Save our Seeds

Japan`s Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday it would accept U.S. feed grain cargoes contaminated with up to 1 percent of Bt-10 biotech corn to secure stable supplies of the key crop to the domestic livestock industry.</p><p><a href="http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsletter&topic_id=2&subtopic_id=9&doc_id=10566">Reuters via checkbiotech.org</a>

The European Union launched an integrated research project Co-Extra with 52 partners from 18 countries to study and validate biological containment methods and model supply chain organisations for implementing co-existence of GMO and non-GMO supply chains. Euros 13.5 millions will be spent to propose information structure, content and flow management and traceability. "Co-Extra`s objective is to provide all the stakeholders of the food and feed chains with a central decision-support system integrating the tools, methods, models and guidelines needed". The four year project comprises major national research institutions, GMO-laboratories and PR companies experienced in promoting GMO in agriculture and food. NGOs, regional and farmers representatives are not included. It will be financed in addition to a similar project called "Sustainable introduction of GMO in European Agriculture", Sigmea.</p><p><a href="http://www.coextra.org/">Co-Extra Project - homepage</a></p><p><a href="http://sigmea.dyndns.org">SIGMEA - homepage</a>

French farmers, Greenpeace, Attac and many additional organisations call for a European GMOpposition day on Jun 18th. More information available at their web-site in English, French and German.</p><p><a href="http://altercampagne.free.fr/">AlterCampagne = Day of opposition homepage</a>

The discovery of genetically modified rice being illegally sold in a booming southern Chinese city shows the grain is spreading across China and could enter markets overseas, Greenpeace said on Monday.</p><p><a href="http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/31219/story.htm">Reuters</a>

More than a third of US scientists, in a survey of thousands, have admitted to misbehaving in the past three years. Less than 1.5% admitted to falsification or plagiarism, but 15.5% said they had changed the design, methodology or results of a study in response to pressure from a funding source; 12.5% admitted overlooking others' use of flawed data. These results of an anonymous survey have been published in the latest edition of Nature.</p><p><a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7043/full/435718b.html">Nature: One in three scientists confesses to having sinned</a>

A German law court in Cologne/Germany ordered Monsanto to make public it`s confidential report of a rat feeding study with GM maize Mon863 after the company tried to prevent the dissemination of its own study, which shows detrimental health effects on the animals.</p><p><a href="http://www.ems.org/nws/2005/06/10/court_orders_mon">Greenpeace: Court orders Monsanto to make scandal report public</a>

Syngenta AG will ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve its Bt-10 biotech corn strain to assuage Japanese concerns over contaminated U.S. corn exports, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday.</p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8726408">Reuters</a></p><p><a href="http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=10504&start=1&control=225&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1">Reuters via checkbiotech.org: To satisfy Japan, Syngenta seeks FDA OK of Bt10 corn</a>

According to the Independent on Sunday EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson presses for faster GM food approval procedures while consumer protection commissioner Kyprianou wants to give member states more say on the issue.</p><p><a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=644299">The Independent: Mandelson wants to fast-track GM</a>

Minutes of the EU Standing Committee on Seeds of May 18th reveal a vivid and controversial discussion about the bans imposed by Poland and Greece on Monsantos GM maize varieties inscribed in the Common Catalogue of the EU last year.</p><p><a href="http://www.saveourseeds.org/downloads/Seed-Committee-18-May-05-Seed-bans.pdf">Annotated excerpts from the Minutes of the Seed Committee</a>

Although GM crops were grown on 80 million hectares in 2004, there is no global monitoring system of national and international agencies. GeneWatch UK and Greenpeace International have now launched the first register of this kind to record all incidents of contamination arising from the release of genetically modified (GM) organisms, including illegal plantings and negative agricultural side-effects.</p><p><a href="http://www.gmcontaminationregister.org/index.php?content=default">GM Contamination Register</a>