Save our Seeds

The University of California, Davis, is recalling about 30 tomato seed samples, distributed during the past seven years to research colleagues in the US and abroad, after it found out by accident the seeds were genetically modified.</p><p><a href="http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=6833">UC Davis: Tomato Seed from Seed Bank Found to be Genetically Modified</a></p><p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12982-2003Dec18.html">Washington Post</a>

The EP today adopted with a large majority (327:52) a report on the co-existence of GM and non-GM agriculture, which inter alia calls for labelling of GM contamination in seeds at the detection level, eu wide coexistence and liability rules and demands that no approvals for GMO cultivation should be approved until such legislation is in place.</p><p><a href="http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade2?PUBREF=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A5-2003-0465+0+NOT+XML+V0//EN&LEVEL=2&NAV=S">Report as adopted, in all languages</a></p><p><a href="http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe?204&OIDN=1506888&-tt=en">eurActiv: Parliament wants strict EU-wide rules for co-existence</a></p><p><a href="http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-NG.asp?id=48708">food navigator: EP adopts contentious report</a>

Some 1,500 quintals of contaminated grains of transgenic maize were found in a warehouse in Camerino, central Italy, by the Italian Forest Rangers Corps.</p><p><a href="http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=6806&start=1&control=224&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1">Checkbiotech.org</a>

Brazil`s government delayed until next year a congressional vote on a bill to regulate genetically modified (GM) crops due to internal disagreement.Meanwhile Monsanto announced it will launch a 2 mio $ campaign aiming at housewifes, mothers and students to improve the image of GMOs in Brazil. And on Dec 11th Brazil`s Supreme Court suspended a law banning the sales and cultivation genetically modified soybeans in Parana state.</p><p><a href="http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2003/12/09/rtr1174739.html">Reuters: Brazil delays GM crop bill vote until 2004</a></p><p><a href="http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=aaX.YotSl.wo&refer=latin_america">Supreme Court suspends Parana ban on GMOs</a>

Represenatives of EU member states failed to agree on whether or not to approve the marketing of Syngenta`s GM maize "bt11" for human consumption. The decision will now be forwarded to the Council of ministers who have 3 month to approve or reject the proposed first approval of a GMO since 1998.</p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3954361&pageNumber=0">Reuters</a></p><p><a href="http://www.foeeurope.org/">Friends of the Earth press release and backgrounder</a></p><p><a href="http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200312/146085341.pdf">USDA attachee report</a>

Presenting the United States AIDS relieve programme in Zambia, US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson said Zambia, which rejected genetically altered foods last year, must re-think its decision."It was a wrong decision by the government and I hope they will rethink it. We are going to make more food available to AIDS patients and the government must decide."<a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/5596293.htm">Reuters</a>

Three years after genetically engineered maize bannedfrom human consumption turned up in taco shells and was pulled from themarket, contaminated grain is still showing up in the nation`s corn supply.A federal testing program found traces of the banished grain, calledStarLink, in more than 1 percent of samples submitted by growers andgrain handlers in the past 12 months, government records show.</p><p><a href=" http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/nation/7386628.htm?">Contaminated grain still showing up in corn suppl</a>

The European Food Safety Authority`s (EFSA) Scientific Panel onGenetically Modified Organisms (GMO) has published today two opinions ongenetically modified (GM) maize NK603. The Panel has concluded that theherbicide-tolerant GM maize NK 603 is as safe as conventional maize.</p><p><a href="http://www.efsa.eu.int/p_gmo_en.html">GMO panels opinions and members</a>

a newly formed network of Irish businesses, farming bodies, Non Governmental Organisations, religious groups and citizens - is urging the Irish Government to reverse its decision to vote in favour of the approval of Syngenta`s genetically modified Bt-11 sweet corn for food and animal feed and to keep seeds free of GMOs.</p><p><a href="http://www.gmfreeireland.org/">GM-FREEIRELAND</a>

An own-initiative report on the co-existence of GM and conventional crops was adopted by the EP's Agriculture Committee on 2 December, demanding low thresholds for 'seed purity' of non-GMO products. The Parliaments plenary will vote on it in January.<a href="http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/1?204&OIDN=1506777&-tt=">EurActiv.com Portal - News nr 1506777</a>