Save our Seeds

Last week the EPs committee on Environment and Consumer Protection voted on nearly 600 amendments regarding two proposed EU regulations on GMOs:1. Regulation on traceability of GMOs, GM food, feed (COM(2002) 182),2. Regulation on genetically modified food and feed (COM(2001) 425).The Committee demands labeling of all GMO products, including animal products derived from GMO feeding, and a maximum threshold for labelling GMOs in food at 0,5%. It rejected any exemptions for unauthorised GMOs. The plenary of the EP will vote on the proposal in its July session.</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/ep_vote_foodfeed.pdf">Full debriefing on the Committees vote</a>

According to a press release issued by the Greek Ministry of Agriculture on June 5th, the PCR testing of all seed lots of cotton, maize, sugarbeet and tomato is over and the results are1. maize: 475 samples , 474 negative, 1 positive, the entire seed lot was destroyed2. tomato: 115 samples, all negative3. sugar beats: 19 samples, all negative4. cotton: 640 samples, 638 negative, 2 positive (the seed lots were re-exported).Interesting to note, that nearly half of the cotton seeds (approx 45%) were of US origin. In other terms there is plenty of clean seed.Nikos Charalambides, Greenpeace Greece

Crosspollination will be a major stumbling block for transgenic crops in the future.June 2002 Nature Biotechnology - Volume 20 Number 6 pp 537 - 541By Stuart Smyth, George G. Khachatourians & Peter W.B. Phillips<a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/nat_biotech_june.pdf">Article in Nature Biotechnology</a>

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of th UN has opened an electronic discussion about gene flow from GMOs to non-GM crops with special emphasis on their impact on developing countries.</p><p><a href="http://www.fao.org/biotech/C7doc.htm">FAO: Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture: Conference 7</a>

The Committee, which is presently discussing labeling and treaceability regulations for GMOs in food and feed, will send a letter to the EU Commission asking not to set thresholds for seed contamination while thresholds for GMOs in food and feed are still under discussion.</p><p><a href="http://www.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/envi/default_en.htm">Meeting documents of the Environment and Consumers Committeeh</a>The Green member of the Committee, Hiltrud Breyer issued a press release on the Seed Directive<a href="http://www.greens-efa.org/en/press/detail.php?id=1011&lg=en">press release of Mrs Breyer in Englishh</a></p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/breyer_pe_de.pdf">Presseerklärung in Deutsch</a>

Gaby Hinsliff, chief political correspondentSunday May 26, 2002 The Observer<a href="http://politics.guardian.co.uk/green/story/0,9061,722464,00.html">Guardian Unlimited Politics Special Reports GM 'could kill off ' organic farms</a>

The EU`s Joint Research Centre today has published it`s report CO-EXISTENCE OF GM CROPS WITH CONVENTIONAL AND ORGANIC CROPS, which had been leaked a week ago. The study confirms high additional costs for all farmers. The full 145 p study can be downloaded on the web-page as well.</p><p><a href="http://www.jrc.cec.eu.int/default.asp?sIdSz=our_work&sIdStSz=focus_on">Joint Research Centre</a>

a selection of articles published on the EU Commissions study on costs of introduction of genetically modified crops in English, German, french, italian, spanish, swedish and danish.</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/press_clips_EU_study.rtf">press clippings in rtf format for your convenience</a></p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/press_clips_EU_study.pdf">press clippings in pdf format</a>

New Scientist May 18, 2002 - Much of the British countryside may be off-limits to genetically modified crops before the government even decides if they can be grown commercially. The reason is organic farming, which is becoming ever more popular in Britain. If it continues to boom, many potential GM crop sites will disappear, a computer model suggests. For instance, GM maize cannot be planted within 200 metres of organic crops. This buffer zone is designed to prevent the GM crops cross-fertilising with their neighbours, "contaminating" produce.</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/squeezedout_ns.pdf">Full text of the New Scientist article</a>

BRUSSELS, May 17 (Reuters) - Organic and conventional farmers will face extra costs keeping their produce "GM-free" once genetically modified crops become more common in Europe, the European Commission said on Friday.</p><p><a href="http://www.agriculture.com/worldwide/IDS/2002-05-17T144104Z_01_L1779050_RTRIDST_0_FOOD-EU-GENES.html">@gWorldwide - EU says farmers face extra costs to stay GM-free</a>