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WEEKLY WATCH number 304
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from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor
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Dear all:
Claims for the safety of GM foods have hit the dust once again on the release of a new report analysing Monsanto subsidiary Mahyco's own data on Bt brinjal (eggplant/aubergine). The evidence suggests the crop is toxic, but the company appear to have hidden this fact while the regulators failed to scrutinise the data (FOOD SAFETY).
Finally, please support organic farmer Steve Marsh, who faces losses that could run into millions of Australian dollars, in his fight against Monsanto (AUSTRALASIA).
From Claire Robinson, Monthly Review editor
Website: http//www.gmwatch.org
Profiles: http://www.powerbase.info/index.php/GM_Watch:_Portal
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMWatch
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WEEKLY WATCH CONTENTS
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FOOD SAFETY
LOBBYWATCH
ASIA
EUROPE
CLIMATE CHANGE
AUSTRALASIA
VIDEOS
THE AMERICAS
GM ANIMALS
ORGANICS
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FOOD SAFETY
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+ BT BRINJAL CONFIRMED TOXIC BY MAHYCO-MONSANTO'S OWN DATA
A new report analysing the raw data of Monsanto subsidiary Mahyco's 14- and 90-day rat feeding studies on Bt brinjal dossier shows serious irregularities in the approvals process. The author of the new report, Dr Lou Gallagher, environmental epidemiologist and risk assessment expert, found that the company's own data indicate that Bt brinjal causes inflammation, reproductive disorders and liver damage. Gallagher's report also shows that the studies are seriously flawed, and wrongly appraised and reported both by Mahyco in its 'dossier' submitted to Government and worse, by India's regulators.
EXCERPTS from the report by Gallagher:
Were the contract laboratory INTOX PVT LTD and the funder Mahyco uncomfortable with results showing evident toxicity among rats fed Bt brinjal at 1000 mg/kg-day? Did the researchers write the conclusions for the 14-day and 90-day studies themselves or did others write conclusions for them? These questions are of interest since the text does not match the data, the researchers did not sign their reports, and the cover page of the 90-day report details a completely new report number (R/2183/SOR-90) from that which may be the original, 05.0002.
...current results from these rat feeding studies indicate that rats eating Bt brinjal experienced organ and system damage: ovaries at half their normal weight, enlarged spleens with white blood cell counts at 35 to 40 percent higher than normal with elevated eosinophils, indicating immune function changes; toxic effects to the liver: as demonstrated by elevated bilirubin and elevated plasma acetylcholinesterase.
Contrast the above findings with the claim on Monsanto's website: "Mahyco {not Monsanto} has conducted bt brinjal research for over nine years in full compliance with the guidelines and directives of the regulatory authorities to ensure its safety; making Bt brinjal the most rigorously tested vegetable with 25 environmental biosafety studies supervised by independent and Government agencies."
http://www.monsanto.co.uk/news/ukshowlib.phtml?uid=14400
In a press release announcing her report, Gallagher commented, "The safety claims made for these plants are not supported by existing data. On the contrary, there are alarming signs that the consumption of food derived from these plants could result in adverse health effects. In addition the feedings studies show major deficiencies in the protocol used for the feeding trial and do not meet international standards." Gallagher concludes that on the basis of the existing data, GM eggplant cannot be recommended for human consumption.
Gallagher's report is yet another clear signal that we can't rely on industry tests that purport to show the safety of GMOs and other risky substances.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12803
+ KILLER TOMATOES AND 'DISAPPEARED' DEAD RATS
The most detailed safety studies ever done by a GM crop developer were carried out by Calgene in the 1990s. Calgene fed its Flavr Savr GM tomatoes to rats. Out of 20 female rats, 7 developed stomach lesions ”šÄî bleeding stomachs. Seven of the 40 rats fed the Flavr Savr tomato died within two weeks. The dead rats had eaten the same tomato line as those that developed lesions. In the other groups, fed the other Flavr Savr line, a natural tomato control, or a water control, only one rat died.
The Calgene-funded scientists dismissed the cause of death in a footnote as husbandry error, and no additional data or explanation was provided. The dead rats were simply replaced with new ones.
Jeffrey Smith, who tells this story in an article for the Huffington Post, reports the reaction of Dr Arpad Pusztai, the eminent scientist and an expert in food safety testing, to the news of the 'disappeared' dead rats: "When I discussed this finding with Dr. Pusztai over the phone, he was beside himself. He told me emphatically that in proper studies, you never just dismiss the cause of death with an unsupported footnote. He said that the details of the post mortem analysis must be included in order to rule out possible causes or to raise questions for additional research. Furthermore, you simply never replace test animals once the research begins."
Smith comments, "After the Flavr Savr's superficial review and controversial approval, no subsequent GMO producer has ever presented such detailed safety test data to the FDA."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12770
+ JEFFREY SMITH TAKES APART CHASSY AND TRIBE
Jeffrey Smith wrote about the Flavr Savr in his book, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods. Two biotech advocates, Drs. Chassy and Tribe, created a GMO disinformation site that allegedly discredits all 65 health risks highlighted in the work. In an article for the Huffington post, Smith expertly deconstructs their accusations regarding the Flavr Savr:
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12771
+ NEW BOOK ON HEALTH RISKS OF GM FOODS
A new book by Dr Arpad Pusztai and his wife Dr Susan Bardocz examines the potential health effects of foods derived from GM plants. While the database on GM food safety is woefully inadequate, all the well-designed studies published to date and carried out independently of the GM industry have demonstrated potentially worrisome biological effects of GM foods. However, the complexity of GM foods makes their biological testing difficult. The authors propose a suggested protocol for GM crop/food health risk assessment, which uses comprehensive toxicological/nutritional methods that will also enable examination of the veracity of the claimed benefits of genetic manipulation, and screen for its unintended and potentially harmful consequences for human/animal health.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12793
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LOBBYWATCH
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+ VATICAN MAKES CLEAR IT DOES NOT ENDORSE GM CROP "SLAVERY"
A Vatican cardinal has made clear that news reports claiming the Vatican approves of GM crops are untrue. Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, a Ghanian who heads the Vatican's influential office for justice and peace, said farmers in the developing world shouldn't be dependent on foreign multinationals for their seeds and likened such dependence to a new form of slavery.
The US has lobbied the Vatican for years to persuade it to speak positively about GMOs, calling them a "moral imperative" to feed the world's hungry.
While saying he personally wasn't for or against GMOs, Turkson said the key issue concerned giving farmers access to suitable land that hasn't been eroded by multinational logging or mining companies.
"As a result, you wouldn't need any genetic engineering," Turkson told the paper. "In this way, the farmer wouldn't have to buy GMOs from abroad. I ask myself, why force an African farmer to buy seeds produced in other lands and with other means? The doubt arises that behind this is the play of maintaining economic dependence at all cost."
"I'd even say it becomes like a new form of slavery," he added.
For years Turkson's predecessor, Italian Cardinal Renato Martino, touted the benefits and safety of GMOs and even hosted a biotech conference at the Vatican in 2003. But Wikileaked cables indicate Martino may have merely been playing the diplomat: "A Martino deputy told us recently that the cardinal had cooperated with (the embassy) on biotech over the past two years in part to compensate for his vocal disapproval of the Iraq war and its aftermath - to keep relations with the US (government) smooth," according to one cable. "According to our source, Martino no longer feels the need to take this approach," the cable said.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12783
+ WIKILEAKS: U.S. TARGETS EU OVER GM CROPS
Excerpt from article by John Vidal in The Guardian about an important Wikileaks story we previously reported:
The US embassy in Paris advised Washington to start a military-style trade war against any European Union country which opposed GM crops, WikiLeaks cables show. In response to moves by France to ban a Monsanto GM corn variety in late 2007, the ambassador, Craig Stapleton, a friend and business partner of former US president George Bush, asked Washington to penalise the EU and particularly countries which did not support the use of GM crops.
"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices," said Stapleton, who with Bush co-owned the St Louis-based Texas Rangers baseball team in the 1990s....
In addition, the cables show US diplomats working directly for GM companies such as Monsanto... It also emerges that Spain and the US have worked closely together to persuade the EU not to strengthen biotechnology laws. The cables show that not only did the Spanish government ask the US to keep pressure on Brussels but that the US knew in advance how Spain would vote, even before the Spanish biotech commission had reported.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12775
+ MONSANTO, DUPONT AND OBAMA
US President Obama knows that agribusiness cannot be trusted with the regulatory powers of government. On the campaign trail in 2007, he promised: "We'll tell ConAgra that it's not the Department of Agribusiness. It's the Department of Agriculture. We're going to put the people's interests ahead of the special interests."
But, starting with his choice for USDA Secretary, the pro-biotech former governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack, Obama has let Monsanto, Dupont and other pesticide and GM companies know they'll have plenty of friends in his administration, notes OCA's Millions Against Monsanto website.
Obama has taken his team of food and farming leaders directly from the biotech companies and their lobbying, research, and philanthropic arms:
***Michael Taylor, former Monsanto Vice President, is now the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods.
***Roger Beachy, former director of the Monsanto-funded Danforth Plant Science Center, is now the director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
***Islam Siddiqui, Vice President of the Monsanto and Dupont-funded pesticide-promoting lobbying group, CropLife, is now the Agriculture Negotiator for the US Trade Representative.
***Rajiv Shah, former agricultural development director for the pro-biotech Gates Foundation (a frequent Monsanto partner), served as Obama's USDA Under Secretary for Research Education and Economics and Chief Scientist and is now head of USAID.
***Ramona Romero, corporate counsel to DuPont, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as General Counsel for the USDA.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12799
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ASIA
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+ GM EGGPLANT TRIALS SUSPENDED IN PHILIPPINES
Field trials of GM eggplant (brinjal/aubergine) have been suspended following a dispute at one of the trial sites that led local officials to uproot 3,000 plants. Local authorities uprooted plants because researchers had not fully complied with public consultation requirements.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12800
+ INDIA'S ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: BENDING THE TRUTH ON GM RUBBER
In February 2010, India's Minister of Environment Jairam Ramesh put a moratorium on GM Bt brinjal. But he is now pushing trials of GM rubber on Kerala, which is a GM-free state, writes Dr Vandana Shiva. Ramesh has stated that GM rubber is not transgenic, i.e. it does not have genes from unrelated species. But Shiva writes, "This is totally false. While the gene MnSOD comes from the rubber, the MnSOD construct is transgenic. It contains CaMV35S, a virus used as a promoter, an antibiotic resistance marker npt II (Kanamycin) and a CUS reporter gene from bacteria (E.Coli.). Putting viruses and bacteria into a plant is a transgenic transformation. The Environment Minister should not be misleading the nation on the issue of GMOs which has far reaching consequences."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12785
See also:
Cisgenics and intragenics: GM lobby doublespeak
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/12737
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EUROPE
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+ GM CROP THRILLER OUTGUNS JAMES BOND
A couple of months ago, a Special Branch Counter Terrorism officer dropped by to gather intelligence on GMWatch - only to find he was talking to our director! It seems he'd been been advised we might be fund raising for "illegal activities". We've collected together some articles that might make you wonder why peaceful protest and information sharing attracts this kind of attention:
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12798
+ BEEKEEPERS FUME AT ASSOCIATION'S ENDORSEMENT OF FATAL INSECTICIDES
A report has been published in The Independent about a story that broke last year about how the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) sold its logo to four chemical firms for use on insecticide packaging despite the products being fatal to bees. The BBKA is believed to have received about £175,000 in return for selling its logo.
The active ingredient chemicals in the four pesticides the BBKA endorsed are synthetic pyrethroids, which are among the most powerful of modern insect-killers. The deal was struck in secret by the beekeepers' association executive without the knowledge of the overwhelming majority of its members. After news of the deal emerged, some members expressed outrage and others resigned. The BBKA has said it will end these particular pesticide endorsements ”šÄì but has left the door open to future deals with agrochemical companies.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12790
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/12674
+ ANTI-GM NETWORKING AND STRATEGY SESSION - LONDON, UK
Saturday 22nd January 10am - 6pm, London
You are warmly invited to an anti-GM update and strategy session in London on Saturday 22 January 2011. This day long national gathering will bring together a wide range of people campaigning on GM related issues, from climate activists to NGO representatives, community food growers to beekeepers.
This is the perfect opportunity to interrogate experts from a wide variety of fields, and explore the UK's emerging radical land and food movement. The morning's briefing sessions are designed to give you clear data and an authoritative context on current issues. The afternoon will focus on sharing and developing campaign ideas.
GM: Gathering Momentum is organised by Stop GM http://www.stopgm.org.uk/ in conjunction with the Genetic Engineering Network http://www.geneticsaction.org.uk/gen/. The free event will be hosted in London from 10-6pm, and lunch will be provided.
Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive a registration form.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12791
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CLIMATE CHANGE
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+ GM R & D TOO SLOW AND EXPENSIVE TO HELP CLIMATE CHANGE
GM research and development is too slow and expensive to be of help in creating new climate change-ready crops, say Profs Gary Paul Nabhan of University of Arizona and Carol Thompson of Northern Arizona University in a letter published in The Economist. Instead, they say, traditional seeds offer the solution.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12774
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AUSTRALASIA
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+ AUSTRALIA: ORGANIC FARMER TO SUE OVER GM CONTAMINATION
An organic farmer in Western Australia, Steve Marsh, says he will sue the owner of a neighbouring farm, after being stripped of his organic certification because GM canola was found on his property. Marsh alleges the GM material blew in from a neighbouring property belonging to Michael Baxter. He says he has been left with no option but to take legal action. "Nobody enjoys pursuing their neighbour but what do we do?" he said. Marsh's lawyer says the damage bill could reach millions of dollars.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12795
+ AUSTRALIA: PLEASE DONATE TO HELP ORGANIC FARMER FIGHT MONSANTO
Monsanto has stated that it will support the GM farmer if organic farmer Steve Marsh takes legal action. Please donate to support Steve Marsh in his fight against Monsanto. You can donate by direct payment to the following bank account:
Bendigo Bank
Account Name: NASAA (WA) Inc GM Contamination Fund
BSB: 633000
Account Number: 141944298
More information:
http://www.nasaa-wa.com.au/NASAA_WA/Home.html
+ U.S. DRIVES NEW ZEALAND TO BECOME GM NATION
The New Zealand government has announced that it is phasing out the winning 100% Pure New Zealand brand, while making significant commitments to driving the country down the GM track, according to the Soil & Health Association of NZ. The government has appointed GM zealot Dr William Rolleston as Chair of Innovation and also on the Science board of the new Ministry Of Science and Innovation.
"Last week's announcement that 100% Pure New Zealand is to be replaced by '100% Pure You,' although only weeks before New Zealand had moved from 4th to 3rd strongest country brand in the world, indicates that Pure New Zealand has been given the boot because Government is not prepared to put substance to the branding," said Soil & Health spokesperson Steffan Browning. "Whether it be the dwindling support for sustainable organic production, or Government's recent $10 million support for Crown Researcher Scion and its USA partner ArborGen's GE trees experiments, and significantly more for AgResearch and its USA partner, GTC Biotherapeutics' cruel GE animal experiments, the current Government vision has little that is pure about it."
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12786
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VIDEOS
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+ ROUNDUP: THE POISON OF THE PAMPAS - MUST-SEE VIDEO
A video news report by journalist Rolando Grana graphically shows the tragic human consequences of glyphosate spraying of GM soy in Argentina, including babies with birth defects. It contains interviews with Dr Dario Gianfelici, a medical doctor; scientist Prof Andres Carrasco, whose research showed that glyphosate/Roundup causes birth defects in doses far lower than those used in agricultural spraying; and the journalist Marie-Monique Robin, who made the film, The World According to Monsanto. This video is in Spanish, but has English subtitles.
http://www.gmwatch.eu/gm-videosb/26-gm-in-latin-america/12580
+ WHAT'S WRONG WITH OUR FOOD SYSTEM - 11-YEAR-OLD TELLS IT LIKE IT IS
Birke Baehr, aged 11, gives an inspiring, persuasive and coherent TED talk on what is wrong with our food system and how we can make a difference and change it.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12756:ted-lecture-whats-wrong-with-our-food-system
+ VANDANA SHIVA ON MONSANTO OR FARMERS
Vandana Shiva speaks on biopiracy, intellectual property, seed and life patenting, herbicide-resistant weeds, Bt crops, etc.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12767:monsanto-or-farmers
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THE AMERICAS
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+ GM SEED COMPANY NIDERA ACCUSED OF SLAVE-LIKE TREATMENT OF LABOURERS AND TAX EVASION
A news report has appeared in Argentina's Pagina12 about Nidera, a Dutch-based agribusiness company that is one of Argentina's major GM Roundup Ready soy seed companies. The Pagina12 report says that Nidera is being investigated for tax evasion by the Argentine government. But that's the least of the crimes of which Nidera stands accused, which include slave-like treatment of workers and human rights abuses.
Nidera is a member of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), which is about to launch its "responsible soy" label in Europe. The RTRS - which has been condemned as a greenwash initiative by over 230 international civil society groups - is heavily supported by the Dutch government, which has recently given it and a "responsible palm oil" equivalent programme a cash injection of 20 million euros of Dutch taxpayers' money.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12779
Nidera's response: http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12787
+ U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE DROPS GM CROPS IN 12 STATES
A unit of the US Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife has agreed to stop planting GM crops on its refuges in a dozen northeastern states. The agreement came as the settlement of a federal lawsuit brought against the agency by activist groups that oppose GM crops. The federal government will continue to use GM crops on as many as 75 refuges in other areas the country.
The settled lawsuit was in the US District Court for Delaware, filed against the federal government by the Widener Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic on behalf of Delaware Audubon Society, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Center for Food Safety.
It claimed the Fish & Wildlife Service had illegally entered into Cooperative Farming Agreements with private parties, allowing hundreds of acres on its Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware to be planted with GM crops without the environmental review required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
In settling the suit, the US Fish & Wildlife Service promised to revoke any authorization for further GE agriculture at Bombay Hook and four other refuges with GE crops - the Rappahannock River Valley Refuge and the Eastern Shore of Virginia Refuge, Montezuma Refuge in New York and Blackwater Refuge of Maryland - unless and until an appropriate NEPA analysis is completed, a condition that has yet to be met for GM agriculture on a National Wildlife Refuge.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12788
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12786
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GM ANIMALS
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+ FLU-RESISTANT GM CHICKENS
British scientists have created "the world's first genetically modified chickens that do not spread bird flu", according to a breathless report by Pallab Ghosh of the BBC: "The research team inserted an artificial gene into chickens; this introduces a tiny part of the bird flu virus into chicken cells. These birds become infected but render the virus harmless to other poultry. The team believes that the genetic modification they have introduced is harmless to the chickens and to people who might eat the birds."
The Soil Association commented that the development does not tackle the underlying cause of serious disease outbreaks linked to industrial chicken production, and it carries the risk of making things worse. The root cause of the problem is the millions of chickens kept in sheds worldwide, that are often kept alive long enough to reach slaughter age through the use of antibiotics, providing an ideal breeding ground for new, more resistant strains of disease.
Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director, said: "Keeping animals cramped together in inhumane factories encourages the spread of diseases such as bird flu and swine flu. This GM fantasy simply tries to cover up for flawed farming practice. Experience with GM crops shows how quickly resistant super weeds and new insect pests have developed, despite promises from the GM industry that this could not happen.
"Viruses are some of the most rapidly evolving organisms on Earth, and they could rapidly evolve resistance to the GM chickens. In a race to develop new strains, viruses would get there faster than new breeds of GM chickens could be produced. Viruses could even evolve to become more virulent in response to the GM challenge, posing a greater threat to human health."
Tim Elsdale, an organic farmer in East Sussex, said it is better to adopt good farming practices to avoid animals getting diseases in the first place than to create GM farm animals: "We don't suffer much from animal diseases on this farm. Organic methods of husbandry don't encourage disease if the animals are well spaced enough. They live in a natural environment and they eat normal food then a lot of diseases that are prevalent on conventional farming would not be apparent to us".
Pete Riley of GM Freeze said: "Genetic diversity in chickens, not genetic modification of a single breed, is important in reducing the spread of infections, as it is with all farm animals."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12181382
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ORGANICS
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+ ORGANIC/AGROECOLOGICAL FARMING CAN FEED THE WORLD - NEW REPORT
A new report by the Worldwatch Institute says organic and agroecological farming methods are the way to solve the global food crisis. Produced with support from the Bill Gates Foundation, the report, "State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet", highlights innovations "that will allow billions of people to feed themselves, while restoring rural economies, creating livelihoods, and sustaining the natural resource base on which agriculture depends".
In particular, it advocates "agroecology", the application of ecological principles to agricultural production. "Sustainable farming techniques build healthy soil, which benefits plant health and climate stability," the report said.
It quotes claims by scientists that nearly 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide could be sequestered annually, "mitigating close to one quarter of the country's total fossil fuel emissions", if 434 million acres of arable land in the United States was transferred to organic production.
It highlights the finding of the global research body, the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development's (IAASTD), that "reliance on resource extractive industrial agriculture is risky and unsustainable, particularly in the face of worsening climate, energy, and water crises".
The report refutes suggestions that simply producing more food is the key to addressing the global food problem. "In fact, many of the farms and organisations we visited seemed to be having the most success reducing hunger and poverty with work that had little to do with producing more crops," it said.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12796
For more information about the report: http://sd.defra.gov.uk/2011/01/state-of-the-world-2011
http://bit.ly/fyqCAH