The safety and regulation of GM food has again been questioned. According to a new Canadian report (prepared by highly regarded experts for the Royal Society of Canada) GM food could pose:
"serious risks to human health, of extensive, irremediable disruption for the natural ecosystems or of serious dimunition of biodiversity"
Peter Melchett wrote suggesting that it would be useful if I responded to the report by Dr. Vandana Shiva entitled "The Golden Rice Hoax". I am pleased to do so and I am also enclosing background information on Vitamin A deficiency disorders and the Foundation's role in the development of Golden Rice that you may find informative.
News about a "Golden Rice" first appeared in August 1999, when scientists announced they had succeeded in genetically engineering a rice variety to contain Beta-Carotene (or pro-Vitamin A), a compound that our body can convert into Vitamin A.
The scientists said they hope that this genetically engineered (GE) rice would be an important tool to fight Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD), a malnutrition problem which affects millions of people in poor countries, especially children and pregnant women...
Greenpeace today welcomed a call by the National Farmers Union of Canada for "a moratorium on the production, importation, distribution, and sale of GM food".
Charlie Kronick, Greenpeace GM Campaigner said, "For the last 4 years, politicians and the NFU in the UK have said that if we fail to adopt GM crops that we'll lose out to our North American rivals. As the Canadian NFU has so clearly identified the environmental and economic drawbacks of GM, their call for a ban on GM foods sets exactly the kind of example that farmers, food producers and politicians should follow in this country".
On 26 July 1999, 28 Greenpeace volunteers were arrested for their part in peacefully removing a crop of genetically modified (GM) maize. At the subsequent trial for criminal damage, the legal defence was that those involved had a 'lawful excuse' in removing the maize. This book brings together the statements submitted to the court by scientific experts, demonstrating that the defendants beliefs about the risks from GM were reasonable. The scientific case supporting their beliefs was never challenged by the prosecution, so these statements were never aired in court.
This month the US National Family Farm Coalition, in conjunction with Greenpeace, held public meetings to which farmers were invited to hear about the experience of US growers and other farmers regarding the impacts of the commercial introduction of GM crops. Following a number of requests for more information from those who were unable to attend, here's a summary of the meetings and other subsequent developments.
Posted by admin — 1 July 1999 at 8:00am
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Comments
The
European Commission is obliged to cancel the market approval for all
genetically engineered Bt-crops according to an independent legal
opinion prepared for Greenpeace. Allowing the Bt maize crops to be grown
commercially while halting the approval process for similar new crops
is a breach of EU law.
