X-Sender: rwolfson@pop3.concentric.net
Message-Id: <l03102801b1de490397f5@[206.173.215.13]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1998 10:34:37 -0500
To: info@natural-law.ca
From: Richard Wolfson <rwolfson@concentric.net>
Subject: GE News
posted by jtoth@lisco.com (Joe Toth) :
USDA goes back to drawing board on organic rules
WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - After being bombarded with nearly 300,000
angry letters from organic farmers and health-conscious consumers, the U.S.
Agriculture Department said Wednesday it will try again this autumn to
create standards for organic products.
In May, the USDA withdrew a proposed rule that would have let food labeled
as ``organic'' contain human waste, irradiation or bio-engineered material.
A record 280,000 letters filled USDA's mailbox with complaints about the
plan from environmentalists, organic farmers, celebrities such as musician
Willie Nelson and the entire Vermont legislature.
.............
Financial Times (London) July 22, 1998
Court decision throws seed trials into chaos
By John Mason, Law Courts Correspondent
The future for trials of genetically modified food seeds in the UK was
thrown into confusion yesterday after the Court of Appeal insisted the
government should enforce regulations it admitted breaching to allow the
tests to go ahead.
During a legal action brought by an organic farmer against trials of
genetically modified maize being carried out on adjacent land, the
government admitted breaking its own seed trials rules. The court rejected
Guy Watson's application for a judicial review of the decision allowing the
trial. But it described as "remarkable and regrettable" the agriculture
ministry's admission it had breached its own regulations.
The court's ruling, insisting the government enforce the regulations until
they are changed, appeared to throw the future of seed-trials into doubt.
Some 1,200 trials in the UK involving 500 plant varieties could be
affected, the court heard.
The effect on the bio-technology industry was unclear. The Soil
Association, the regulatory organisation for organic farming, which backed
Mr Watson's case, said the ruling could put back the introduction of
genetically modified crops by two years.
...................
Gore urges France's Jospin to allow US corn sales
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Al Gore made a
personal appeal on Tuesday to France's Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to
clear the way for Spain to resume imports of U.S. corn, an aide to the vice
president said.
"It's fair to say the prime minister definitely understood the importance
of this issue to American farmers" after his telephone conversation with
Gore, said Kay Casstevens, a legislative assistant to the vice president.
Although Jospin told Gore that he hadn't finished reviewing the issue, he
also said it was "his intention to make a decision in the near term,"
Casstevens said.
Time is of the essence because the European Union opened a tender on July 3
for Spain to import 600,000 tonnes of non-EU corn and that tender will open
remain only until August 6.
The United States sold more than $300 million dollars of corn annually to
Spain and Portugal in 1995 through 1997 under trade pacts, which allow the
two countries to import corn at much lower tariffs than the rest of EU.
But U.S. corn growers have made no sales to either destination this year
because of French delays in giving final EU approval to two varieties of
genetically-modified corn grown in the United States.
In the meantime, Argentine and Eastern European suppliers have stepped in
and made sales to Spain and Portugal that would normally be made by U.S.
exporters.
..............
The Canberra Times July 22, 1998, Wednesday Edition
GENE TECHNOLOGY: FRIEND OR FOE?
BYLINE: CHRISTINE SALINS
IF YOU weren't aware of it before, you are now: some of the food on our
table has been genetically engineered and it will not be long perhaps
only two years before much of our diet includes genetically engineered
food such as sugar and canola. This fundamental shift in the way our
food is produced has happened with many Australians seemingly unaware of
it. To some, such as the Australian Food Council, which represents many
of Australia's food manufacturers and processors, it promises benefits to
consumers and the economy.
Others, such as Tomorrow's Food Today, a non-profit organisation which aims
to promote the food and hospitality industries in Australia, have called
for caution.
For some, the whole scenario is far too frightening to contemplate
scientists playing God.
_________________________________________________________
Richard Wolfson, PhD
Consumer Right to Know Campaign,
for Mandatory Labelling and Long-term
Testing of all Genetically Engineered Foods,
500 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, ON Canada K1N 6N2
tel. 613-565-8517 fax. 613-565-1596
email: rwolfson@concentric.net
Our website, http://www.natural-law.ca/genetic/geindex.html
contains more information on genetic engineering as well as
previous genetic engineering news items
Subscription fee to genetic engineering news is $35 for 12 months
See website for details.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".