[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Richard Wolfson <rwolfson@concentric.net>: Appeal from Bio Safety Meeting

--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: Richard Wolfson <rwolfson@concentric.net>
To: info@natural-law.ca
Subject: Appeal from Bio Safety Meeting
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 20:45:14 -0400
Message-ID: <l03102808b069c251c8a5@[206.173.215.21]>

               Global Days of Action Against Genetic Engineering

                Press Release   	13/10/97  	For immediate
use

        Genetically Engineered Soya has Elevated Hormone Levels:
                          Public Health Threat
        International Scientists Appeal To Governments World-Wide

 Today, an urgent appeal has been made by scientists from around the
world
attending the  Third Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on Biosafety
of The UN-Convention on Biological Diversity (13-17 October) in Canada.
The scientists implored "all governments to use whatever methods
available
to them to bar from their markets, on grounds of injury to public health,
Monsanto's genetically manipulated (GM) [herbicide-resistant]
Roundup-Ready
(RR) soybean." New findings indicate that EU member nations should
immediately invoke Article 16, the safeguard clause of Directive 90/220,
banning the soya on the grounds of specific health risks.

Dramatic scientific evidence has revealed that the application of
glyphosate (such as the herbicide Roundup) increased the level of plant
estrogens of bean crops.  Plant estrogens are known to affect mammals
including humans. The signatories to the appeal, including Dr Ricarda
Steinbrecher, UK Geneticist, stated:  "Young children are especially
susceptible to elevated levels of estrogen. Thus there is a clear and
serious health issue at hand."

Further alarming evidence has now been released concerning the GM
soybeans,
hitherto ruled as been substantially equivalent to ordinary soybeans and
safe for introduction into our food supply:  Cows fed with the
RR-soybeans
were found to produce milk with significantly higher fat content than
those
fed with ordinary soybeans.  The scientists concluded this to be direct
proof of a substantial difference between the GM- and ordinary soybeans.

Monsanto's application for market approval of the RR-soybean provided no
data on estrogen levels of RR-soybeans sprayed with glyphosate.  Indeed,
all data provided on the concentration levels of different compound was
derived from unsprayed beans!

Scientific advisor to the UK Genetic Engineering Network commented on the
findings: "It is horrifying that Roundup-Ready soya was released into our
food chain with such insufficient data, especially as such as large
proportion [60%] of supermarket products contain soya derivatives.... The
lack of  independent, full investigations prior to the approval of these
genetically manipulated soybeans is illustrative of the US biotechnology
industry's strangle-hold on the regulatory bodies entrusted with our food
safety."

Further reports also presented at the Meeting, include the latest
evidence
of the detrimental environmental and agricultural impact of Novartis
(formerly Ciba) insect resistant maize prematurely approved by the
European
Commission for marketing and cultivation (23 January 1997).  The report
calls for an urgent "moratorium for transgenic insect resistant plants"
and
details the evidence supporting legal action, which has been filed
against
the USA Environmental Protection Agency over its approvals by over 30
scientific, environmental and agricultural groups.  The Meeting coincides
with the Global Days of Action Against Genetic Engineering (2-16
October).

For further information or interviews, contact the Genetic Engineering
Network in London at:  0181 374 9516

_________________________________________________________
Richard Wolfson,  PhD
Campaign for Mandatory Labelling and Long-term
Testing of all Genetically Engineered Foods
Natural Law Party, 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.

To receive regular news on genetic engineering and this
campaign, please send an email message with 'subscribe GE'
in the subject line to rwolfson@concentric.net   To
unsubscribe, please send the message 'unsubscribe GE'
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________



--------- End forwarded message ----------

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".