-Caveat Lector- Dave Hartley http://www.Asheville-Computer.com/dave Organic View - An e-mail publication of the Organic Consumers Association The Organic Consumers Association is affiliated with the Bio-Democracy Campaign. To subscribe to Bio-Democracy - a free e-mail publication on genetic engineering and other adverse effects of industrial agriculture, go to: www.purefood.org v.1 n.18 December 8, 1999 Contents 1. Victory At WTO Meeting 2. OCA At The Battle In Seattle 3. California Labeling Initiative 4. OCA Organizes Successful FDA Hearing Protest In DC - Oakland Next 5. Recent Studies Point To Concerns With Genetically Engineered Foods 6. Rodale Study Finds Organic Superior In Withstanding Drought 7. Link to Other Stories 1. Victory At WTO Meeting In a major setback for the biotech industry, negotiators at last week's World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle were not able to move forward in establishing rules for exporting US genetically engineered crops to other countries. At the WTO meeting, the announced number one priority for the US Trade team was agriculture. US Trade negotiators wanted to knock out subsidies to European farmers, and open foreign markets for US grown genetically engineered crops. US Trade negotiators failed on both accounts. The WTO sets the rules for trade for its 135 nation participants. Most major countries including the European Union (EU) are requiring more answers to unknown health and environmental risks of genetically engineered foods before accepting them into their country. Additionally, countries like the EU, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea have put forth labeling requirements for genetically engineered foods. The US Department of Agriculture and the US Trade Office have dismissed objections to genetically engineered foods in other countries as not being based on "sound science" and potential "barriers to trade." The US was hoping to negotiate with other countries and set up a framework for opening up markets for US genetically engineered foods. Early in the meetings, there appeared to be a major victory for the US Trade team, when the EU proposed putting together a working group on genetically engineered crops. Such a working group increased the chances that many of the controversial issues surrounding genetically engineered crops would be decided based largely on economic considerations. OCA and other environmental and consumer groups would like to see the issue of genetically engineered foods settled within the United Nations Biosafety talks - which are more likely to take into account potential environmental and human health risks in formulating an international protocol. Governments will gather next month in Montreal to resume the U.N. Biosafety talks. But by the end of the WTO meeting, the EU proposal on the working group was withdrawn and declared dead by a delegate from France. An alternative EU proposal for a broadly focused biotechnology working group that would consider consumer and environmental concerns was rejected by U.S. negotiators as unacceptable. This was a major victory for those fighting against genetically engineered foods and crops worldwide - and a major defeat for the biotech industry and US Trade officials. For more on what happened in Seattle, check out a website set up by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy - www.wtowatch.org 2. OCA At The Battle In Seattle The WTO meeting in Seattle earlier this month was an historic occasion, and three OCA staff members, and many OCA supporters, were on hand to voice their opinion and network with allies. On the Sunday before the WTO began, OCA participated in an important biotech activist meeting that included activists from around the world - to discuss strategy and tactics for how to work on issues of genetically engineered foods in the US. Later that evening, OCA hosted an all-organic meal that attracted about 50 OCA supporters and other interested groups. OCA Field Director Debbie Ortman, California Field organizer Simon Harris, and Campaign Director Ronnie Cummins had the opportunity to meet and talk with friends, colleagues, and volunteers. Later in the week, Ronnie Cummins had a great meeting with Puget Sound Co-op, one of the nation's largest co-op systems. And finally, Ronnie Cummins gave a talk to an overflow crowd of 200 people on the state of the anti-biotech movement in the US, and the work that OCA is doing. And of course, OCA staff (including Debbie Ortman fashionably dressed as a sea turtle) and supporters marched in the streets with tens of thousands of others protesting against genetically engineered foods. Overall, OCA collected several thousand signatures in support of its Food Agenda 2000. 3. California Labeling Initiative A volunteer driven petition gathering effort has begun in California to put an initiative on the ballot that would require the labeling of genetically engineered foods in that state. The initiative would require labeling of foods and meats at the retail level. It defines those foods requiring labeling as: "Crops and livestock containing genetic material transferred from one species to another or other DNA modifications not commonly possible under natural conditions, such as cell fusion, gene deletion or doubling, and induced sequence or encapsulation variations." The leaders of the effort are not taking any donations or PAC money to fund the effort - and instead are relying on the strength of an army of volunteers. To qualify for the November 2000 ballot in the state of California, the effort needs to gather 413,000 valid signatures of California voters by February 20. If such a ballot initiative passed in California, it would have important implications for the rest of the country. Food companies would have to consider whether to go genetically engineered-free, or add labels if they wanted to do business in our most populated state. Legislation on genetically engineered foods is also being considered in New York, Vermont and Minnesota in the next year. To get involved and help in California, go to: www.calrighttoknow.org Or, call: 707-939-8316. 4. OCA Organizes Successful FDA Hearing Protest In DC - Oakland Next Carrying a 25-foot ear of corn with the sign "Safety First" written on its side, OCA along with USPIRG, Friends of the Earth, Center for Food Safety, and Community Harvest helped organize a rally of over 150 people outside of an FDA hearing on genetically engineered foods in Washington, DC. The hearing was the second of three being held by the FDA, designed to explain their regulatory system for genetically engineered foods - and hear from citizens. The protests and hearing received extensive news coverage including CNN, USA Today, and New York Times - while sharing the spotlight with massive protests in Seattle over the WTO. The rally was highly successful despite an effort funded by the Monsanto corporation in which around 100 people were hired at $25 apiece to travel from a local Baptist church and protest in favor of genetically engineered foods. In an embarrassing story for Monsanto, the New York Times reported on the paid protestors in a December 8 article - detailing the work of giant public relations firm Burson Marsteller, which has been working for Monsanto at the FDA hearings. The last FDA hearing on genetically engineered food will be held in Oakland, CA on December 13. The FDA is following a similar pattern to the previous hearing. It has already moved the site location, less than a week before the hearing. The agency is still putting together the panels for the hearing at the last minute. Additionally, the biotech industry is expected to bus in hundreds of pro-biotech supporters from Davis, California - home of Monsanto subsidiary, Calgene, and Berkeley - where biotech giant Novartis has a partnership with the University of California. OCA and others will be holding a major rally at the hearing site at 12 noon. If you are interested in attending, please contact OCA California Organizer Simon Harris at: 415-643-9592, or by e-mail at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The FDA will be accepting written comments from the public through January 13. Those comments should demand that: 1) the agency require rigorous pre-market safety testing that proves genetically engineered foods are safe; and 2) that all genetically engineered crops on the market have thorough and prominent labeling. You can submit comments through the FDA's website at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/biotech/default.htm 5. Recent Studies Point To Concerns With Genetically Engineered Foods Two recent studies point to new concerns about genetically engineered foods and crops. In the December 2 issue of the journal Nature, New York University researchers found that roots from common genetically engineered Bt corn exude the pesticide into the soil, bind with soil particles, and remain active (ie toxic) in the soil for 243 days. Dr. Charles Benbrook, former member of the National Academy of Sciences and head of Benbrook Consulting Services, believes that the NYU study is as important as an earlier study by Cornell researchers which found that pollen from genetically engineered Bt corn was toxic to the Monarch butterfly study. "What goes on underground in a field planted with today's Bt-corn varieties is largely a mystery. Enhance the toxin levels 100- to 1,000-fold and it becomes a mystery of some consequence and immediacy," Benbrook says. The registrations for the current wave of engineered Bt crops expire in 2001. The biotech industry will be looking for EPA approval for a new wave of Bt crops designed to address the corn rootworm complex, a particularly stubborn pest which has developed a resistance to every single pest tool including crop rotation, according to Benbrook. "It's going to take a pretty high level of Bt to control them." Another study published in December issue of the international scientific journal Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease (no 4, 1999) found that the use of the Cauliflower Mosaic Viral promoter (CaMV) in the process of genetically engineering food has the potential to reactivate dormant viruses or create new viruses in all species to which it is transferred. CaMV is found in practically all current genetically engineered crops released commercially or undergoing field trials. Its instability increases the possibility of promotion of an inappropriate over-expression of genes to the transferred species. The development of cancer may be one consequence of such inappropriate over-expression of genes. The scientists behind the research, Mae-Wan Ho, Angela Ryan, and Joe Cummins "strongly recommend that all transgenic crops containing CaMV 35S or similar promoters should be immediately withdrawn from commercial production or open field trials. All products derived from such crops containing transgenic DNA should also be immediately withdrawn from sale and from use for human consumption or animal feed". For pre-publication full text, see: www.scup.no/mehd/ho 6. Rodale Study Finds Organic Superior In Withstanding Drought The Rodale Institute's Farming Systems Trial in Kutztown, Pa., reported that organic test plots did better than conventional plots during 1999's East Coast drought. Rodale compared soybean systems under organic and conventional management, and figures show yields of 30 bushels per acre from legume-based organic soybeans compared to only 16 bushels per acre from conventionally grown crops. Pennsylvania was one of 14 states declared a drought disaster area by the U.S. Department of Agriculture this summer. Because Kutztown received only 4.4 inches of rain from June through August compared to an average of 13.4 inches in normal years, The Rodale Institute's organic soybean yield is even more impressive. Scientists at the Institute say improved soil conditions because of organic management is the reason for the strong performance. The trial's manure-based organic soybean plots also performed well above the level of conventional plots, achieving 24 bushels per acre. "Over time, organic practices encourage the soil to hold on to moisture more efficiently than conventionally managed soil," Jeff Moyer, Farm Manager at The Rodale Institute's Farming Systems Trial. "The higher content of organic matter also makes organic soil less compact so that root systems can penetrate more deeply to find moisture." In addition, organic practices reduce nitrate leaching and erosion. For more on the Institute's study, go to: www.rodaleinstitute.org 7. Important Recent Articles Below are the titles and links to interesting articles published recently on issues related to organic food and food safety. These articles can be found on the website of our affiliated organization, the BioDemocracy Campaign (www.purefood.org) 12,08 - Genetically Engineered Pigs Coming to Market, http://www.purefood.org/Meat/gepigs.cfm 12,07 - Organic Food Is Booming in Europe, http://www.purefood.org/Organic/orgeurope.cfm 12,06 - Burger King & McDonald's Worried About Serving GE Potatoes, http://www.purefood.org/ge/bkmcd.cfm 12,05 - Genetically Engineered "Frankenfish" Can Wreak Havok in the Oceans, http://www.purefood.org/ge/frankenfish.cfm DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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