FOOD BYTES #13 October 31, 1998 News and Analysis on Genetic Engineering & Factory Farming by: Ronnie Cummins, Campaign for Food Safety/Organic Consumers Action [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.purefood.org http://www.icta.org ___________________________________________________________ Contents: *** Pie in the Eye: A Bad Month for Monsanto *** Media Matters: The New York Times Discovers the Gene Foods Controversy *** Action Alert: Help Win the Ground-Breaking Lawsuit Against the FDA Upcoming! Next Issue of Food Bytes--Save Organic Standards--Round Two ______________________________________________________________ Monsanto Under Attack Quote of the month: "It's a gradual process of allaying public fears and obtaining more public acceptance," says Monsanto U.K public and government affairs director Anne Foster. "Gradually people will gain confidence in a new science." After a disastrous month of internecine power struggles, a collapsed merger with American Home Products, PR snafus, and continuing "glitches" in its genetically engineered products, Monsanto's stock has plummeted 30%. Despite millions of acres of its GE crops under cultivation across the world, the Behemoth of Biotech no longer seems quite so invincible. Since the last issue of Food Bytes the St. Louis-based multinational has suffered a number of reverses, including the following: *A failed $35 billion merger with American Home Products (AHP). Monsanto, heavily in debt, has literally run out of cash. The company desperately needs the kind of capital and sales force which a pharmaceutical giant like AHP has in order to finance their recent multi-billion dollar acquisitions of seed and research companies and to market the numerous genetically engineered products in their pipeline. Without a massive influx of capital, an over-extended Monsanto now will have no choice but to slow down its manic rush to bio-colonize the world. In the wake of the AHP fiasco, Citibank has agreed to front Monsanto several billion dollars in cash, and the company announced plans to sell four billion dollars in new stocks, but financial analysts predict that Monsanto may now be ripe for an unfriendly takeover by one of the other larger "life science" transnationals such as Dow, Dupont, or Novartis. * Continuing public relations and marketing problems in Europe and around the world. Although calls for a three to five year moratorium on planting GE crops in Britain and across Europe apparently have been shelved, at least for the moment, the fact that mounting public pressure has forced the European Parliament and European Commission officials to even discuss such a GE moratorium has Monsanto and the entire biotech industry spooked. Across Europe genetically engineered field crops continue to be uprooted by protestors, more and more supermarket chains are attempting to source non-GE products, while activist organizations like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Global 2000, European Farmers Coordination (CPE), and the Genetic Engineering Network generate steady media coverage and publicity. * In late-September in the U.K., a special issue of The Ecologist magazine on Monsanto was pulled off the presses and destroyed by its printer. After finding another printer brave enough to publish the magazine, the Ecologist then learned from leading U.K. newsstands that they would not distribute the issue. Although Monsanto claims they haven't threatened printers or magazine vendors, almost no one seems to believe them. As Zac Goldsmith, the Ecologist's co-editor, stated, "Through reputation alone Monsanto has been able, time and time again, to bring about what is in effect defacto censorship. THeir size and history of aggression has repeatedly brought an end to what is undeniably a legitimate and very important debate. They believe in information, but only that which ensures a favorable public response to their often dangerous products." * In the United States Monsanto has begun receiving adverse publicity for prosecuting farmers for saving Monsanto's patented herbicide-resistant "Roundup Ready" soybean seeds. According to press reports Monsanto has hired Pinkerton detectives to harass more than 1800 farmers and seed dealers across the country, with 475 potential criminal "seed piracy" cases already under investigation. A group of seed-saving farmers in Kentucky, Iowa, and Illinois have already been forced to pay fines to Monsanto of up to $35,000 each. Besides the cost of the seed, a $6.50 technology fee is charged by Monsanto for each 50 pound bag of Roundup Ready seed. As Monsanto told the Associated Press October 27, "We say they can pay (either of) two royalties --$6.50 at the store or $600 in court,'' said Scott Baucum, Monsanto manager for intellectual property protection. * According to the Daily Mail (Oct 25, 1998) in the U.K., the British government is considering charging Monsanto with violating environmental pollution laws for a Roundup-resistant rapeseed (canola) farm test site in Lincolnshire, where GE rapeseed plants contaminated an adjoining non-GE rapeseed plot. *Following in the wake of mounting worldwide criticism of Monsanto's "Terminator Technology," the CGIAR organization, the world's largest international agricultural research network, announced that they would boycott all Terminator Technology seeds. According to RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation International) Director Pat Mooney, a leading critic of the Terminator Technology, "It's (CGIAR's) the right decision and it is also a courageous decision," "Since the (Terminator) patent was granted in the United States last March, it has attracted unprecedented opposition from farmers' organizations, environmentalists, and agricultural scientists. More than 1,850 individuals from 54 countries have written personal protests to the US Secretary of Agriculture demanding that the technology be banned." * In Brazil a judge at least temporarily blocked Monsanto's efforts to get approval for farmers to plant Roundup Ready Soybeans. According to a September 20 story by Bill Lambrecht in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, "Monsanto discovered an unsettling reality last week: Anti-biotechnology sentiments that are widespread in Europe are sprouting in South America. Hours before a government agency met to approve Monsanto's request to plant gene-altered soybeans, a Brazilian federal judge granted an injunction blocking the application. For St. Louis-based Monsanto, the ruling is a setback that would be a real defeat if the company misses the Brazilian planting season in October and November. Brazil is a potential market worth tens of millions in profits. With 165 million people and a thriving economy, Brazil is a vital cog in the drive by Monsanto and its rivals to change the genetic codes of crops--and food--around the world." * In Canada, the controversy surrounding Monsanto's strong-arm tactics to get government regulators to approve their controversial recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH or rBST) has reached new levels of intensity. Recent revelations that Monsanto apparently concealed troubling rBGH safety tests on rats (rats fed high levels of rBGH showed damage to thyroid and prostate tissues--potential danger signals for cancer) from government regulators in the US and Canada have led to renewed calls by farmer and consumer organizations in North America to have rBGH pulled from the market. In the October 6 Rutland Herald newspaper in Vermont spokespersons for the US Food and Drug Administration and Monsanto flatly contradicted one another--with Monsanto claiming they gave the controversial rat studies to the FDA prior to rBGH approval in 1993, while the FDA stated "We do not have the data from that study." * In San Francisco on October 27, Monsanto CEO Robert Shapiro was confronted by anti-GE protestors who smashed a tofu vegan cream pie in his face. According to a press release by the "Anti-Genetix" splinter faction of the Biotic Baking Brigade (BBB) issued on October 27 "The chief executive of one of the world's biggest corporations was struck in the face with a tofu creme pie on Tuesday night at the 'State of the World Forum' conference in the Fairmont Hotel. The incident occurred after Shapiro gave a keynote address on the brave new world of genetic engineering." According to "Agent Apple" of the pie-throwers: "Monsanto has engaged in ruthless intimidation of critics; embarked upon an aggressive global takeover of seed, chemical, and pharmaceutical companies, with an aim to control world food distribution; and is conducting an intensive PR "Greenwash" campaign in order to promote itself as an eco-friendly corporation. We will not be fooled, and we will wage our gastronomical struggle with epicurean passion" said Agent Apple. "Monsanto and its subsidiaries have spread chemical death across every continent through products such as PCBs, Agent Orange, Bovine Growth Hormone, Nutrasweet, Equal, and Roundup (the world's biggest selling herbicide). The corporation's toxic Superfund sites poison workers and community members, and its dioxins will continue to cause birth defects and major health problems for generations to come." The EPA has designated Monsanto as a "potentially responsible party" at 93 Superfund sites. For additional in-depth information on these news items and further info on how Monsanto is "Under Attack," readers should regularly access our web site and its links: www.purefood.org www.icta.org More and more activists, farmers, and consumer advocates around the world are calling for a global campaign against Monsanto. Look for further details in upcoming issues of Food Bytes. ________________________________________________________________________ The New York Times Magazine Discovers the Gene Food Crisis On Sunday October 25 the New York Times Magazine ran as its cover story an excellent critique of genetically engineered foods entitled "Playing God in the Garden" by Michael Pollan. The article has attracted a great deal of attention, not only because it's well-written, but also because the Times has had very little coverage of the GE debate since 1994, when it devoted considerable space to the controversy surrounding America's first biotech food product, rBGH. The full text of "Playing God in the Garden" is on our web site. _________________________________________________________________________ ACTION ALERT! HELP WIN THE GROUND-BREAKING LAWSUIT AGAINST THE FDA! DEMAND LABELING AND SAFETY-TESTING OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS AND CROPS! Since 1994, Monsanto and a half-dozen other giant chemical and pharmaceutical companies--working hand-in-hand with compliant regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture--have begun to genetically engineer the food supply of North America and the entire world. Starting with the controversial Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) and the Flavr Savr tomato, and proceeding to a full menu of genetically engineered soybeans, corn, cotton, potatoes, squash, chicory, and canola (rapeseed), the Clinton administration has sat by and allowed the commercialization of over three dozen genetically engineered (GE) foods and crops, with absolutely no labeling or special pre-market safety-testing required. There are already 45 million of acres of GE crops being cultivated across the United States, and most non-organic processed foods in American supermarkets now "test positive" for at least trace levels of genetically engineered ingredients. Despite an endless stream of government and industry propaganda, consumers in the U.S. and overseas remain troubled or anxious about these new "Frankenfoods." As scientific evidence mounts of the potential human and environmental hazards of this new technology --increased allergens, toxins, and pesticide residues; as well as the creation of "superweeds," "superpests," and other forms of genetic pollution and environmental damage--public concern has intensified. The biological pollution of these new GE crops pose a real threat to organic farmers and sustainable agriculture across the U.S. and the world. Recent polls show 80-95% of consumers in the U.S. and Europe demanding labeling of GE foods--primarily so that they can avoid buying them. In a poll by the biotech corporation Novartis in February of 1997, a full 93% of Americans said that all genetically engineered foods should be labeled. In the same poll 73% said they felt "strongly" about mandatory labeling of gene-altered foods, while 54% wanted to see agriculture move toward organic production methods. Despite overwhelming public concern, U.S. companies and regulatory agencies remain unalterably opposed to mandatory labeling. Over the past four years U.S. companies and government authorities repeatedly have opposed labeling of genetically engineered crops. The Clinton administration has threatened to sue the European Union for "restraint of trade" if they require mandatory segregation and labeling of U.S. food exports. As Monsanto and the gene engineers understand full well, mandatory labeling could become the "Achilles Heel" of agricultural biotechnology. As the head of Asgrow seed company (a Monsanto subsidiary) candidly admitted to the press several years ago: "Labeling is the key issue. If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it." In response to government and industry attempts to restrict consumer choice, on May 27, 1998 attorneys from the Center for Food Safety (a project of the International Center for Technology Assessment ), a Washington, D.C. based public interest organization, filed a comprehensive lawsuit on behalf of consumers, scientists, environmentalists, chefs, and religious groups to force the Food and Drug Administration to require mandatory labeling and adequate safety testing of all genetically engineered foods and crops. "The FDA has placed the interests of a handful of biotechnology companies ahead of their responsibility to protect public health," stated Andrew Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety (CFS). "By failing to require testing and labeling of genetically engineered foods, the agency has made consumers unknowing guinea pigs for potentially harmful, unregulated food substances." According to attorney Joseph Mendelson of the CFS, "Current FDA and USDA labeling policies blatantly contradict federal laws, such as the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which mandate the labeling of 'materially altered' foods." The Center for Food Safety also points out that--in addition to serious human health concerns and environmental damage--unlabeled gene foods pose a significant threat to religious freedom and ethical choice. "Millions of Americans feel obligated to refrain from some or all genetically engineered foods based on their ethical and religious principles. Many Jews and Muslims need to avoid foods with substances from specific animals, while devout vegetarians want to avoid substances from any animal. Additionally a considerable portion of the population is religiously motivated to avoid all genetically engineered foods because they view the production of these foods to be incompatible with proper stewardship of the integrity of God's creation," according to Mendelson. For further information on the lawsuit, you can find the Center for Food Safety/ICTA homepage on the internet at: http://www.icta.org _________________________________________________________________________ TAKE ACTION NOW! TELL WASHINGTON AND THE FDA TO LABEL GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS AND RESPECT CONSUMER CHOICE! ***Send a fax, letter, or email to our office, supporting the May 27 lawsuit on the labeling and safety-testing of genetically engineered foods and crops. We will forward your letter to the FDA and your Congressional representatives. In your message tell the FDA to settle the CFS/ICTA lawsuit by requiring all genetically engineered foods and crops to be labeled and safety-tested prior to commercialization. In the meantime all previously approved GE foods should be taken off the market. Tell them that consumers have a fundamental legal right to know whether or not the foods they are purchasing have been genetically engineered. *** Or, if you prefer, you can contact your Congressional Representatives, the FDA, the USDA, and the White House directly: ***Call your Congressional Representatives and ask them to introduce legislation MANDATING the labeling of genetically engineered foods. (U.S. Capital Switchboard 1-800-962-3524 or 202-224-3121) ***Contact the Food and Drug Administration and DEMAND labeling of all GE foods and crops: FDA- Telephone 301-827-4420 email of Dr. Friedman, FDA Commissioner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ***Contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture and DEMAND labeling: USDA- Telephone 301-734-7601 email of Daniel Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ***Contact Clinton and Gore at the White House and DEMAND labeling: President Clinton's Comment Line Telephone- 202-456-1111, #1,#0 email: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> mailing address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. 20500 ***Avoid buying genetically engineered or chemically contaminated foods whenever possible by purchasing organic foods at your local coop or natural foods store. Under current organic certification rules, genetic engineering is banned. Tell your grocery store or food market to offer a full line of organic foods, so that you and your family can avoid foods which are chemically or genetically contaminated. Support local farmers markets or community supported agricultural projects and buy locally-grown organic food whenever possible. Start a garden and grow some of your own food. ***Stay informed. If you have access to the internet, stay tuned to our web sites and links at: http://www.icta.org and http://www.purefood.org ***Subscribe to our free electronic newsletter, Food Bytes, by sending an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the simple message: subscribe pure-food-action If you don't have access to a computer, send us $20 for a 12 month subscription to Food Bytes which we can mail to you. ***Contact our office and volunteer to become an activist in our Campaign for Food Safety or Organic Consumers Action in your local area. Campaign for Food Safety/Organic Consumers Action 860 Highway 61 Little Marais, Minnesota 55614 Tel. 218-226-4164 Fax 218-226-4157 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.purefood.org Help support the labeling lawsuit of the Center for Food Safety. Send donations to: International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) 310 D Street NE Washington, D. C. 20002 ###End of Food Bytes #13### Ronnie Cummins Campaign for Food Safety/Organic Consumers Action 860 Hwy 61 Little Marais, Mn. 55614 Tel. 218-226-4164 Fax 218-226-4157 email [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.purefood.org To subscribe to the free electronic newsletter, Food Bytes, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the simple message: subscribe pure-food-action -------------- If you no longer wish to receive information, please send email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the command: unsubscribe pure-food-action in the body of the message. =========================================================================== /`\ /`\ RABBIT INFORMATION SERVICE: _ _ (/\ \-/ /\) P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 (.\_/.) )6 6( http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm \6 6/ >{= Y =}< VEGETARIAN PAGE =\ /= /'-^-'\ http://www.geocities/RainForest/4620 /O\ / (_) (_) / \ ( | . | U U ) | |} Pity the human race its illusion of permanence (| |)/ \_/^\_/ w'-'w ===========================================================================
