-Caveat Lector- [HardGreenHerald] # 16 "Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." --Dr. Seuss, 'The Lorax' --A RadTimes production-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents: --------------- --Foot-and-mouth 'probable' in U.S. --Police interrupt Greenpeace protest by hot-air balloon at Americas Summit --Environmental Leaders Arrested in Earth Day Protest --Ruling: Cement Plant Violates Civil Rights --Planetark links --GM pollution now pervasive: agency --UK biotech firms demand protection from activists --FBI Probe of Eco-terrorists targets Long Island Anarchists --Foot And Mouth Latest --Biotechs target activists --Greenpeace Sprays Waste Water --Report: Polluted air reaching more Americans --Mutant foods overrun world market, ecosystem --Scientists fear biotech will harm food supply --Maxxam Resumes Logging in the Mattole =================================================================== Foot-and-mouth 'probable' in U.S. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2001-04-16-footandmouth.htm 04/17/2001 By Jim Drinkard USA TODAY WASHINGTON - Federal emergency officials are preparing for a U.S. outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, a prospect they see as highly likely. About 75 federal officials from agencies ranging from the Agriculture Department to the CIA met Wednesday to review plans for addressing an outbreak of the highly infectious animal virus. The group also included officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army's biological warfare office, the Coast Guard, the Interior Department and the Food and Drug Administration. FEMA official Bruce Baughman said the plans call for treating an outbreak much the same as a natural disaster, in which states take primary responsibility and call on federal resources as needed. "We are certainly treating it like it's a probable likelihood," he said. Others present at the meeting said the chances that the disease will spread to the United States were described as very high, fueling an intensive planning effort. Until now, the government has focused in its public statements on efforts to keep the disease from reaching the United States. At last week's meeting, officials described arrangements for earth-moving equipment to bury thousands of animal carcasses, and the drafting of emergency orders that could suspend some environmental regulations to allow quick burial of afflicted livestock. Inquiries about the government's assessment of the risk of a U.S. outbreak of the disease were referred to Cliff Oliver, who is heading emergency response plans for the Agriculture Department. Telephone calls to his home Monday night were unanswered. Later, USDA spokesman Kevin Herglotz described the meeting as a standard planning session and said his department does not believe an outbreak is inevitable. "I was in the military for 10 years. We did mock exercises every month. That didn't mean war was imminent," he said. Herglotz didn't attend the meeting but says he was briefed on it. Foot-and-mouth disease affects pigs, cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals but is not generally harmful to humans. The United States has not had a case of foot-and-mouth disease since 1929. In England, the current outbreak began in February and quickly spread. Cases also have been confirmed in the Netherlands, France and Ireland. Recent outbreaks have occurred in Saudi Arabia, Argentina, South Korea and Taiwan. The U.S. government has added hundreds of inspectors at airports and ports in an effort to keep the disease out, but the battle is made more difficult because of booming global travel and trade. =================================================================== April 23, 2001 Police interrupt Greenpeace protest by hot-air balloon at Americas Summit QUEBEC (AP) _ Security for the Summit of the Americas is tight on the ground _ and also in the air. A police helicopter intercepted a hot-air balloon emblazoned with protest slogans above the summit site on Friday, and officers arrested the Greenpeace activist who was piloting it. Two other activists from the environmental group also were aboard the green-and-blue balloon with messages urging action on global warming, but they were not arrested, according to one of them, Jo Dufay. She said the crew set off Friday morning and drifted over the summit site. When a police helicopter approached 20 minutes later, the activists set it down on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. Pilot Franz Taucher was arrested, but Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokeswoman Elaine Lavergne said police didn't know whether he would be charged with flying in prohibited airspace. Police have built a 3.8-kilometer (2.3-mile) security wall around the heart of old Quebec City to prevent protesters from approaching the talks on creating a free-trade area from the Arctic to Argentina. =================================================================== Environmental Leaders Arrested in Earth Day Protest <http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2001/2001L-04-20-01.html> WASHINGTON, DC, April 20, 2001 (ENS) Several leaders of prominent environmental groups were arrested Thursday after they locked themselves inside the main entrance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. Activists held an early Earth Day rally Thursday to protest recent environmental decisions by the administration of President George W. Bush, including an announcement Wednesday that action to reduce arsenic levels in drinking water will be delayed until next February. "We've taken our message from President Bush's ranch, to the White House and now to the EPA," said John Passacantando, Greenpeace USA executive director. "We want this Toxic Texan to know that trashing 30 years of environmental gains, then making a few token green announcements for Earth Day is an unacceptable environmental agenda." Passacantando was arrested along with Randy Hayes, president of the San Francisco based Rainforest Action Network, and almost a dozen other activists during the protest at EPA headquarters. The protesters went to EPA headquarters and the Department of Interior after attending a "Take Back the Earth Day" rally outside the White House. Hundreds of environmental activists listed as speakers from across the nation railed against the Bush team's rollback of a decade of environmental safeguards. Activists held up placards, reading "Pollution Starts Here" with an arrow pointing to the White House. The protesters object to the Bush reversal of a campaign pledge to limit carbon dioxide pollution from power plants. They are protesting proposed budget cuts for renewable energy programs, and the enforcement program of the Environmental Protection Agency. They are angry at President Bush's support for logging and development on 60 million acres of unroaded national forests, and his plans to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and drilling. "The environmental community is banding together to stop the Toxic Texan from committing further environmental atrocities," said Passacantando. "When it comes to environmental policy, Bush consistently chooses the polluters over the people." Denis Hayes heads Earth Day Network. He is also president and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, a $100 million environmental foundation based in Seattle, and chairman of The Energy Foundation. (Photo © Jim Crabtree) This year marks the 31st anniversary of Earth Day. Attorney Denis Hayes, chair of the Earth Day Network and one of the organizers of the first Earth Day, attended the rally in a show of support for the group's disapproval of Bush's assault on the environment. "With one of the most anti-environmental administration's in history running the country, it's vital that concerned Americans support the pro-environmental message of groups like Greenpeace," said Hayes. At the first Earth Day in 1970, during a speech in Washington, DC, Hayes said, "Our country is stealing from poorer nations and from generations yet unborn. We seem to have a reverse King Midas touch. Everything we touch turns to garbage - 142 tons of smoke, seven million junked cars, 30 million tons of paper, 28 billion bottles, 48 billion cans each year." Hayes said 31 years ago, "We are building a movement, a movement with a broad base, a movement which transcends traditional political boundaries. It is a movement that values people more than technology, people more than political boundaries and political ideologies, people more than profit. It will be a difficult fight. Earth Day is the beginning." =================================================================== Ruling: Cement Plant Violates Civil Rights ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ISSUES FORCE CEMENT PLANT TO CLOSE By Cat Lazaroff CAMDEN, New Jersey, April 24, 2001 (ENS) - In a precedent setting environmental justice decision, a federal judge has halted operations at a New Jersey cement plant, saying toxic emissions from the facility would harm nearby residents and violate their civil rights. The plant was officially dedicated last March by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman, then New Jersey's governor. For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr2001/2001L-04-24-06.html =================================================================== Planetark links Bush says he wants to drill in Alaska refuge - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10619 US Republican submits plan to battle global warming - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10634 Florida approves largest U.S. no-fishing sanctuary - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10633 Chernobyl anniversary haunts Ukraine - UKRAINE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10629 Bush called "The Toxic Texan" in British parliament - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10637 Greenpeace members arrested at Russia incinerator - RUSSIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10625 Indian police recover 11 animal skins - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10623 Greenpeace occupies Greek fertiliser plant - GREECE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10628 UPDATE - Monsanto replacing GMO canola seed in Canada - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10631 =================================================================== GM pollution now pervasive: agency http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/04/30/FFXGG3PO3MC.html By CLAIRE MILLER Monday 30 April 2001 Organic produce such as corn and canola imported from North America can no longer be guaranteed free from genetically modified (GM) organisms, according to the Organic Federation of Australia. The federation is warning consumers that GM pollution is now so pervasive in North America that foodstuffs containing imported ingredients cannot be guaranteed GM-free without testing. The warning follows an alert to the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements from the independent United States certifier Farm Verified Organic. The certifier said GM pollution of corn, canola and possibly soybeans was now so pervasive, "we believe it is not possible for farmers in North America to source seed free from it". "We must come to grips with reality now. If we are to certify these crops as organic, we must admit the potential of GMO pollution exists in the seed itself, not to mention the potential for field and post-harvest contamination," the authority said Recent media reports have highlighted the problem, including a Wall Street Journal investigation that tested 20 organic products with GM-free labels and found 16 had traces or more of GM organisms. This was followed by a US Agriculture Department revelation that almost 80 seed companies had found traces of the GM corn variety Starlink in their corn seed. Starlink was approved only for stock feed due to questions about its safety for humans, but was found last year in taco shells. Scott Kinnear, speaking for the Organic Federation of Australia, said consumers should be alerted to the emerging crisis in North America, and importing companies should require US suppliers to verify GM-free test results. He said the issue highlighted regulatory shortcomings in Australia that were meant to enforce compliance with the organic industry's zero tolerance of GM organisms. "We think it is our duty of care to inform consumers of this problem (in the US) because we believe consumers buy organic food because it is unadulterated," Mr Kinnear said. Mr Kinnear, who is also running as the Greens' lead Senate candidate in Victoria, said the US problems underscored the need to amend the new Gene Technology Act so that Australian farmers whose crops were contaminated had the right to sue. GM crops have not been released for general use in Australia, but the Federal Government has approved trials in most states. =================================================================== UK biotech firms demand protection from activists <http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10660> April 30, 2001 REUTERS NEWS SERVICE LONDON - Britain's biotechnology industry called on Friday for increased protection against animal rights activists whose protests nearly closed the country's oldest animal testing centre earlier this year. The BioIndustry Association said recent government steps, while welcome, did not go far enough to protect executives of companies involved in animal research. An amendment to the Criminal Justice and Police Bill will allow private addresses of directors at serious risk of violence to be kept in a secure register. But the BIA said activists who bought one or two shares would still be able to trace the home addresses of directors who sat on the board of more than one firm, using the publicly-held details of their other companies. "Steps must be taken to ensure that directors' addresses cannot be accessed in this way by those who intend to harm or intimidate them," the BIA said in its "manifesto for biotechnology". Contract research group Huntingdon Life Sciences Group Plc came close to collapse earlier this year when violent protests by campaigners opposed to animal testing caused financial backers to withdraw their support. Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday confirmed plans for the establishment of a top-level ministerial group to tackle animal rights extremism. Paul Drayson, chief executive of Powderject Pharmaceuticals Plc and chairman of the BIA, said government support was needed if Britain was to remain at the forefront of biotechnology in Europe. Ernst & Young's European Life Sciences report, published on Thursday, showed Germany challenging Britain's traditional dominance in biotechnology. Germany had 331 private and public biotech companies at the end of last year, the highest of any European country, compared to 281 in the UK. But the UK still had three times as many public companies as any other European country, and these firms together had 128 products in development. =================================================================== HARD TIMES FOR MODERN TIMES <http://www.inthesetimes.com/web2512/laursen2512.html> FBI Probe of Eco-terrorists targets Long Island Anarchists May 14, 2001 By Eric Laursen Federal investigators and prosecutors gathered on the steps of a courthouse in Central Islip, Long Island in February to announce that they finally had caught up with the shadowy Earth Liberation Front, http://www.earthliberationfront.com/main.shtml. The ELF's "campaign of violent crime has stretched from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains to the Midwest," an FBI official said. "That streak has ended here in New York." But some observers found the little group of "eco-terrorists" who had been arrested less than impressive. They consisted of three teen-agers--Jared McIntyre, Matthew Rammelkamp and George Mashkow Jr.--who confessed to arson and vandalism of some suburban homes under construction, but had no clear links to any activist organizations. The fourth member of the group, a 19-year-old named Connor Cash, is a well-known local activist. But Cash is a member of the Modern Times Collective, http://www.longislandrevolt.org/, a local anarchist group that has publicly opposed such extreme actions. Prosecutors say Cash bought gasoline and talked the three into using it to burn four homes--although the U.S. Attorney's office in Central Islip admits they did not mention anyone specific in their pleas. The three minors pled guilty as adults; Cash pled not guilty to arson conspiracy, and aiding and abetting arson--charges that could land him in jail for 40 years, while the others could be imprisoned for up to 20 years each. "The FBI has used these three kids to frame an innocent activist," says Kevin Van Meter, a member of the Modern Times collective. Far from being a terrorist, Cash has become the focal point in what Modern Times members charge is a pattern of police harassment and "profiling" of activists who have participated in large-scale anti-globalization protests across the country. They say police and FBI agents have intimidated, surveilled, arrested and offered large bribes to Modern Times members. Always a hard place for the left to organize, Long Island nevertheless has become the home of a lively, youth-oriented anarchist scene in recent years. Much of its energy is centered on Modern Times, which publishes a newspaper, holds conferences and educational meetings on issues like globalization and women's rights, and is trying to open an organizing center. Cash is one of this group's most active members. A high school dropout, he is now an organizer working with migrant workers and day laborers who have been the target of local hostility, and even beatings, in recent months. He was instrumental in opening Long Island chapters of the Food Not Bombs! hunger relief program, http://www.scn.org/activism/foodnotbombs/contacts.html. Modern Times dates its troubles to May 6, 2000, when it held an unpermitted street festival in the town of Huntington. The action took over Huntington's main thoroughfare to protest globalization, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and lack of space for youth on Long Island, where kids have little more than parking lots to hang out in for entertainment. The 90 protesters held a drum circle, handed out newspapers and threw up a 28-foot tripod--which Cash climbed, preventing it from being removed. Befuddled police, who had never seen anything like this in their town, arrested Cash and 15 others. Thirteen, including Cash, were sentenced to 10 hours of community service. Then on August 1, Modern Times participated in a street blockade at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. Cash and 50 others were arrested. Soon afterward, Cash and other Modern Times members found FBI agents turning to them for leads in their investigation of ELF-inspired arsons on Long Island--despite the fact that Modern Times has not been active in campaigning against urban sprawl, which was the apparent motive behind the burnings. Cash was one of several group members who were threatened with retaliation if they did not help the agents, according to Van Meter and two witnesses. Officials at the U.S. Attorney's office decline to comment on case specifics. Modern Times responded with a long statement in its newspaper in early February, charging that the ELF investigation was actually something more sinister. "The FBI was not just interested in intimidating and investigating those involved in the ELF, but 'fishing' into the activities of youth community activists," it said. The statement also strongly opposed ELF's tactics: "Creating an environment of fear and intimidation by means of arson is not conducive to the development of an empowered community. ... Furthermore arson puts at risk the lives of volunteer firefighters and innocent community members who are not profiting from urban sprawl." As a member of the Modern Times collective, Cash consented to this viewpoint. Just days after the statement appeared, however, he was arrested. His family had to put up their house to free him on $250,000 bail, and he has had trouble finding work as he awaits trial, which is expected to come up before the end of the year. Cash is not discussing his case with the press. But his family, co-workers and neighbors proclaim his innocence. Civil rights lawyer Fred Brewington, who represents Cash, says there is not "a shred of evidence that his client broke any law or did anything improper." Brewington finds it sadly predictable that police intimidation threatens to derail Modern Times--which claims its members are still under surveillance. "They're the young people that we were yesterday," Brewington says. "As they grow older they'll be the people who we look up to in the community, who raise issues." However, the publicity around Cash's case has helped rally support for Modern Times. Van Meter reports that the collective is planning local protests against the IMF and World Bank, and hopes to open its organizing center and a radical, youth-run school within the next year. =================================================================== Foot And Mouth Latest NATIONAL TRUST LOSES OUT TO FOOT AND MOUTH The National Trust expects to lose £11m over the next financial year as a direct result of the foot and mouth crisis. Losses will come from the enforced closure of shops, tearooms and holiday cottages on their estates Full story - SocietyGuardian (http://www.societyguardian.co.uk/voluntary/news/0,8371,481004,00.html) * Day 71 * New cases reported since Sunday: 7 * Total cases so far: 1518 Find the complete list of cases, regularly updated, at: Special report: Foot and mouth - Guardian Unlimited (http://www.guardian.co.uk/footandmouth/list) KEY STATISTICS Maff figures as of 7pm BST on April 30: * 2,477,000 animals had been slaughtered or identified as being for slaughter * 2,361,000 animals had been slaughtered, of which 132,000 remain to be disposed of, including 411,000 cattle, 1,840,000 sheep, 108,000 pigs, 2,000 goats slaughtered. * 116,000 animals were awaiting slaughter. * 151,000 carcasses were awaiting disposal =================================================================== Biotechs target activists by Andrew Clark Guardian Friday April 27, 2001 The biotechnology industry last night published an "election manifesto" calling for sweeping new restrictions on the right to protest, in an attempt to subdue violent animal rights activists. The BioIndustry Association demanded the creation of a new law making it an offence to "organise a campaign purely to attempt to cause the demise of a legitimate business". Other suggestions include the creation of a "soft loans scheme" to aid start-up businesses and liberal patent law to avoid "discrimination" against genetic research. Paul Drayson, chairman of the association, said: "Britain started this industry in the early 1980s. My vision for 2005 is for the UK to be the life sciences hub of Europe, and the bridge between the European and US healthcare markets." The association's call for a further crackdown on animal rights activists is a direct response to the continuing campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences, which has lost clients, shareholders and bankers as a result of sometimes violent protests. But the scope of the suggested law is sure to be controversial, as it appears to rule out almost any boycott or protest against a law-abiding corporation. Greg Avery of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, which says it opposes violence, said: "The way the Human Rights Act stands, they haven't got a chance of this. The industry is always saying they don't oppose legitimate protests - this shows that they obviously do." The government has promised extensions to harassment legislation to target animal rights groups, which are accused of provoking violence by posting the home addresses of Huntingdon Life Science's staff and shareholders on the internet. A spokeswoman for the BioIndustry Association said: "Companies like Huntingdon are mandated by the government to conduct animal testing work. "The fact that a small group of people can target them, and jeopardise that work, is something that should be stopped." =================================================================== GREENPEACE SPRAYS WASTE WATER Greenpeace activists on Thursday used a fire hose to suck allegedly contaminated water from a Russian factory's pipes and spray it back onto the factory's territory, trying to dramatize the environmental group's campaign to ban toxic chemicals. Source: Associated Press http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/05/05032001/ap_greenpeace_43359.asp =================================================================== Report: Polluted air reaching more Americans <http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/05/01/air.quality/index.html> May 1, 2001 By Natalie Pawelski CNN Environment Unit WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More Americans are living with unhealthy air, according to a new report from the American Lung Association. "The air is dirty nationwide. The smog problem is pervasive," said the ALA's Paul Billings. The report, titled "The State of the Air 2001," draws on Environmental Protection Agency data on ground-level ozone for the years 1997 to 1999, the most recent, complete "quality-controlled" data the EPA has available. Since last year's reportwhich looked at data for 1996 to 1998 -- the ALA says, the numbers of Americans living in areas that received a grade of "F" for ozone pollution increased from 132 million to 141 million. The study also looked at the EPA's Air Quality Index and noted a 25 percent rise in "orange" days, when the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups, and an 11 percent increase in "red" days -- when the air is unhealthy for all. "Purple" days -- very unhealthy, dipped slightly. The report said the hot summer weather of 1999 contributed to the amount of ozone in many parts of the country. Ozone is formed when certain types of pollution, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, react to sunlight. Principal sources of these pollutants are tailpipe emissions, power plants and certain kinds of factories. Ground-level ozone is the main component in smog. The terms often are used interchangeably. Ozone is a particular risk for people with asthma and other respiratory ailments. Children, the elderly and people who exercise outdoors also tend to be at a greater risk. For healthy adults, excessive exposure to ozone can cause shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and chest pain. According to the ALA report, the 10 metro areas with the worst ozone pollution are ranked in order: Los Angeles, California; Bakersfield, California; Fresno, California; Visalia, California; Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Washington/Baltimore, Maryland; Charlotte, North Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The report also lists 12 cities that had no days with unhealthy ozone levels. From the biggest to the smallest in terms of population, these are: Honolulu, Hawaii; the McAllen, Texas, area; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Des Moines, Iowa; Spokane, Washington; Salinas, California; the Duluth, Minnesota, area; Lincoln, Nebraska; Laredo, Texas; the Fargo, North Dakota, area; Bellingham, Washington; and Flagstaff, Arizona. -------- The report is available at www.lungusa.org. =================================================================== Thursday, May 10, 2001 Mutant foods overrun world market, ecosystem <http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/articles.asp?ID=15378> GENETICS: Biotechnology warrants better regulation, clear labeling of products By Mitra Ebadolahi Let's play a game. When I say a word, you say the first thing that comes to mind. Then we'll repeat. Ready? Summer? Vacation. Beaches? Picnics. Bananas? Antibiotics. Wait a minute! Antibiotics don't have anything to do with bananas! Oh, don't they? At this very moment, scientists are working to create a new "antibiotic banana" that may help humans fight infectious diseases. If their endeavors are successful, we may soon be able to skip the doctor's office and go straight to the grocery store to cure our ailments. Sound too good to be true? Well, maybe it is. How, for example, could antibiotic banana plants impact monkey, bird and insect species? In just 10 years, biotechnology has become one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. With endless possibilities for profit, biotech firms are scrambling to pump billions of dollars into research and development schemes, touting the "gene revolution" as the solution to everything from environmental degradation to global hunger. Many genetically modified organisms have already been developed, including corn, cotton and soy plants that produce their own pesticides. According to researchers, these varieties are more environmentally-friendly and economically efficient, requiring fewer chemical pesticides and producing bigger, more "perfect" crops. Unfortunately for the planet's consumers, these corporations have forgotten their own capitalist maxim: "you don't get nothing for free." As GMOs infiltrate our diets, specialists warn that the new "Frankenfoods" may permanently damage our health and ecosystem, regardless of biotech's claims to the contrary. Ecologically, the possible impacts of biotechnology have not been adequately researched. One biotech giant, Aqua Bounty Farms, has developed a new salmon that can mature four times faster than normal fish. Biologically, female fish are attracted to larger males, which are assumed to be the fittest and most capable of the species. As geneticist William Muir notes, "fish just 25 percent larger will get 400 percent more matings than a fish of average size." ("Harvest of Fear" www.pbs.org) Yet these "artificial" salmon produce the lowest number of offspring. The introduction of Aqua Bounty salmon into the wild could rapidly decrease or even wipe out this endangered fish species. GMOs can never be recalled once they are released from corporate labs, since they are living organisms capable of reproduction. If we are truly concerned about the possible ecological implications of genetic engineering, we must conduct serious research before these living technologies are incorporated into the natural life cycle. Consuming inadequately-researched GM products may seriously harm human health and expose millions of people to unknown dangers. Under present FDA policies, GM products do not have to be labeled and do not undergo the same rigorous safety tests other foodstuffs must pass before being released to consumers. Consequently, if a gene from a peanut is spliced into soy beans, people with peanut allergies may have severe reactions to unlabeled GM soy, even though they might consider soy safe. Because American farmers mix GM and non-GM crops during harvest and storage, it has become virtually impossible to separate modified varieties from natural grains. Separate storage facilities and accurate food labeling systems cost a pretty penny; as a result, agribusiness lobbyists have pressured the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow companies to continue marketing unlabeled GM products. The FDA recently voted to maintain these inadequate policies, allowing biotech corporations to continue to exploit unsuspecting consumers. To make matters worse, GMOs permeate the typical American diet. When was the last time you had a Coke? Most sodas contain corn syrup, derived from GM corn. Like ketchup on your French fries? Heinz and Del Monte use GM tomatoes in their pastes. Had any Frosted Flakes lately? Kellogg's thinks GM corn flakes are grrrreat! Salad dressing? Chocolate? The list of GM foods, produced by manufacturing giants like Nabisco, Quaker, Hershey's and Campbell's, goes on and on. In other parts of the world, GMOs have been restricted. In 1998, massive protests led European Union officials to place a moratorium on the commercial growing and import of GM crops. Recently, the World Trade Organization and other free trade avengers have pressured the EU to rescind this ban, but manufacturers are still required to clearly mark all GM products with standardized labels. Throughout Europe, high levels of consumer resistance have led many corporations to abandon the use of GMOs altogether. Here in the United States, polls indicate that 88 percent of consumers support more pre-market testing of GMOs, and 85 percent want GM foodstuffs to be clearly labeled. So much for the democratic process (www.greenpeace.org). Finally, multiple arguments refute the biotech industry's claims that GMOs will solve global poverty or hunger. Economically, GMOs can force farmers to become dependent on biotech corporations. Since GM seeds are a business venture, they are patented and sold for profit. Because "self-fumigating" plants produce pesticides indiscriminately, pest toxins are emitted constantly throughout the growing process, regardless of actual pest levels. Ironically, flooding fields with these insecticides can help bugs develop resistance more rapidly than normal evolution allows. Resistance renders old pesticides useless, forcing farmers to replant fields with new GMOs producing different pest repellents. Farmers must then purchase new seeds, and the entire cycle repeats. Poor farmers in developing countries have virtually no access to these technologies, and the "perfect" GM crops they compete with drive their own meager incomes down even further. Biotechnology is a multibillion dollar industry, and there is an intense, competitive pressure among corporations to maximize profits and minimize costs. Consequently, critical (but expensive) tests are eliminated while new GMOs continue to be patented and sold to farmers. Ironically, the realities of biotech clearly show how expensive industrialized agriculture and the unequal access to capital worldwide collaborate to keep peasant farmers trapped in cycles of poverty and dependency. In order for world hunger to truly be eradicated, sustainable, local farming practices must be promoted and human wealth must be more equitably distributed. The most basic assumption of biotech corporations like Monsanto and AgrEvo are that humans can and should freely manipulate living organisms in order to produce new products for human consumption. According to this view, natural resources exist solely for the benefit of humankind, which grants people free reign to exploit, plunder and alter nature. In a parallel universe, there are many who believe that humans are simply one part of an incredibly complex and fragile ecosystem, which, if damaged, is irreparable. If GMOs are not carefully researched, we might never know their possible consequences until it is too late. In order to safeguard our environment, and develop feasible alternatives to industrial agriculture's shortcomings, we must exercise our consumer power to hold biotech corporations accountable. If complacency won't kill us, Frankenfoods just might. =================================================================== Globe and mail (Toronto) Wednesday, May 02, 2001 Scientists fear biotech will harm food supply by COLIN FREEZE The human food supply is in danger of being contaminated by crops genetically modified to create better drugs and industrial chemicals, a group of veteran scientists and academics is warning. The warning is in a strongly worded letter by four PhDs -- among them the former dean of science at McMaster University in Hamilton -- who advocate mandatory food labelling and better testing of genetically modified foods. The letter, obtained by The Globe and Mail, says there is a "high probability" the food we eat could be contaminated as a result of sloppy farming practices and the "arrogance" of biotechnology researchers and regulators. Genetically modified foods have sneaked up on Canadian consumers, many of whom don't know plants that engineered with foreign genes to be resistant to pesticides or herbicides have been researched, grown and consumed here for years. The letter specifically warns that the pollen of modified plants can transfer engineered genes to unmodified plants growing in nearby fields and that modified traits can spread by "spillage of seed or dispersion of seed by the wind." Such questions have long been raised about genetically modified conventional crops. Research into molecular farming -- the practice of designing plants that grow proteins used to make plastics or medicines -- has added to the fears. The researchers call Canada's introduction of genetically modified food insidious and argue that the only crops that should be used in molecular-farming experiments are those not consumed by humans or animals. Already, some molecular-farming projects are considered risky enough to be held in mine shafts or under glass covers to protect against the spread of seeds and pollen. The letter -- signed by retired Agriculture Canada scientist Bert Christie, former McMaster University science dean Dennis McCalla, McGill University animal-science professor Dick Beames, and Hugh Lehman, an expert in agricultural ethics at the University of Guelph -- is a submission to the federally appointed Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee, which is gathering feedback on genetically modified foods as it prepares to advise federal cabinet ministers. Some of the letter's authors have previously written essays for a group called Genetic Engineering Alert, whose Web site is maintained by the Council of Canadians. Mr. Christie says his name was put forward for a seat on the advisory committee, but he did not join it. The submission will likely further fuel the debate over genetically modified foods. Earlier this year, a Royal Society panel of experts looked at the issue and argued that Canada's food-safety system is plagued by conflicts of interest, a lack of transparency and ambiguous testing. The four PhDs make frequent reference to the findings of the Royal Society, a national body of distinguished Canadian scientists and scholars, and criticize the advisory committee both for favouring the views of industry and underplaying the panel's importance. Peter Phillips, co-chairman of the advisory committee's genetically modified food group, said the Royal Society's report is a part of wide-ranging feedback it is gathering and that a few members of the expert panel now are part of his committee. He said market forces may help ensure rigorous testing continues on plants modified to produce the protein building blocks of drugs or industrial materials. "Anybody that does that [research] is going to want to contain that stuff anyway," he said. "They're going to bear the liability if they fail. Nobody is going to want a product in the market that's going to hurt anybody." Most genetically modified crops so far have been bred to be pesticide- or herbicide-resistant. Worldwide, a number of experiments are under way, including ones that involve adding a strand of human DNA into alfalfa plants, causing canola plants to produce plastic-making polymers, and trying to make a blood protein grow in rubber plants. As with all matters pertaining to genetically modified foods, no one disputes that safeguards are needed: The question is whether emerging and existing regulations are adequate, and whether genetically modified crops are inherently more risky than traditional crops. "The reality is the food system has a lot of risk now," Mr. Phillips said. "Some of the new technologies may be less risky than the existing technologies; some may be more." Genetically modified crops, which some critics denounce as "frankenfoods," are seen by proponents as profitable, a natural evolution of farm science that could help feed a hungry world. There have not yet been any health disasters stemming from altered crops, but modified corn intended for animal feed has ended up in the human food supply in the United States, and a Brazil nut gene was transferred to a soya bean, bringing with it an allergen. In Alberta, three different strains of herbicide-tolerant canola grew in close proximity to one another, creating triple-tolerant canola. The fear is that sloppy agricultural practices could result in the resistance being passed to weeds, creating superweeds. =================================================================== Maxxam Resumes Logging in the Mattole From: "Info" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 Maxxam/Pacific Lumber resumed clearcuitting of old-growth Douglas Fir forests in Timber Harvest Plan (THP) 475 in the Mattole Watershed of Northern California. Logging also began on adjacent logging plan THP 031, violating the public's trust by operating on a plan still under litigation. Pacific Lumber had previously agreed to halt logging until a ruling was issued on an injunction appeal submitted to the Humboldt Superior Court. Humboldt County Sheriffs and dozens of Eureka Police Department officers protected logging crews as they cut ancient trees. Together, both plans would clearcut 68 acres of old-growth Douglas Fir and fragment the contiguous ancient forest located on Long Ridge. During the past year, Maxxam/Pacific Lumber has initiated an onslaught of THPs in the Mattole River Watershed which is the most sensitive region of their forest holdings. These logging plans propose to clearcut old-growth Douglas fir forests in drainages that have extreme seismic activity, intense rainfall, and highly erodible soils on steep mountainous terrain. Maxxam calls for the liquidation of a majority of their Mattole holdings within the next eight years. This 3,000 acres of old-growth Douglas Fir is the largest unprotected coastal ancient fir forest left in the Pacific Northwest. It is a crucial habitat link between the old-growth refuges of the Kings Range, Humboldt Redwoods State Park and Gilham Butte. The Mattole Watershed is located west of Scotia and Highway 101. Before dawn this morning, a large contingent of forest defenders and Mattole community members gathered at several access gates in an attempt to slow Columbia Helicopter logging crews. Law enforcement and logging crews were briefly halted. Community members plan to continue to blockade these gates in coming days. Yesterday's logging comes on the heels of a six week siege that has seen nineteen Mattole Forest Defenders arrested. The non-violent direct-action, nicknamed the Mattole Free State, has successfully halted logging in the Mattole watershed for more than 161 days. Mattole Rally News Flash Earth First! will hold a mass public legal rally for the Mattole to bring as many people to the public side of Monument gate. The purpose of the rally will be to stand up against the SLAPP lawsuit filed against the Mattole defenders and to stand up for the forest. Acting in Concert -- Rally for the Mattole Sunday, June 3, 2001 12 Noon - 5 pm Monument Road Just 10 minutes out of Rio Dell (25 miles South of Eureka) Bring Family and Friends Musicians and speakers wanted to act in concert Directions: Scotia Exit off Highway 101 Turn toward Scotia then make an immediate right onto Scotia Bridge (Green) First left after Bridge (in Rio Dell) is Monument Road (unmarked until you drive a block or two) Bear left and follow Monument Road 4 1/2 - 5 miles (paved) Park on side of the road -- monitors will guide you. Call 707/825-6598 for info Mattole Action Camp, May 18th -24th Please come join us two weekends from now in Humboldt County for the Mattole Action Camp. We need to train a new round of activist to defend the old-growth doug fir of the Mattole. Trainings and skill sharing will include Non-Violence, Backwoods, Legal, Climbing, THP Monitoring, Blockading and more. Please bring camping gear, warm clothing, hiking apparel, musical instruments, food and monetary donations for the kitchen. Please No Dogs, Drugs, Alcohol or Bad attitudes. Camp will open late Friday afternoon on the 18th and close the 24th, in time to head to the Sierras for the California EF! Rendevous. Call (707)-825-6598 to RSVP. More info on the action camp as plans unfold. People Needs: Please come to the Mattole for a few days and help defend the 3,000 acres of incredible old growth Doug-Fir forest. We prefer those with nonviolent direct action experience. The hike to the Free State is over 12+ miles. There is no basecamp so please call the office to get involved. Please contact: John Campbell, Pacific Lumber Co., 707-764-2222, FAX - 707-764-4269 Charles Hurwitz, Maxxam Corp, 713-975-7600, FAX- 713-952-4795 Ask them to hold off logging in the Mattole for one year so the community can assess and raise the funds to purchase the entire 14,000 acre holding. Also demand that they treat nonviolent activist as humans beings and not endanger their lives with falling trees. For more information: Direct Action: *Mattole Forest Defenders POB 28, Arcata, CA 95518 *North Coast Earth First!, 707-825-6598, 822-3771(fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED] *Bay Area Coalition For Headwaters (510)-835-6303 http://www.mattoledefense.org/ Images at http://www.earthfilms.org/ Article at http:/www.indybay.org/ =================================================================== "Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was loaned to you by your children." -Kenyan Proverb ====================================================== "We cannot solve the problems that we have created with the same thinking that created them." -Albert Einstein ====================================================== "The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders." -Edward Abbey ______________________________________________________________ To subscribe/unsubscribe, send appropriate email to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. ______________________________________________________________ <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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