Save our Seeds

tractors and food delivery trucks crowed the Brandenburg gate in Berlin on Wednesday at a demonstration for gmo free seeds. A broad coalition of farmers, consumers, environmentalists, trade unions and church organisations published an open letter to the German government demanding to stop the EU Commissions GM-Seed-Directive and establish strict purity laws instead.</p><p><a href="http://zs-l.de/saveourseeds/de/frame.php?page=demo_15_10">pictures of the demonstration</a></p><p><a href="http://zs-l.de/saveourseeds/de/frame.php?page=kasten_unten_aktuell">Open letter in German</a>

"They tried to lie to people, and they tried to force it upon people. It`s the wrong approach. You cannot force it upon Europe. So I hope they have learnt a lesson from this, especially when they now try to argue that this will solve the problems of starvation in the world and so on. But come on ... it was to solve starvation amongst shareholders, not the developing world," the EUs Commissioner for the environment, Margot Walström told journalists in London.</p><p><a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_medical/story.jsp?story=453124">News</a>

The UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has announced new, more stringent conditions for future GM crop trials, following the discovery of impurities in GM material at farm-scale evaluation sites . The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) was asked to review the regulations for GM crop research trials. ACRE has recommended a number of additional conditions for future trials. The government has accepted all of ACRE`s recommendations. The results of the farm-scale trial will be presented on October 16th.</p><p><a href="http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2003/gmreports.htm">DEFRA: UK agricultural ministries press release</a></p><p><a href="http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/acre/advice/pdf/acre_advice37.pdf">ACRE Review of the GM Inspection and Enforcement Regime</a></p><p><a href="http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/gm/fse/background/rationale.htm">DEFRA: background information on farm scale trials</a>

A coalition of local farming groups in Mexico has commissioned tests of native Mexican varieties and found devastating results. The analysis were carried out on 2,000 plants (in 411 groups of samples), from 138 farming and indigenous communities. In 33 communities (24% of total samples) from nine states, the tests found some presence of transgenes in native corn, including Bayers "Starlink" corn, which is banned and has been recalled in the US in 2000. The results show percentages of contamination that run from 1.5% to 33.3%, in a second round of analysis. Mexico is the only centre of origin of maize world wide.</p><p><a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/documents/NR_Maize_10_03ENG3.pdf">press release and summary of results</a></p><p><a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/documents/maizerage.pdf">ETC group: Maize Rage in MexicoGM maize contamination in Mexico - 2 years later</a>

Four scientific studies, not related to the UK farm-scale GM trials, have been published by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs. One of them shows that rape seed pollen can travel up to 26 kilometers.</p><p><a href="http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2003/031013b.htm">Defra, UK: News releases 2003:GM RESEARCH REPORTS PUBLISHED</a>

GM maize appeared to perfom better than conventional maize growing environmentally at UK field trials over the past 3 years, according to UK government studies, while rape seed and beet did not. However the GM maize only appeared to perform well because the herbicide used on the conventional crop was the particularly hazardous atrazine. Last week it was banned by the EU under its Plant Protection Products Directive.</p><p><a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=452418">Independent: Flaw in crop trials destroys government case for GM</a>

500 hector of a special maize, producing the basic protein for a cystic fibrosis drug could be enough to produce the world supply needed. The french mdedical company Meristem Therapeutics is looking fr save ways to accomplish that without contamination and without leaving a single maize-corn on the fileds.</p><p><a href="http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/Stories/0,1413,164%7E8305%7E1690420,00.html#">Fort Morgan Times</a>

Cross-pollination between GM plants and their wild relatives is inevitable and could create hybrid superweeds resistant to the most powerful weedkillers, according a study in the UK.</p><p><a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=451733">News</a>

The British government, Europe`s most outspoken GMO advocate, is rethinking it`s stance on allowing GM planting after a summer of setbacks. A Cabinet Office report concluded in July that it could detect no benefits for consumers or the country. Days later a group led by the Government`s chief scientist, Sir David King, said it would be impossible to grow modified crops without their genes escaping, raising the possibility of future health risks.</p><p><a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=450143">Independent: Government prepares to back down over GM crops</a></p><p><a href="http://www.agbios.com/main.php?action=ShowNewsItem&id=4856">IPS: Britain Set To Seal Future of GM in Europe</a></p><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1053886,00.html">The Guardian: GM crops fail key trials amid environment fear</a>

Although Brazil last week authorized the planting of GM soy until the end of the year and the sale of GM soy crops until end-2004, the government has not given the green light to sell or import GM soy seed in Brazil. Farmers can only plant the previously illegal GM seed stocks now in their hands.President Lula defended the partial legalisation of GM growing: "There were two options: either we prohibited GM soy and ordered the police to set fire to it -- which would have been a horrible picture in a country suffering from hunger -- or we could ... create a situation that would allow its sale."The Economist concludes: "Brazilian farmers will embrace genetically modified crops, unless European consumers pay them not to".</p><p><a href="http://www.agriculture.com/worldwide/IDS/2003-09-29T210928Z_01_N29219157_RTRIDST_0_FOOD-BRAZIL-GM-SOY.html" target = "blank">Reuters: Brazil seen short of GM soy seed for 2-3 years</a></p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3548515">President Lula on GM soybeans</a></p><p><a href="http://www.economist.co.uk/world/la/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2102001" target = "blank">The Economist: An amber light for agri-business</a>