2006 saw some huge advances in the global campaign of opposition to the imposition of GMOs.

Here's a small selection of some of the good news stories that GM WATCH reported.

Much admiration to all the individuals and organisations that contributed to these successes.

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BEST NEWS OF 2006
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+ TOP RICE EXPORTERS SAID "NO!" TO GM RICE
The world's two largest exporters of rice agreed to shun genetically engineered varieties. An agreement between rice traders from Thailand and Vietnam protects half the crop traded on the world market from the dangers of GM, and puts mounting pressure on other rice-producing nations to commit to a GM-free rice supply.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7337

+ INDIA'S RICE INDUSTRY CAME OUT AGAINST GM RICE
India's top rice exporters and farmers unions joined with environmental groups in warning the Indian government against further field trials of GM rice, saying it could jeopardise the livelihoods of millions of poor farmers across the country.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7210

INDIA: GM RICE TRIALS DESTROYED
Farmers from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), representing hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers, torched GM rice fields, starting a trend followed elsewhere in India of enforcing the biosafety measures that were being ignored..
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7195

+ CHINA DIDN'T GIVE COMMERCIAL APPROVAL TO GM RICE
Despite constant predictions to the contrary by pro-GM lobbyists, China - the world's biggest rice producer and consumer - put off any commercial introduction of GM rice yet again in 2006 amid growing concerns about biosafety and potential loss of markets.
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=72601-nutrogen-gm-rice-biosafety
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7369

+ NO GO AHEAD FOR GM RICE IN IRAN
The director of the Iran's department of environment, Fatemeh Javadi, announced that a go-ahead for cultivation of GM rice would not be issued.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7197

+ MEXICO REJECTED GM MAIZE
Mexico banned biotech companies from planting GM corn. Mexico is the birthplace of corn and still a storehouse of genetically valuable native species.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7139 http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7196

+ BOLIVIA TO OUTLAW GM CROPS AND GO ORGANIC
The Bolivian government aims to transform the country into an organic oasis in South America and to outlaw GM crops.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7269
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6167

+ ECUADOR BANS GMOs IN FOOD AID
Ecuador's Parliament has passed a law which bans the presence of GMOs in food aid sent to that country.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6565

+ BRAZILIAN GOVERNOR MOVES TO EXPROPRIATE LAND FROM SYNGENTA
On November 9 Roberto Requiao, Governor of the state of Parana dealt a blow to Syngenta when he signed a decree to expropriate its experimental test site in the public interest after Syngenta illegally planted 12 hectares of GM soybeans at the site.

The action was representative of the growing sentiment among Latin American politicians to resist the increasing power of GM and agribusiness corporations, and was also evidence of the increasing organization and power of civil society in the region.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7379
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7358

+ SOUTH AUSTRALIA EXTENDED GM BAN
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7289
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7045

+ WESTERN AUSTRALIA PARLIAMENT VOTED DOWN COMMERCIAL GM TRIALS
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7028

+ U.S. FEDERAL COURT RULED BIOPHARM PERMITS ILLEGAL
A federal district judge ruled that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) flouted both the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act by not conducting preliminary environmental reviews before permitting the cultivation of drug-producing GM crops throughout Hawaii.

US District Judge Michael Seabright also called USDA's regulatory heedlessness "arbitrary and capricious" and "an unequivocal violation of a clear congressional mandate."

The ruling may make it harder to win permits to grow GM crops across the country. Said Honolulu Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff, "The days of rubber-stamping these (genetically engineered crop permits) are over. Whenever (the USDA) proposes to issue permits, they're going to have to examine their impact." http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6888
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6891

+ INDIA: SUPREME COURT SAID NO TO GM PRODUCTS AND NEW GM TRIALS
The Supreme Court ordered India's apex GM regulatory body - the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) - not to give approvals to GM products until further notice. The judges gave the direction on an application filed by Aruna Rodrigues and others in a public interest litigation seeking a ban on the release of GMOs because of their potential to cause major health hazards.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7063
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7059

+ INDIAN STATE SAID "NO!" TO GM SEEDS
The chief minister of the Indian state of Uttaranchal said that there would be no permission given to GM seeds in the state.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6655

+ TAMIL NADU GOVT MAY BAN GM CROP TRIALS
"The government may issue a law banning GM crop trials. We hope the Centre [central Government of India] will support us," said Tamil Nadu agriculture minister Veerapandi Arumugam.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7388

+ EU VOTED TO DEFY WTO RULING ON GM FOODS
European Union environment ministers voted to reject a proposal to force Austria to lift its bans on GM foods and crops. The proposal was tabled by the European Commission in response to a ruling by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) earlier in the year, which stated that the bans broke international trade laws. Austrian environment minister Josef Proll said: "This is a very strong signal by the Council [of Ministers] for the Commission to reassess its policy [on GMOs]."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7399
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7401
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7409

+ GM SOY TO BE BANNED IN ROMANIA
Environmentalists in Romania have secured a victory in getting GM soy banned. Romania was the biggest producer of GM soy in Europe after it began growing it without any control a decade ago.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7406

+ GREEKS DO NOT WANT GM
All 54 Greek prefectures have passed local bans on GMOs. Theodore Koliopanos, a legislator and former deputy environment minister, said, "All political parties are opposed to GMOs, which is odd because we disagree on everything else."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6566

+ HUNGARY RESTRICTS GM CROPS
Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly backed legislation which severely restricted the planting of GM crops, making their cultivation almost impossible. "This is Europe's, perhaps the world's, strictest GMO law,"Agriculture Minister Jozsef Graf said.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7334
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7331

+ BIGGEST RUSSIAN FOOD AND FEED IMPORTERS GO GM-FREE
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7324

+ GM FOODS TO BE BANNED FROM MOSCOW SCHOOLS
Foods containing GM products will be banned from Moscow schools and pre-school childcare centres.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6538

+ POLISH PARLIAMENT APPROVED BAN ON GM ANIMAL FEED
On July 22 the Polish Parliament appoved a total ban on GM animal feed within 2 years. http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6802

+ POLAND BANNED SALE OF GM SEEDS
Poland's parliament passed a law which removes GM seeds from a national register, effectively banning their sale.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6495

+ EU AUTHORIZED POLISH BAN ON GM MAIZE SEEDS
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6519

+ BASF ADMITTED DEFEAT OF GM POTATO EXPERIMENT
Chemicals company BASF said it would not go ahead with its planned GM potato experiment in Ireland in 2006, and may cancel it altogether.

BASF said it made the decision because of the conditions imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The cancellation may also have been influenced by nationwide opposition from more than 100 farm and food industry groups, resistance by TDs (members of the Irish Parliament) from all parties, two motions passed unanimously by Meath Co. Council, and the threat of further legal action on planning and constitutional grounds.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6577
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6563

+ ITALY: ONE TOWN IN FOUR IS GMO-FREE
In a campaign targeting small towns in Italy, one town in four has declared itself "GMO-free".
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6577

+ GM FOODS CONDEMNED IN GLOBAL MARCHES
Thousands of protesters in 70 countries demonstrated against GMOs on 8 April (Joint International GM Opposition Day). Demonstrations were held in Australia, Bolivia, India, South Africa, France, and the US, among other countries. It was reported that 25,000 people protested against GMOs in Andhra Pradesh, India.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6426
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6427

+ FRANCE: MONSANTO SEED FACILITY OCCUPIED
In April French farmer Jose Bove and 75 other activists occupied Monsanto's seed facility in Trebes, France. They demanded that Monsanto and the French authorities stop the import and distribution of GM maize seed into France. Bove was arrested but released a few hours later. This was just one of a series of high profile protests in France in 2006.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6452
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6484

+ AMERICANS STILL WARY OF GM FOOD - STUDY
Ten years after GM crops were first planted commercially in the US, Americans remain ill-informed about and uncomfortable with GM food.

Polling also confirmed that most Americans do not like the idea of eating meat or milk from cloned animals.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7373

+ INDUSTRY DOESN'T WANT GM WHEAT
Among the many industry voices raised against GM wheat, Ron Olson, General Mills' vice president of grain operations said, "The food market is not ready for that. Our stock would get killed."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6994
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7007
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7362

+ SANTA CRUZ OK'S BAN ON GM CROPS
Supervisors of Santa Cruz County, California unanimously approved a moratorium on growing GM crops in the county.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6664 http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6620

+ MISSOURI "PRE-EMPTION" BILL PUSHED BACK BY FARMERS
A bill that would have prohibited the state of Missouri from enacting any seed regulation exceeding federal requirements was pulled from consideration in the Missouri legislature, under pressure from farmers.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6618

+ MONSANTO BACKED GM BILL DIES IN LEGISLATURE
A bill that would have pre-empted local laws placing restrictions on GMOs, failed to make it out of committee in the California Senate and died with the close of the legislative year.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6964
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6970

+ US STATE DOESN'T WANT PHARM DRUGS IN FOOD
An Oregon state committee on biopharming made strict recommendations on regulating crops designed to make drugs. http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7215

Analysis of the committee's recommendations: http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7226

+ U.S. CONSUMERS DUMP rBGH MILK
US milk producers were falling over themselves to ban milk produced from cows injected with Monsanto's GM growth hormone.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7298

+ VERMONT AG SECRETARY BACKED GM HORMONE BAN
And so too did Stephen Taylor, New Hampshire commissioner of agriculture and a dairy farmer.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7104
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7116

+ SOUTH AFRICA'S LARGEST DAIRY WENT rBGH-FREE
Clover Dairies, South Africa's largest dairy, is now carrying the "rBST-free" label on their cartons to certify that the cows that produce its milk are not injected with Monsanto's GM growth hormone.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7242

+ NO GATEWAY TO AFRICA'S SORGHUM
The normally lax South African GM regulatory body turned down an application to conduct laboratory and greenhouse experiments with GM sorghum, because of fears it could lead to the destruction of the sorghum varieties prevalent throughout Africa.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6732

+ ECO-FARMING HELPS THE WORLD'S POOR - STUDY
Sustainable farming methods can help the poorest farmers in developing nations out of poverty, research suggests. Scientists found that techniques such as crop rotation and organic farming increased crop yields by an average of 79%, without risking future harvests.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7370

Also check out our choice of:
*Best article of 2006
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7430

*Best report of 2006
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7431

*Most interesting research of 2006
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7432