And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: X-Originating-IP: [208.147.34.84] From: "Douglass Daley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Genetically Altering the World's Food Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 20:02:04 PST Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain > > . >> . From: RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH WEEKLY #639 . >> . ---February 25, 1999--- . >> . HEADLINES: . >> . GENETICALLY ALTERING THE WORLD'S FOOD . >> . ========== . > > On January 14, after an 8-year scientific review, Canada rejected >> Monsanto corporation's request for approval of its genetically >> altered milk hormone, rBGH, a drug that makes dairy cows produce >> 10% more milk than normal.[1] This was a serious setback for >> Monsanto because rBGH was the company's first >> genetically-engineered product and Monsanto had hoped >> international acceptance of rBGH would smoothe the way for its >> other genetically-engineered farm crops like cotton, tomatoes, >> potatoes, rice, corn, and soybeans. >> >> The approval process for rBGH in Canada became an embarrasing >> political fiasco when Canadian health officials claimed Monsanto >> had tried to bribe them, which the company denied, and government >> scientists testified that they were being pressured by higher-ups >> to approve rBGH against their better scientific judgment. (See >> REHW #621.) >> >> Ultimately, Canada gave a thumbs down to rBGH because, as the >> product label acknowledges, it can cause udder infections, >> painful, debilitating foot disorders, and reduced life span in >> treated cows. >> >> U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of rBGH >> in U.S. dairy cows in November, 1993, without taking a position >> on the issue of cruelty to animals. Monsanto will not reveal how >> widely the drug has been adopted by U.S. dairy farmers. >> >> Monsanto says it will appeal the rBGH decision within the >> Canadian government. But more importantly, Monsanto will ask the >> World Health Organization's Codex Alimentarius to declare rBGH >> safe when Codex meets in Rome this coming summer. If Codex issues >> the statement that Monsanto wants, under the World Trade >> Organization's rules, Canada will lose its right to ban the use >> of rBGH within its borders, and Monsanto will be one step closer >> to its goal.[1] At bottom, this is what "free trade" is about -- >> freeing transnational corporations from control by nation states. >> Codex Alimentarius is widely perceived to be dominated not by >> public-spirited health specialists but by scientists aligned with >> the interests of transnational corporations. >> >> Despite the recent setback for rBGH in Canada, Monsanto is >> pressing ahead with its plan to dominate world agriculture by >> selling genetically modified seeds -- a plan it is pursuing with >> powerful aid from the highest levels of the U.S. government. >> >> Both inside and outside the U.S., Monsanto is selling two basic >> varieties of genetically-modified seeds: "Roundup Ready" seeds >> that have been genetically modified to withstand a heavy soaking >> with Monsanto's best-selling herbicide, Roundup (glyphosate). And >> a group of seeds implanted with a Bt gene, which produces a >> pesticidal toxin in every cell of the resulting plant. >> Caterpillars that eat any part of such a plant will die, at least >> until the whole caterpillar population develops "resistance" to >> the Bt toxin. (For more detail, see REHW #637 and #638.) >> >> Within the U.S., genetically altered crops are rapidly coming >> into widespread use. In 1995, no genetically-modified crops were >> grown for commercial sale. Three years later, in 1998, 73 million >> acres of genetically-modified crops were grown worldwide, more >> than 50 million acres of them in the U.S. To allow this rapid >> change to occur with a minimum of resistance from consumers, the >> FDA has declared that genetically modified foods do not need to >> be labeled, thus depriving consumers of the opportunity to make >> an informed choice in the grocery store. You cannot refuse to buy >> what you cannot identify. It is presently estimated that some >> 30,000 items in U.S. grocery stores already contain genetically >> modified organisms.[2] >> >> Monsanto has announced that by the year 2000 (next year), 100% of >> U.S. soybeans (60 million acres) will be genetically modified. >> >> Actually, 100% really means something like 99.9%. Even if >> Monsanto reaches it's "100%" goal, there will continue to be a >> small acreage devoted to organically-grown, traditional soybeans. >> However, if Monsanto has its way, even these organically-grown >> non-genetically-modified soybeans will become difficult to >> identify. Last year when the U.S. Department of Agriculture >> (USDA) proposed national standards to define what "organically >> grown" means, Monsanto and USDA proposed to allow >> genetically-modified crops to be labeled "organic." (See REHW >> #583.) After USDA received 300,000 letters of opposition from an >> angry public, USDA and Monsanto both withdrew the proposal. But >> three years from now, Monsanto will be back, urging the >> government to allow the "organic" label on genetically modified >> crops. If USDA goes along with Monsanto's plan, then the >> "organic" label will become meaningless and consumers will have >> to trust their grocers to supply soybeans that have not been >> genetically modified. But few grocers will have any way to know. >> >> According to a series of reports by Bill Lambrecht in the ST. >> LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, Monsanto's overarching plan is to gain >> approval for genetically modified crops in Europe, then use the >> European imprimatur to sell its technology to Europe's former >> colonies in Africa, Asia and Latin America. >> >> It won't be easy. In Ireland, Great Britain, France and India, >> farmer-led uprisings have burned and destroyed Monsanto's test >> plots. In India, Monsanto is growing genetically modified plants >> in green houses constructed of bullet-proof plastic. Monsanto >> insists its goal is "doing well by doing good" but farmers >> outside the U.S. are deeply suspicious. >> >> Of particular concern is Monsanto's latest genetic technique >> called the Technology Protection System, commonly known as >> "terminator technology." Developed with taxpayer money by the >> U.S. Department of Agriculture but patented by a >> Mississippi-based seed company that Monsanto has recently >> purchased, terminator technology is a genetic technique that >> renders the seeds of crops sterile after one or two years. This >> assures that Monsanto's seeds cannot be illegally saved and >> re-planted year after year. >> >> With terminator technology, anyone who becomes dependent upon >> Monsanto's genetically-modified seed will have to come back to >> Monsanto year after year to purchase new seed. By this means, >> Monsanto will gain a substantial measure of control over the food >> supply of any nation that widely adopts the company's genetic >> technologies. It is not a conspiracy, merely a shrewd business >> venture, but it is clear that Monsanto's goal is effective >> control of many of the staple crops that presently feed the >> world. >> >> From its own perspective, the U.S. government evidently believes >> Monsanto's goal is worth supporting. According to Bill Lambrecht >> of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, when Irish Prime Minister Bertie >> Ahern arrived in the U.S. in 1998 for a St. Patrick's Day visit, >> he was met by Sandy Berger, the director of the U.S. National >> Security Council. The topic of conversation at lunch was not >> peace in war-torn Ireland, but Ireland's pivotal vote in a >> pending European Community decision on Monsanto's genetically >> modified corn.[3] Lambrecht reports that when Monsanto flew a >> group of Irish journalists to the U.S. to help them prepare for >> the debate over genetically modified foods, their trip included a >> stop in the Oval Office at the White House -- an inner sanctum >> that few visitors to Washington ever see. >> >> When the French were reluctant to allow Monsanto's seeds to >> sprout on French soil, Secretary of State Madeline Albright and >> U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshevsky intervened on >> Monsanto's behalf. When the French still refused to yield, >> President Clinton personally took up the matter with French Prime >> Minister Lionel Jospin and gave him "an earful," Lambrecht >> writes. When that didn't work, Vice-President Gore followed up >> with a phone call to the French Prime Minister. Ultimately, the >> French gave in to the steady, high-level pressure. >> >> "Wherever Monsanto seeks to sow, the U.S. government clears the >> ground," writes Lambrecht, who calls the U.S. government >> Monsanto's "most powerful ally." >> >> "From the White House and the National Security Council on down," >> Lambrecht writes, "the apparatus of the U.S. Government worked >> this year [1998] on behalf of biotechnology. For Monsanto, at >> this moment, it is like having an Olympic basketball team with >> several Michael Jordans."[3] >> >> We are speculating, but it appears to us that the U.S. government >> may view genetically modified crops as a powerful new arm of U.S. >> foreign policy. Nations whose staple foods are grown from seed >> that they must purchase year after year from a handful of U.S. >> corporations are nations likely to see the world the way the U.S. >> wants them to see it. When asked, they are likely to play ball, >> whether they want to or not. A new world order, indeed. >> >> * * * >> >> Readers who would like to become active on this issue are urged >> to read the new publication, MONSANTO MONITOR, which is now being >> published in the Netherlands. Available via mail or E-mail. >> E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or write: P.O. Box 92066, 1090 >> AB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Phone: +31-20-468 2626; fax: >> +31-20-468 2275. Or: www.antenna.nl/aseed. >> >> * * * >> >> Other excellent sources for action ideas and information include >> these: >> >> 1) Canada's Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) at >> www.rafi.org; In North Carolina, phone (919) 542-1396; fax: (919) >> 542-0069; e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In Canada, phone (204) 453-5259; >> fax: (204) 925-8034; e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> 2) Physicians and Scientists Against Genetically Engineered Food >> at www.psagef.org/sitemap.htm. >> >> 3) The Campaign for Food Safety at www.purefood.org; telephone >> (218) 226-4164; e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> 4) Food & Water, 389 Vermont Route 215, Walden, VT 05873; phone: >> (802) 563-3300; fax: (802) 563-3310. Their FOOD & WATER JOURNAL >> is must reading. >> >> >> ========== >> [1] Kelly Morris, "Bovine somatotropin--who's crying over spilt >> milk?" LANCET Vol. 353 (January 23, 1999), pg. 306. For more >> detail on this story, see Brewster and Cathleen Kneen, "rbGH--for >> the last time?" RAM'S HORN No. 166 (February 1999), pg. 1. The >> RAM'S HORN [ISSN 0827-4053]: S-12, C-11, R.R. #1, Sorrento, B.C. >> V0E 2W0, Canada, is $20 (U.S.) per year (11 issues). E-mail: >> [EMAIL PROTECTED]; or phone (250) 835-8561. Well worth the >> price. >> >> [2] These big-name products include genetically modified >> ingredients: Coca-Cola (corn syrup and/or Aspartame), Fritos >> (corn), Green Giant Harvest Burgers (soy), McDonald's french >> fries (potatoes), Nestle's chocolate (soy), Karo corn syrup >> (corn), NutraSweet (Aspartame), Kraft salad dressings (canola >> oil), Fleishmann's margarine (soy), Similac infant formula (soy), >> Land o' Lakes butter (rBGH), Cabot Creamery Butter (rBGH). >> >> If you want to avoid genetically modified products entirely, stay >> away from non-organic tomatoes, potatoes, corn, soy, canola and >> yellow squash. Avoid corn syrup and fructose--which are in almost >> all beverages and sodas (even health food brands) and in almost >> all sweet products, yogurt and aspirin. Avoid non-organic corn >> oil, cornstarch, corn meal, baking soda, baking powder, glycose >> syrup. Avoid soy; soy flour in baked goods, pizza, cookies, >> cakes, pasta; fillers in meat products (for example Big Macs), >> vegetarian meat substitutes (for example tofu, tofu burgers, tofu >> hot dogs), soy milk, infant formula, babyfoods; diet and protein >> shakes, protein bars; chocolate and candy bars; margarine; ice >> cream; pet food; soy oil in salad dressings and snack chips; soy >> sauce; lecithin and soy lecithin. In all, well over 30,000 >> products. >> >> Aspartame--the artificial sweetener Equal or NutraSweet--contains >> a genetically engineered enzyme, as do most non-organic cheeses. >> Amylase (used in making bread, flour, whole wheat flour, cereals, >> starch), Catalase (used in making soft drinks, egg whites, liquid >> whey) and Lactase are all genetically altered. >> >> Most livestock and commercial seafood are being fed genetically >> modified feed. Commercial pork has been genetically altered with >> DNA from human beings. >> >> Data from: Phillip Frazer and Annie Berthold-Bond, editors, NEWS >> ON EARTH, December, 1998, pg. 4. NEWS ON EARTH [ISSN 1099-0054] >> is a high-quality environmental newsletter published monthly; >> write them at 175 Fifth Avenue, Ste. 2245, NY, NY 10010; or >> [EMAIL PROTECTED]; or phone (212) 741-2365. >> >> [3] Bill Lambrecht, "World Recoils at Monsanto's Brave New >> Crops," ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH December 27, 1998, pg. A1. >> >> Descriptor terms: monsanto; biotechnology; food safety; >> pesticides; food security; U.S. foreign policy; genetic >> engineering; rbgh; bovine growth hormone; canada; roundup; >> glyphosate; bt; resistance; organbic standards; usda; fda; bill >> lambrecht; france; ireland; terminator technology; national >> security council; >> >> ################################################################ >> NOTICE >> Environmental Research Foundation provides this electronic >> version of RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH WEEKLY free of charge >> even though it costs our organization considerable time and money >> to produce it. We would like to continue to provide this service >> free. You could help by making a tax-deductible contribution >> (anything you can afford, whether $5.00 or $500.00). Please send >> your tax-deductible contribution to: Environmental Research >> Foundation, P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403-7036. Please do >> not send credit card information via E-mail. 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