Save our Seeds

The French government has announced its decision to allow eight new field trials of genetically modified (GM) across the country after receiving 2700 mainly negative comments in a public consultation. The number of trials is down from 17 last year and 90 in 1996.</p><p><a href="http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?CALLER=NHP_EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=EN_RCN_ID:22103">CORDIS: News service</a></p><p><a href="http://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/20040602.FIG0240.html">Le Figaro: OGM, nouveaux essais en plein champ</a>

Russia has introduced tighter labeling controls for genetically modified (GM) foods, amid public and media debate tinged with an anti-American flavor. Environmentalists, including the leading group Greenpeace-Russia, claim that obesity problems in the U.S. are the result of GM foods. A leading Russian news website, Utro.ru, recently commented that GM foods have turned U.S. society into a "Frankenstein`s farm."<a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=%5CForeignBureaus%5Carchive%5C200406%5CFOR20040602d.html">CNS News</a>

The German Parliament with the majority of the governing coalition has called upon the government to put its weight within the European Union behind stringent labelling of GMO contamination of conventional and organic seeds at the detection level and to defend the purity of seeds. Germany thereby joins Italy, Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg in their opposition to EU Commission plans to establish contamination thresholds between 0,3 and 0,5 percent for GMOs in seeds. Most other EU governments have not taken a position yet.</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/saveourseeds/news/international/pe_26_05_04_en.pdf">Save our Seeds press release</a></p><p><a href="http://dip.bundestag.de/btd/15/029/1502972.pdf">German Bundestag resolution in German</a></p><p><a href="http://www.saveourseeds.org/downloads/com_draft_seeds_04_2004.pdf">Internal draft of the EU commission on contamination thresholds in seeds</a>

Even after the recent authorisation ofthe product through the Commission, the Swiss company Syngenta hasdecided not to market its GM maize Bt-11 in the EU. As a reason for this,Syngenta cited the resistance of the European food industry to add GMcorn to their product range.</p><p><a href="http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/1185812-0?204&OIDN=1507750&-home=search">Euractive: Consumer resistance puts GM corn on hold</a></p><p><a href="http://www.lesechos.fr/jjjdj20040521/lec2_industrie/4112406.htm">Les Echos: "Le produit autorise par Bruxelles ne sera pas commercialise"</a>

This page - last updated 6 May 2004 - contains tables that give an overview of the current state of play of authorisations granted, and applications pending, for placing genetically modified products on the EU single market under GM deliberate release legislation..</p><p><a href="http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/gm/regulation/euconsent.htm">DEFRA</a>

Had it not been such a tragic and terrible experience for art professor Steve Kurz at the University of Buffalo, the incidence could be seen as staging a perfect piece of critical art: The FBI`s hazardous material task force seized his house for suspicion of bioterrorism, a new source of anxiety in the USA. The material was actually equipment to identify GMOs in food.</p><p><a href="http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/">FBI abducts artist, seizes art, grieving Artist Denied Access to Deceased Wife`s Body</a></p><p><a href="http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/news-WKBW-2.html">WKBW News - Local Investigation Into Ub Artist Continues</a></p><p><a href="http://www.critical-art.net/ ">The Critical Art Project</a>

In a narrow vote the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that plants are patent protected in Canada. Therefore Monsanto was entitled to prevent Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser from using seeds containing their patented RoundupReady genes, no matter how he obtained these seeds. However, as Schmeiser had no profits from the use of the RR-canola, Monsanto was not entitled to compensation for his use of the patented plants on his fields. The court ruled on the assumption that Schmeiser intentionally planted Roundup Ready seeds and that they where not the result of accidental contamination blown by from neighboring fields.</p><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/22/business/worldbusiness/22crop.html?ex=1085803200&en=a0a5cd3d31bf120f&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE">New York Times: Monsanto Wins Patent Case on Plant Genes</a></p><p><a href="http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=eb3a6d9e-453b-4b9a-b33f-d011a80ebc7c">Montreal Gazette: Supreme Court rules for Monsanto in key battle with Saskatchewan farmer over seed</a></p><p><a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=454">ETC Group: Canadian Supreme Court Tramples Farmers' Rights</a></p><p><a href="http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/rec/html/2004scc034.wpd.html">Supreme Court of Canada: Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser</a>

The Commission of the European Community has approved for the first time since 1998 the commercialisation of a new GM variety, Sygentas insect killing Bt 11 maize. The decision was taken after EU ministers could not agree on the approval and despite safety concerns of national food authorities.</p><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4107497,00.html">Guardian: EU Head Office Ends Ban on Biotech Crops</a></p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=2JYBKDFUM51SCCRBAE0CFFA?type=scienceNews&storyID=5189503">Reuters: EU Lifts Five-Year Biotech Ban, Approves New Maize</a></p><p><a href="http://www.saverourseeds.org/downloads/background_bt11.rtf">background briefing: Votes, scientific assessment etc.</a>

The impact and promises of "modern biotechnology" for developing countries is the focus of the world food organisations annual Status report. The answers of the FAO sound rather cautious while media headlines spun it to "GMOs will feed the world".</p><p><a href="http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/focus/2004/41655/index.html">FAO: "Biotechnology: meeting the needs of the poor?" with link to full report</a></p><p><a href="http://www.genet-info.org/genet/2004/May/msg00109.html">A critical analysis of the FAO report and its media use from South Africa</a></p><p><a href="http://www.foodethicscouncil.org/library/news/pressrelease19may2004.htm">Food ethics council: UN hunger message spun off course</a></p><p><a href="http://www.viacampesina.org/art_english.php3?id_article=332">Via Campesino: Slap in the face of those who defend food sovereignty</a>

The British dairy industry, which imports hundreds of thousands of tonnes of GM soya and maize for cattle feed every year, could go completely GM- free for less than 1p extra per litre of milk, according to a study by Greenpeace.</p><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1215370,00.html">The Guardian, UK</a>