Big money battle over GMO labeling initiative

A multi-million dollar advertising battle just launched that could determine how much you know about what goes into your food. It's about Initiative 522 on the November ballot. The initiative requires labels on food that has been genetically engineered.

"The question here is if we're going to be able to figure out what's in our food, if we have a right to know if genetically engineered ingredients are being used in our food," said Aaron Ostrom of the Yes-on 522 campaign.

Initiative supporters don't necessarily claim that such ingredients are unsafe. In fact, unless you shop very carefully, it's likely you consume some form of genetically modified food every day.

But there was trouble recently for Washington exports when some genetically modified wheat was found in Oregon, because Governments in Asia and Europe refuse to buy such crops.

Still, opponents say the initiative places a huge burden on our state's farmers.

"For farmers who would want to farm some GE crop, and some non GE crops they would have to essentially run two entirely farming organizations," said Dana Bieber of the No-on-522 campaign.
And opponents believe the initiative would confuse consumers. "Take the example of a steak," Bieber said. "A steak will come from a cow that has been fed GE grains so there is GE in the steak. It's exempt from Initiative 522 that's where we as consumers get misled."

But consumers, like grocery shopper, Olga Rohlfsen, are also anxious for information. "I feel like I'm responsible to give my kids some good food I would love to know when I buy food what's in it," Rohlfsen said.

Initiative sponsors have gone to court because they accuse opponents of trying to hide their big money donors like Monsanto and Dow Chemical. Opponents deny the accusation and say their donations are fully reported. KIROTV

Washington university remains neutral on GMO labeling measure

Washington university remains neutral on GMO labeling  measure  

Washington State University has issued a statement that it plans to remain neutral on Initiative 522, which would require labeling of all foods in that state that contain genetically modified organisms.Although faculty members have the right to express individual opinions, they do not represent those of the university, provost and executive vice president Daniel Bernardo wrote in the statement."Our role as one of Washington State’s premier research universities is limited to providing objective, science-based information to inform decision makers," he wrote.I-522, also known as the "People's Right to Know about Genetically Engineered Food Act," was originally pushed by Chris McManus, a Tacoma-area advertising agency owner who founded "http://www.labelitwa.org" target="_blank">www.labelitwa.org.The measure goes before Washington state voters in November. The Grower

China: Cotton and papaya only GM products for commercial use

Cotton and papaya only GM products for commercial use

There are only two kinds of genetically modified (GM) agricultural products permitted for commercial production in China - cotton and papaya, a news report said.

Agricultural authorities have granted certificates of safety to four types of GM produce - cotton, rice, corn and papaya, of which only cotton and papaya have been allowed for commercial production, Xie Jiajian, a research at Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, told the People's Daily in a report published on Monday.

An earlier online post listed allegedly GM food, including cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, mini pumpkins.

The online post was inaccurate, the report quoted experts from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science as saying.

Genetically modified beans, corn, cotton, rapeseed and beet for industrial use could be imported after receiving a certificate of safety, according to the report. China Daily

China issues list of import GM crops

China issues list of import GM crops

China has so far granted the import of a list of genetically modified (GM) crops including soybean, corn, oilseed rape, cotton and sugar beet, the People's Daily reported on Monday, adding that these plants have to gain a safety certificate issued by Chinese authorities.

This was in a response to public doubt on whether the country has stringent enough standards on what GM crops can be planted domestically and what can be imported.
Cotton, rice, corn and papaya are issued with a valid safety certificate, Xie Jiajian, a research fellow with the Institute of Plant Protection under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), was quoted by the People's Daily as saying on Monday, adding that the certificates can be traced by the public on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture.
However, not all certified food is suitable to be planted for commercial purposes. 
Xie said that in China only cotton and papaya are allowed, meaning that anyone can plant it.
Ahead of certificate issuance, there is a long process. 
"The research and development companies have to first file applications to the State Agricultural GM Crop Bio-safety Committee for review," Yan said, adding that these applications can only be approved after ministerial-level discussions.
Fang Zhouzi, an expert in chemical biology, told the Global Times on Monday that after the company is granted with a certificate, it must apply for a commercial plantation license within the validity period.
"Some crops are proved to be safe, but they are not allowed for commercial use because the seeds are low output, which is not suitable for mass plantation," said Fang. 
Almost all papaya and soybean oil we can see are genetically modified, according to Fang. 
The difference is that papaya is not labeled as GM since it's not packaged food, and soybean oil is labeled in accordance with the country's law, he told the Global Times.
Experts from CAAS also clarified that cherry tomatoes, small pumpkins and small cucumbers are not GM food, in a move to clarify the widespread lists of GM food online.
"Commercial use of GM pimento, which carries an antiviral gene, was once approved by authorities, but it was later marginalized by the market since it has no advantage," said Wu Gang, a CAAS research fellow.
GM food is proved safe, but it is impossible to have food that is absolutely safe, Fang said. Global Times

In Argentina, local residents raise concerns about reliance on GMO crops

Soy beans and soy derivatives make up about 25 percent of Argentina’s exports, and over 90 percent of the country’s soy crops are genetically modified.  Some activists say that these genetically modified plants and the herbicides that accompany them hurt both environmental and human health. But soy farmers and multinational agricultural companies have substantial political clout in Argentina, so environmentalists are struggling to make their voices heard. From Buenos Aires, FSRN’s Eilís O’Neill. 

INDIA: Pawar opposes GM trial freeze

Pawar opposes GM trial freeze Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar today spoke against any freeze on trials of genetically modified crops, as recommended in mid-July by a Supreme Court-appointed technical expert committee. The committee had identified flaws in India’s existing regulatory system that governs genetically modified (GM) crops and called for an indefinite moratorium on GM food crop trials until the regulatory system was fixed. Pawar said the recommendation had unnerved the 3,000-odd scientists of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research who are conducting transgenic research on various food crops. He added that banning the trials would hurt the country, which needed to increase production and productivity to meet the growing demands on its finite land resources. The court had formed the committee, made up by scientists from top public research laboratories and academic institutions, while hearing a public interest litigation seeking such a moratorium. The government is the respondent and the hearings are continuing. The only note of dissent had come from committee member R.S. Paroda, a former Indian Council of Agriculture Research director. He had argued that if the panel’s suggestions were accepted, two decades of research on GM crops by public institutions would go waste. Today, Pawar echoed Paroda’s views during an interaction with reporters here, while replying to a question on the just-passed food security law. The minister, who initially had reservations about the bill, said he wholeheartedly backed the law because it would help fight malnutrition among children. “An FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation, a United Nations body) report says nearly 74 per cent of Indian children suffer from malnutrition. This legislation is therefore important to address this issue,” he said. Pawar had arrived here on a three-day visit to assess the crop damage in rain-ravaged Vidarbha. He said the Centre would do everything to help the state provide financial aid to the region’s farmers. Telegraph

INDIA 'Poor storage wastes 10% of agricultural produce'

'Poor storage wastes 10% of agricultural produce' 

The National Seed Congress held in Lucknow dwelt on major issues related to agriculture, most important being production of genetically modified (GM) crops and high yielding variety of seeds. On the concluding day of the Congress, UP's minister for Agriculture and Food Processing, Anand Singh supported GM crop production and sought directions from chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is said to be still weighing his options.

The CM was the chief guest at the sixth edition of the congress which was hosted in Uttar Pradesh for the first time. "Samajwadi Party is ensuring that farmers receive good quality seeds, fertilizers and irrigation facilities to increase their production. Government is giving priority to soil testing so that the production capacity of the farmland may increase", said Yadav.

The minister emphasised on the need of good research work to prevent crops from diseases and disseminating useful information on agriculture to the farmers. Making a passing reference to the new agriculture technologies including GM crops, he said that the recent researches and technologies can only be accepted by farmers when they start believing it and its benefits to their crops.

Anand Singh said UP is a leading producer of wheat, potatoes and sugarcane but the state still needs to improve in production of oilseeds and lentils. He said almost 10% of the agricultural produce gets damaged due to poor storage facilities in UP. "While we lead pre-harvest stage of production, we need to better our post-harvest facilities in order to match global standards."

UP Seed Development Corporation, one of the organizers of the event assured that it is working towards development of good quality seeds which is a priority for the state government.

In UP, agriculture constitutes 25% of the GDP and gives livelihood to almost 68% people.

Agriculture Production Commissioner, UP, Alok Ranjan said the agriculture growth rate has been targeted at 5.1% in the 12th five year plan, hence all possible efforts are being made to provide high quality seeds to farmers. He said the government has prepared a seed rolling plan for wheat cultivation in the state in which development of new variety of seeds will be encouraged. In this plan, breed which is less than 10 years old will be promoted while breed which is older than 15 years of age would be phased out.

Atanu Purkayastha, joint secretary, ministry of agriculture made concluding remarks in the event that the state needs to strengthen it seed certification and seed-law machinery. Also, well-trained staff and testing labs on global standards are required to develop high yielding variety of crops, he added. TOI