Save our Seeds

It was with relief but mixed feelings that the delegates and observers of the Biosafety Protocol meeting in Curitiba welcomed a last minute agreement on the contentious issue of identification and documentation of international shipments of GMOs in food, feed and for processing. After 4 days of intensive negotiations, which went into 6 a.m. in the morning of Friday in the "friends of the chair" drafting group and lasted until 8 p.m. in the plenary a deal was found that does improve the previous interim provisions but fall short of what the large majority of countries wanted. The last watering down of the text, orchestrated by the US and industry, was carried out by Mexico and Paraguay.</p><p><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32550">IPS: Biosafety Protocol Alive, but Restricted</a></p><p><a href="http://www.iisd.ca/biodiv/bs-copmop3/">Earth Negotiations Bulletin coverage of Biosafety Protocol</a></p><p><a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/releases/weak-gmo-identification-improv">Greenpeace: Better than nothing</a></p><p><a href="http://biotech-trade-watch.org/?Vlang=en&PHPSESSID=7eb2f8b9dbda85c821cf555142f5032d">Biotech Trade Watch: Video of last negotiations, Interview with Li Lim Lin (TWN) on results</a></p><p><a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=FRI20060318&articleId=2123">Friends of the Earth: International Safety Laws Agreed</a>

Syngenta Seeds denied claims by a peasant group occupying its farm in southern Brazil that the biotechnology company`s experiments with genetically modified organisms were illegal.</p><p><a href="http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/35656/story.htm">Reuters</a>

Farmers of Via Campesina occupied a GM soybean experimental site of Syngenta,close to the National Park of Iguacu in the State of Parana. The test site is illegal acording to them. Environment Minister Marina Silva, attending the Biosafety Protocol negotiations in Curitiba promised to investigate the case.</p><p><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0315-20.htm"> Agro-Biotech Giant Syngenta Plants Illegal Genetically Engineered Crop in Brazilian World Heritage Site</a></p><p><a href="http://news.tmcnet.com/news/2006/03/15/1462513.htm">AP: Biotech protesters camped out at Syngenta research farm in Brazil</a>

On Tuesday morning, roughly 1,000 Vssa Campesina activists occupied facilities owned by the Switzerland-based transnational agribusiness giant Syngenta in Santa Teresa do Oeste, some 550 km from Curitiba.The protesters demanded an end to the company`s illegal experiments with transgenics at the installation, which are prohibited because of its proximity to Iguazu National Park</p><p><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32502">ENVIRONMENT: Brazil to Press for Global Biodiversity Regime</a>

Co-existence according to the European Commission, unimpressed by massive criticism of Environment ministers at their last meeting, is just an issue of keeping GM-contamination below an arbitrary threshold of 0,9%. Any national or regional measures to protect non-GM farming beyond this legally and practically flawed concept will be threatened with legal action. In a remarkably ignorant press release and report Agricultural Commissioner Marianne Fischer-Boel announced that no EU measure were necessary to ensure co-existence of GM and non-GM crops.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8G8PV282.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db">Businessweek: EU threatens action on modified crop bans</a></p><p><a href="http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/293&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en">EU Commission Press Release</a></p><p><a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/coexistence/index_en.htm">EU web-site on co-existence</a></p><p><a href="http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/HH_10_March_commission.htm">FOE: European Commission: contaminate, then legislate</a></p><p><a href="http://eu.greenpeace.org/downloads/gmo/CoexCommunicationPR060310.pdf">Greenpeace: Commission launches attack on national and regional GMO laws</a></p><p><a href="http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/35598/story.htm">Reuters: Greens Slam EU Commission`s Views on GMO Crop Law</a>

European Union ministers today failed to agree on how to ensure the safety and authorization of new genetically modified seed, smany of whom complained of a lack of transparency and that their concerns were often ignored.</p><p><a href="http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/35578/story.htm">Reuters: EU Ministers take Aim at Biotech Approvals Policy</a></p><p><a href="http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsletter&topic_id=5&subtopic_id=25&doc_id=12416">Washington Post via checkbiotech.org: EU Nations Demand Biotech System Changes</a></p><p><a href="http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsletter&topic_id=5&subtopic_id=25&doc_id=12409">International Herald Tribune via checkbiotech.org: EU countries split on biotech food</a></p><p><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B4E8408FB%2D74A7%2D4830%2DB934%2D3C0BBE203BE2%7D&dist=newsfinder&siteid=google&keyword=">marketwatch.com: E.U. ministers fail to agree on rules for GMO approval</a>

The European Commission authorised the placing on the market of genetically modified maize line 1507 for use as food and food ingredients, after the Council of Ministers had not agree on an approval in December 2005.</p><p><a href="http://www.europa.eu.int/rapid/showInformation.do?pageName=middayExpress&g">EU Press release</a></p><p><a href="http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-03-03T155413Z_01_ALL344907_RTRIDST_0_OZABS-FOOD-EU-GMOS-20060303.XML&archived=False">Reuters: EU approves new type of genetically modified maize</a></p><p><a href="http://eu.greenpeace.org/downloads/gmo/BackgroundBriefingPioneer1507.pdf">Greenpeace: Total failure of EFSA</a></p><p><a href="http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=66214-maize-eu-gm">Foodnavigator: Europe approves GM maize for food use</a>

The 1000-page WTO report, ruling the trade dispute on biotech, which was distributed earlier this month only to the countries involved in the dispute, was leaked to Friends of the Earth today.</p><p><a href="http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/AB_28_Feb_leaked_report.htm">FOE Press Release</a></p><p><a href="http://www.saveourseeds.org/dossier/fact_sheet_WTO.htm">SOS fact sheet [full WTO-report available]</a></p><p><a href="http://www.bite-back.org/objection/our_food.php">www.bite-back.org - FOE cyber action page</a>

More than 90 Texas cotton farmers have sued Monsanto, Bayer and Delta & Pine Land for crop losses due to a defect in its GM cotton. The farmers claim Monsanto knew the herbicide resistance of the plants would not work in extreme heat and drought conditions but did not tell them. "We feel like Monsanto`s been lying to us all along," said B.B. Krenek, a Wharton, Texas cotton consultant who is working with a number of affected farmers.</p><p><a href="http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-02-25T013514Z_01_N24200998_RTRUKOC_0_US-FOOD-MONSANTO-COTTON.xml&archived=False">Reuters: Cotton farmers sue Monsanto, others, for crop loss</a>

the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has rejected the application of for ATryn, an anti-blod clotting protein derived from the milk of genetically-engineered goats, arguing that it was not yet demonstrated that A Tryn`s benefits are greater than its risks. <a href="http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2006/02/23/afx2550140.html">First drug from transgenic animal fails to get EU approval - Forbes.com</a></p><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/24/business/worldbusiness/24drug.html">New York Times: Europe Rejects Genetically Engineered Drug</a></p><p><a href="http://www.emea.eu.int/pdfs/human/opinion/QandA_Atryn_6202206en.pdf">EMEA: Questions and Answers on ATryn</a>