EU authorises Monsanto GMO maize
Reuters News Service, October 28, 2004 (Belgium)

The [EU] Commission used a legal default procedure this week that kicks in after months of deadlock between EU governments to issue an approval for a Roundup Ready maize type known as NK603.
Under the EU's complex decision-making process, if EU member states fail to agree after three months at ministerial level on allowing a new GMO into the bloc, then the Commission may rubberstamp an authorisation.
The quirky process means the rifts among national governments make it easy for the Commission to apply the rubber stamp to GMO applications, they say.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/01.html

EU farm chief: lowest GMO level in seeds
Reuters News Service, October 8, 2004 (EU)

The European Union's incoming farm chief waded into the divisive issue of biotech foods on Wednesday, saying there should be as little genetically modified (GMO) material as possible in batches of conventional seeds.
Mariann Fischer Boel, a former agriculture minister in Denmark, told members of the European Parliament that GMO seed thresholds should be set at the lowest possible level. This is also the position favoured by green groups.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/02.html

Consumer push for global GM moratorium
Food Navigator, October 11, 2004 (Thailand)

Yesterday Consumers International, a worldwide federation of consumer organisations, launched a campaign to stop the spread of GM crops until 'internationally agreed regulations are in place and there are clear benefits to consumers, farmers and the environment.'
The CI signalled with regards to existing GM foods it will focus on four areas - aiming to ensure that all GM foods are subjected to rigorous, independent safety testing; are adequately labelled, and traceable back to their origin; and that producers are held liable for environmental or health damage which they cause.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/03.html

Northland to consider GMO risks
Straight Furrow, October 7, 2004 (New Zealand)

Northland councils have taken the first step on a path that could lead to a ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the region.
Each have fronted up with $10,000 to fund an independent report which will take a hard look at potential risks posed by GMOs.
Whangarei District Council monitoring and policy team leader Kerry Grundy says the report will look at a range of options. "It will go from doing nothing through to a range of regulations to a regional prohibition of GMOs," he says.
Kerry Grundy [says] that people in the region appear to be more knowledgeable than those in other parts of New Zealand. "It's not just the greenies pushing this, farmers, our primary producers, are doing this."
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/04.html

African ministers discuss GM foods
Angola Press, October 30, 2004 (Kenya)

African ministers, meeting to bring a common Agricultural Policy for the East and Southern Africa region into operation, said there is an urgent need to develop a continental capacity to determine the safety of GM foods.
"Let`s not be in a situation where the whole of Africa will depend on one company producing the seeds," said Kenyan Vice President Moody Awori.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/05.html

Brazil state pushes for GMO-free status
Reuters, September 27, 2004 (Brazil)

Brazil's No. 2 soybean producing state of Parana said it asked the federal government on Monday to recognize it as an area free of GMOs. Gov. Requiao has said he intends to keep the port and as much of his state GMO-free because he believes the state will receive premiums for conventional soybeans from health conscious consumers in Asia and Europe.
The government has issued three temporary decrees in 2003 and 2004 to grant amnesty from prosecution to soy producers for planting illegal GMO beans. But the decrees also raised the possibility of creating GMO-free zones if they can be proven to be indeed free of GMOs.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/06.html

Asia may have to be cautious on GMO rice
Manila Times, October 28, 2004 (Singapore)

With China, India and the Philippines holding field trials after investing a lot of resources in bio-engineered rice, the debate has intensified on whether Asia is prepared to introduce genetically modified rice.
He Changchui, assistant director general for Asia-Pacific of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said governments would have [to] undertake extensive risk assessment on food safety and study consumer sentiment before giving approval.
Grain analysts feel that Asia might have a tough job at hand since consumers in this region are more sensitive to the issue of GM grain than some western counterparts.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/07.html

Pope hints at thumbs-down for GM food
Catholic News, October 18, 2004 (Online)

In a message for World Food Day, Pope John Paul II stressed the need for biodiversity, suggesting reservations about the production of GM foods.
The US Embassy to the Holy See has recently been lobbying the Pontifical Academy of Sciences to secure Vatican endorsement for GM foods.
Biological diversity, wrote the Holy Father, is needed to ensure the supply of a wide variety of foods.
He calls for a proper balance between the rights of developers and those of societies, arguing that control of "the resources present in different ecosystems cannot be exclusive nor can it become a cause for conflict."
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/08.html

Report: huge gaps in GM crop science
Press release, EcoNexus, October 29, 2004 (Online)

A new report on the impact of GM on the genetics of the modified crops by an independent group of scientists, EcoNexus, has highlighted huge gaps in scientific knowledge and the need to greatly improve scientific assessment procedures before GM crops are licensed.
The report suggests that significant genetic damage can arise [from] transgene insertion; consequences can include large scale rearrangements of DNA at insertion sites [and] many hundreds to thousands of individual mutations scattered throughout the genome of each new transgenic plant.
Food safety of edible crops relies crucially on genetic stability and predictability rather than being an inbuilt property of crop plants. Therefore, the discovery of these genetic changes arising from GM, the authors suggest has major implications for the safety of transgenic crops.
One of the report's authors, Dr Jonathan Latham said: "This genetic unpredictability should be treated very seriously indeed. Once inserted, the mutations highlighted in this report cannot easily be eliminated from transgenic crops and nor can their consequences for food safety and the environment easily or reliably be determined. Consequently, they present a major challenge to the plant biotechnology industry. Their elimination will require major changes to plant transformation methods".
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/09.html

Canada: majority uneasy about GM food
The Toronto Star, October 11, 2004 (Canada)

Unease over GM food continues to rise among Canadians with three out of five saying such foods provide more risks than benefits. This concern translated into a majority (53 per cent) of adult Canadians telling federal government pollsters that they were uncomfortable buying foods with genetically modified ingredients. Only 31 per cent gave the same answer in the first such survey five years ago.
The telephone survey also found that the proportion of Canadians "very willing" to hand over their genetic information to researchers had plunged to 37 per cent from 56 per cent a year previous. This growing concern over privacy eventually may "affect views about how health research is done and how people's personal genetic information is used in that research," said [the] summary.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/10.html

Farmers protest over BT seeds' poor yield
Hindu Business Line, October 18, 2004 (India)

Contending that GM BT cotton seeds supplied by multinational companies had failed to give the promised yield, the All India Kisan Sabha announced a State-wide agitation to press for adequate compensation from the companies.
AIKS National Vice-President Mr K Nageswara Rao lamented that farmers raised the GM cotton in one lakh acres expecting a yield of 20 to 25 quintals per acre as claimed by the MNCs. But they were able to get only about five quintals per acre as against the normal yield of five to 10 quintals.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/112004/11.html