Ciudadanos confrontan al Colegio de Agrónomos/ARA por su homenaje a Monsanto

Anuncio mexicano de la protesta del 25

Coctel agroecológico, 23 de mayo

Former Pro-GMO Scientist Speaks Out On The Real Dangers of Genetically Engineered Food

http://www.foodrevolution.org/blog/former-pro-gmo-scientist/

By Thierry Vrain

I retired 10 years ago after a long career as a research scientist for Agriculture Canada. When I was on the payroll, I was the designated scientist of my institute to address public groups and reassure them that genetically engineered crops and foods were safe. There is, however, a growing body of scientific research – done mostly in Europe, Russia, and other countries – showing that diets containing engineered corn or soya cause serious health problems in laboratory mice and rats.

I don’t know if I was passionate about it but I was knowledgeable. I defended the side of technological advance, of science and progress.

In the last 10 years I have changed...

Biotech Ambassadors: How the U.S. State Department Promotes the Seed Industry’s Global Agenda

http://foodandwaterwatch.org/reports/biotech-ambassadors/

Read the Full Report

Agricultural development is essential for the developing world to foster sustainable economies, enhance food security to combat global hunger and increase resiliency to climate change. Addressing these challenges will require diverse strategies that emphasize sustainable, productive approaches that are directed by countries in the developing world. 

But in the past decade, the United States has aggressively pursued foreign policies in food and agriculture that benefit the largest seed companies. The U.S. State Department has launched a concerted strategy to promote agricultural biotechnology, often over the opposition of the public and governments, to the near exclusion of other more sustainable, more appropriate agricultural policy alternatives. 

The U.S. State Department has also lobbied foreign governments to adopt pro-agricultural biotechnology policies and laws, operated a rigorous public relations campaign to improve the image of biotechnology and challenged commonsense biotechnology safeguards and rules — even including opposing laws requiring the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods.

Food & Water Watch closely examined five years of State Department diplomatic cables from 2005 to 2009 to provide the first comprehensive analysis of the strategy, tactics and U.S. foreign policy objectives to foist pro-agricultural biotechnology policies worldwide. Read the full report to learn more.

CONSUMERS UNION HAILS HISTORIC VERMONT HOUSE VOTE AS MAJOR VICTORY FOR LABELING OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD

Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, commended the Vermont House of Representatives for today’s historic vote passing H-112, requiring the labeling of all genetically engineered (GE) food sold in that state, by an overwhelming margin of 99 to 42. The bill now moves to the Vermont Senate, which will take it up when the legislature returns January 2014. If the Senate passes the bill, Vermont will be the first in the nation to mandate GE labeling.
“Vermont’s historic vote today is a major victory for consumer demand for the labeling of genetically engineered food," said Michael Hansen, PhD, a biologist and Senior Scientist at Consumers Union. “We commend the members of the Vermont House who voted for this bill, despite an onslaught of industry lobbying against it.”
The Vermont House is the first state legislative body to pass a bill to label GE food, although the state of Alaska passed legislation requiring labeling of GE fish. GE food is required to be labeled in 62 foreign countries, including all of the European Union, Japan, Korea, Australia, and India.  
The Vermont bill will go into effect when two other states have passed similar legislation, or within two years from the date of signing. Labeling bills are also pending in Maine, Connecticut, and several other states. “All these states will be hard fought,” said Hansen.  
A ballot initiative in California lost in November 2012 by a small margin, 51 to 49 percent. Industry opponents outspent supporters by roughly five to one. A similar GE labeling initiative will be on the ballot in Washington State in November 2013. A federal bill to require GE food labeling was recently introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR).  
Interest in labeling bills has increased since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed the final steps of its approval process for GE salmon this year. If approved, the salmon would be the first GE animal on the U.S. market and the FDA has said that it does not intend to require labeling of it. Nearly 2 million people recently told the FDA that they oppose approval of GE salmon. H-112 would also require the labeling of GE salmon.
Consumers Union has long supported labeling of GE food and stricter regulatory oversight of GE crops.
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Contact: Naomi Starkman, nstarkman@gmail.com, 917.539.3924

Marcha contra Monsanto, 25 de mayo

Venezuela: Campaña Nacional Anti transgenicos

Campaña Nacional Anti transgenicos from Red ALBATV on Vimeo.

http://www.albatv.org/Se-reactiva-la-Campana-nacional.html

Ante la ofensiva lanzada por cámaras empresariales como Fedeagro, quienes -junto a trasnacionales del agronegocio y a diputados capitalistas- intentan modificar la Ley de Semillas para introducir organismos genéticamente modificados, distintas organizaciones populares reactivan la Campaña para que Venezuela continúe siendo "Territorio libre de transgénicos".

"Aquí en Venezuela estamos trabajando y ya hemos prohibido un ensayo que nos querían meter por ahí con transgénicos y estamos poniendo la barrera respectiva a nivel nacional a los transgénicos, que le hacen mucho daño a la agricultura y sobre todo a la soberanía de nuestros pueblos", expresó el Comandante Hugo Chávez Frías el 18 de abril del 2004, en la edición Nro. 189 del programa "Aló Presidente".

Recuperando este legado, los movimientos populares se plantean construir un debate a nivel masivo, que instale la importancia de la soberanía alimentaria y le ponga un freno a cualquier pretensión de imponer el modelo de agronegocio en Venezuela, instrumento del saqueo de las corporaciones como Monsanto, Cargill, Dreyfuss, entre otras. Empresas que son hegemónicas en los modelos dependientes de otros países, como es el caso de Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay, donde se impone el monocultivo de soja y con él, una agricultura sin agricultores y una sociedad sin soberanía sobre sus bienes más preciados.

Nature is at it again

http://www.nature.com/news/transgenics-a-new-breed-1.12887

Transgenics: A new breed

The next wave of genetically modified crops is making its way to market — and might just ease concerns over 'Frankenfoods'.

• Daniel Cressey

01 May 2013

IMAGE: SERGE BLOCH

Vital Link article on health hazards of genetically modified foods

THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE
Dear friends and colleagues,

Re: Don’t Look, Don’t Find: Health Hazards of Genetically Modified Food
A peer-reviewed article on the health hazards of genetically modified foods has recently been published in Vital Link, the journal of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (www.cand.ca).
The article underscores the inherently imprecise nature of the genetic engineering process, which can cause disruption to the genome. This can lead and has in some cases led to unintended and serious effects. It tackles the hard issues concerning the safety of GM foods. The key points are as follows:
Morbidity & Mortality Findings in Animal Feeding Studies
* The study of Seralini et al. (2012), which is the most thorough study to be carried out on a GM food to date, found alarming health impacts such as severe organ damage, tumors and premature death in rats fed with GM maize sprayed and not sprayed with the herbicide Round-up (glyphosate).
* A review of 19 animal feeding studies with GM crops concluded that they can cause toxic effects and may alter hematological, biochemical, and immunologic parameters. 
Questionable Claims of the Safety of Insect and Herbicide-Resistant GM Crops
* Claims by industry that Bt toxins would be harmlessly broken down in the digestive tract were debunked by a Canadian study in 2010 which found Bt toxin protein in the blood of pregnant women and in the blood supply to their fetuses. Bt proteins can potentially trigger allergies as well as auto-immune and other chronic diseases. The article cites other studies showing allergic and inflammatory responses in rats fed with Bt corn and swelling in the gut in those fed with Bt potato.
* Herbicide-tolerant GM crops comprise about 83% of the world’s GM crop coverage. ‘Roundup Ready’ soy genetically engineered to be resistant to Round-up (glyphosate) will necessarily contain elevated levels of the herbicide. Glyphosate has been linked in laboratory and epidemiological studies and clinical reports to serious health effects, including endocrine disruption, DNA damage, birth defects, cancer, and neurological disorders.
Weak Regulatory System
Seralini et al.’s two-year study showed that industry and regulatory claims of biological irrelevance of effects found in 90-day tests are invalid. Rat feeding studies typically performed in support of regulatory authorizations for GMOs last for a maximum of 90 days.Such studies are designed and conducted by the same companies who market the GMOs in question. The article stresses the American Academy of Environmental Medicine’s (AAEM) conclusion that GM foods have not been properly tested for human consumption and that animal studies offer “ample evidence of probable harm”.
GM-Free Diets for Health
The article cites case studies where people in the US have reported improvements in their health just by eliminating GMOs from their diets. Symptoms that have reportedly disappeared include gastrointestinal disorders, food intolerances and allergies, immune responses, and asthma. Farmers have similarly reported improved health in their livestock after switching to non-GM feed. The article supports the AAEM’s recommendation that physicians prescribe a GM-free diet to patients and encourages the consumption of organic food for health and safety. 

The article can be downloaded from: http://www.earthopensource.org/index.php/news/145-new-article-on-health-hazards-of-genetically-modified-foods. [Citation: Robinson, C (2103) Don't look, don't find: Health hazards of genetically modified food. CAND Vital Link, Volume 20(1): 17-24.]

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