Save our Seeds

The first 'GMO Free Zones' in Poland were declared last week by 11 farmers in Malapolska Province and one community, Chmielnik, in Podkarpackie Province.These actions have been taken as part of an initiative by ICPPC (International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside) to raise public awareness about the dangers of producing and eating GM foods as well as the dangers of cross contamination between GM crops and traditional and organic crops. The establishment of GMO Free Zones has recently been gaining momentum in many European Countries, largely as a result of consumers' rejection of GM foods, but also worries about lasting damage to the natural biodiversity of the landscape.</p><p><a href="http://icppc.pl/">ICPPC</a></p><p><a href="http://icppc.pl/pl/gmo/index.php"> Pierwsze w Polsce "Strefy wolne od GMO" [only in polish]</a>

The European Commission plans to ask an EU regulatory committee toapprove the proposal at the end of next month. It would require Austria,France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom to endrestrictions on the use and sale of various biotech crops.</p><p><a href="http://www.genet-info.org/genet/2004/Aug/msg00026.html">Food Chemical News</a>

IFOAM, the world organic movement and ISF, the international Seed Federation held a world`s first conference on organic seeds at the FAO in Rome. GM seed contamination was one of the hot topics of the conference attended by 270 representatives from around the world.</p><p><a href="archiv/http%3A/www.unobserver.com/printen.php?id=1833">UNobserver: International Conference of Organic Movement and Seed Industry Held at FAO Headquarters in Rome</a></p><p><a href="http://www.ifoam.org/press/Organic_Seed_Conference.pdf">IFOAM press release</a>

Housewives in shopping malls in Beijing looking for inexpensive cooking oil nowadays find that they have very few options other than cooking oils made from genetically modified soybeans or corn.Almost all major brands, such as Fu Lin Men and Arawana (Jinlongyu), declare on their labels that their cooking oil contains GM materials. After the GM soybeans entered China, however, efforts to prevent the imports from contaminating indigenous plants remain lax.</p><p><a href="http://www.soyatech.com/bluebook/news/viewarticle.ldml?a=20040719-3">China Daily: Stricter rules needed on GMOs, say Chinese scientists</a>

Brussels, 19 July. EU agriculture ministers will vote today on anapplication by the US company Monsanto to allow the import into the EU of a genetically modified (GM) maize called NK603. This will be the seventh attempt by the European Commission to win support from the member states for a GM product - the previous 6 attempts have all failed.The maize, which has been engineered to resist Monsanto`s own herbicide (called RoundUp), has already been given the green light by the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). However, the Commission has so far failed to gain enough support from member states for the approval of the controversial corn. Only last month the Commission failed to get the qualified majority it needed for the NK603 to be used as animal feed. Today`s vote will be for its use as a human food.

Djakovo, Croatia--The announced destruction of Pioneer genetically modified corn (patented under the PR23G13 name) started last Friday in the fields of the Agricultural Cooperative "Osatina" from Semeljac, near Djakovo.</p><p><a href="http://see.oneworld.net/article/view/90114/1/">OneWorld South East Europe</a>

Tirana, 15 July 2004. Today, at the plenary session in the parliament was decided to be suspended without any deadline the draft law on "Protection of bio-diversity", which incorporates 5 articles on GMO`s. For almost all the political spectrum the reason for postponing was the fact that it contained the part about GMOs, which has been contested by the parliamentary commissions and civil society as well (environmentalist groups, consumers association, students association, scientists'community, etc.). The draft law is totally in discordance with the legislation of EU for the GMO.</p><p><a href="http://www.organic.org.al/activities8.htm">Organic Agriculture Association</a>

A new herbicide restistant GM maize variety, NK 603 of Monsanto has been approved for planting in Argentina despite the fact that the European Union has not yet approved this maize for import. EU agricultural ministers will vote on approving NK 603 (for import, not for growing) on Monday 19th July. However, the EU Commission had already announced it would approve NK 603, even if the ministers fail to agree. Argentinas GM farmers are keen to use RoundupReady corn in rotation with their RoundupReady soybeans despite environmental and agronomic concerns.</p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.co.uk//newsPackageArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=5VQMAZTGT0G0KCRBAELCFFA?type=scienceNews&amp;storyID=5661813&amp;section=news">Reuters : Argentina OKs Monsanto`s Roundup Ready GMO Corn</a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/pending/nk603briefing.pdf">Friends of the Earth briefing on NK 603</a>

There is huge confusion in both the government`s and the European Union`s position in relation to GM crops, especially in relation to thresholds of contamination of non-GM crops and thus liability,' a report by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, said .'We recommend that the government begin the process of consultation soon, so that final details of a coexistence and liability regime for GM crop cultivation can be settled."<a href="http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=543330&section=news">Reuters: Govt urged to set biotech crop rules</a>

Experts at a hearing of the European Economic and Social Affairs Committee in Brussels warned that coexistence of GM and non GM crops could cost farmers millions of Euro in additional costs for tests, segregation, prevention and control. It might even not be possible in many areas. Additional costs will occure for producer cooperatives, mills and other processors as well as entire regions.</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/saveourseeds/news/international/short_background_en.pdf">Voss: Dimensions of costs of coexistence</a></p><p><a href="http://zs-l.de/coexistence">documentation of the hearing on coexistence</a>