Save our Seeds

Participants from Albania to Scotland, from Turkey to Sweden, from Ireland to Azerbaijan and Georgia, more than 150 representatives of regional governments and institutions, activists and experts, farmers, politicians, scientists, lawyers and civil servants working for GMO-free regions in 30 countries will meet during the International Green Week in Berlin.</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/conference/Presse.html">Press release</a>

The EU`s food safety agency should give its first risk analysis this year of live genetically modified (GMO) crops - an issue that has split the bloc`s membership down the middle.</p><p><a href="http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/29049/story.htm">Reuters via PlanetArk</a>

Growing drugs inside plants - instead of making them in factories - could soon be big business with the U.S. market alone potentially worth $2.2 billion by 2011, according to a report on Monday.</p><p><a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17174144.htm">Reuters: Drugs made in plants may be $2 bln market by 2011</a>

Agribusiness giant Monsanto has sued more than 100 U.S. farmers, and its "seed police" have investigated thousands of others, for what the company terms illegal use of its patented genetically engineered seeds. In total, U.S. courts have awarded Monsanto more than 15 million dollars, according to a new report by the Washington-based Centre for Food Safety (CFS) called "Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers" "Monsanto`s business plan for GE crops depends on suing farmers," said Joe Mendelson, legal director for CFS.</p><p><a href="http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=27041">IPS News</a></p><p><a href="http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/Monsantovsusfarmersreport.cfm">Center of Foodsafety: Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers Report</a></p><p><a href="http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press_release1.13.05.cfm">Center of Food Safety: Press Release</a>

The law, which was published yesterday, January 13, in the Federal Register (Diário Oficial), requires producers to sign a declaration of commitment, responsibility, and adjustment of behavior by January 31, 2005.</p><p><a href="http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/1147/1/">Brazzil Magazin</a>

In Switzerland, new labelling regulations concerning GM food will apply from February 2005. The general question is - what will have to be labelled as GM food in Switzerland in the future?</p><p><a href="http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsletter&topic_id=6&subtopic_id=33&doc_id=9436">Check Biotech</a></p><p><a href="archiv/www.wti.org/conf/documents/Wuger_GMFoodSwitz_Draft_5.pdf">Consumer information on GM-Food in Switzerland and WTO law</a></p><p><a href="http://www.wti.org/conf/documents/SynthesisPaper_000.pdf">Synthesis Paper</a>

The most wide-spread genetically modified sources are found in soy-containing foods - meat products (17.7 percent), baked and cereals foods (16.7 percent), soy products (16.4 percent).</p><p><a href="http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=5306068&startrow=1&date=2005-01-13&do_alert=0">Russian News and Information Agency</a>

Biotech crops experienced the second highest hectarage growth on record in 2004 to reach 81million hectares (200 million acres). According to a report released today, authored by Clive Jameschairman and founder of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), global area for biotech crops grew 20 percent in 2004 - anincrease of 13.3 million hectares (32.9 million acres).</p><p><a href="http://www.isaaa.org/kc/CBTNews/press_release/briefs32/News_release/English.pdf">ISAAA Press Release</a></p><p><a href="http://www.isaaa.org/">Retrieve the report and further information via ISAAA</a>

Since 1997, Monsanto has filed 90 lawsuits for saving their GM seeds times in 25 US states against 147 farmers and 39 agriculture companies, according to a report issued by the Washington D.C. based Center for Food Safety.</p><p><a href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,66282,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_7">Wired News: Saving Seed Is Latest Tech Piracy</a></p><p><a href="http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/CFSMOnsantovsFarmerReport1.13.05.pdf">Centre for Food Safety, full report: Monsanto vs. farmers</a>

Syngenta, the global gene giant, has a patent pending in 115 countries that, if approved, would give it a multi-genome monopoly over at least 40 plant species.</p><p><a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=494">ETC Group News Release</a>