORTS RE-THINK ON GE CORN
Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Translated), May 24, 2006 (Germany)
Several days ago, the Bavarian Farmers Union (BBV) changed it's hitherto lenient position on transgenic technology. The union is urging its members to "avoid planting transgenic corn".
According to the BBV it appears that the CSU-party is also changing its policy regarding green transgenic technologies.
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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