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Brazil soy winning higher premiums as GM-free

July 23
Reuters

SAO PAULO -- Brazilian soy product exports are winning higher premiums from France, Japan and other countries in search of grains that are free of genetic modification (GM), a spokesman at world grains trader Louis Dreyfus said last week.

Brazil is the world's No. 2 producer of soybeans after the United States and the only agricultural exporter in the Americas that forbids the sale of transgenic crops or food.

"Our soymeal program has been growing on since last year, formerly out of Victoria port, but now we are shipping out of Paranagua. The lion's share of the meal is going to France, some to Europe and a little to Japan," said head of sales at Coinbra, Timothy Carter.

Brazil allows life science companies such as Monsanto to conducts GM research on crops like soy and corn on special farms in the country but has never allowed the sale of the foods on concerns over health and environmental risks.

Local grain companies have been reporting that Brazil's conventional agricultural products have seen greater demand around the world because of their GM-free reputation.

"The premiums for normal pellets in Paranagua (Brazil) versus those of normal pellets on the Argentine liquid market used to be $10 to $11 (a ton). Now they're $17 to $20. You can argue that there is a greater demand for Brazilian meal because it is perceived as non-GM," said Carter.

Although officially Brazil bans the sale of GM-food, it is not entirely free of genetically altered crops. Some southern farmers in an attempt to cut costs and boost productivity have planted illegal GM seeds - most likely smuggled in from Argentina to the south where they are permitted.

But the availability of conventional soybeans is still much greater than in Argentina and the United States and Brazil is thought to have virtually no other illegally planted crops aside from the smuggled GM soybeans in the south. Beans from the soy-rich center-west, corn and other crops are believed to be grown from conventional seeds.

As a result, Coinbra is carving a niche for itself shipping soymeal from Brazil with various degrees of GM-free certification or guarantees.

"Depending on the program, there are different kinds of premiums. For instance if there is (GM) traceability testing involved the premium is higher but if it's just the certification of origin then the premium is lower," said Carter.

He added that Coinbra used a the world's biggest inspection and testing company, Swiss-based SGS to test soy products and that Coinbra had contracted special silos to avoid the contamination of tested soy meal with general meal moving through Paranagua port.

According to a source at the private terminal of Soceppar in Paranagua who preferred to remain unnamed, the terminal recently closed a deal with Coinbra to ship 550,000 tons of GM-free soy meal to France by January of 2002, as well as 50,000 tons of GM-free corn. He also said silos with a 40,000 ton capacity had been set aside for Coinbra's GM-free grain movement.

Brazil will label GM food, if sales ever legalized

July 23
Reuters

Brazil is one of the few countries that still entirely bans the sale of foods that have had their genetic code altered and it is not yet clear how and when the government's complicated legal battles with consumer and environmental rights groups will pan out.

"The executive decree requiring GM labels is set to take effect on December 31, but this wont matter until the sale of GM foods is allowed. This issue is still locked up in courts," said a spokeswoman for the ministry's deliberative body on GM technology and safety, the CTNBio.

Brazil's GM-free reputation has its commercial benefits. Some of the country's important agricultural exports such as soybeans and corn have won special premiums from health conscious consumers in Europe and Japan who have been resistant to GM technologies.

But Brazil is not entirely free of such gene altering.

Southern soy farmers - in an attempt to reduce costs and increase productivity - have been smuggling in GM seeds from Argentina for more than three years. In Rio Grande do Sul, the No. 3 soybean state, the seed producers association, Abrasem, estimated that 30 percent of the yearly soy crop was GM.

As the only large agricultural exporter in the Americas still officially GM-free, Brazil has become the front line where international environmentalists Green Peace and local consumer rights groups such as IDEC have taken on the large multinational seed and life science companies in the courts.

Even this latest movement over labeling by the government is not likely to go without contention.

"IDEC is planning to enter the courts with an objection to the decree, which we view as unconstitutional. We think the 4 percent has no scientific basis and only favors the multinationals at the neglect of the consumer," said the president of Brazil's IDEC, Marilena Lazzarini.

Lazzarini added that she thought even a 1 percent threshold for labeling - as is used in parts of Europe - was too high, since it is now possible to test for as little as 0.1 percent GM material in foods sold at the local grocer.

"This is becoming a class issue. Because of the sheer prevalence of GM crops in the world, it is now expensive - even a matter of luxury - to buy GM-free foods. This hurts the poor who should have the right to conventional food without having to pay more for it," said Lassarini.

Plea to enforce GE ban

July 23
The Mercury (Australia)

STATE Cabinet has been urged today to extend the state's commercial GE crop moratorium.

Greens' Denison MHA Peg Putt said she was concerned Cabinet may not make a decision today.

Her comments came despite Primary Industries, Water and Environment Minister David Llewellyn announcing on July 11 he would ask Cabinet to accept the recommendations of a Parliamentary report which recommended a two-year extension to Tasmania's GE commercial crop moratorium.

Ms Putt also released a document with specific details on the extent of breaches of government regulations at Aventis Tasmanian canola sites and invited people who wanted the information to contact her office.

The document was compiled through cross-referencing publicly available material from the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.

She said people with a concern about the possibility of GE contamination now had the information about exactly what the problems have been at each location, despite the continuing refusal of the Tasmanian Government to make the breach sites public.

"Cabinet must decide on the continuation of Tasmania's GE crops moratorium so that a clear direction is set for Tasmania's clean, green and hopefully GE-free future," Ms Putt said.

Rethink on GM products urged

July 21
Scotsman

MIKE Calvert, chief executive of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, has called for a rethink on genetically modified crops and associated foods.

Calvert, formerly director of Britain’s biggest farming operation, the Co-op, said this week that without access to the responsible use of science and technology the industry could be left "dead in the water".

The first GM products to arrive on the market - GM vegetarian cheese and tomato paste - were readily accepted by retailers and consumers, but recent attempts to introduce new GM products brought the whole thing down "like a pack of cards", said Calvert.

"At the moment we have a stand-off on GM crops with the public apparently saying no," he told delegates to a Home Grown Cereals Authority’s meeting in London. This was due to the failure to identify quality issues in the eyes of the end user.

He said: "The suggestion that there would be some reduction in agrochemical use and therefore cost of production and impact on the environment was not sufficiently convincing for the perceived risks to be acceptable.

"The apparent reluctance to offer choice through segregation and labeling in the early stages was also very damaging."

Much of this could have been avoided if the food chain had worked together to examine the new technologies and the opportunities they offered as well as analyzing the demands of the consumer.

"If there were no areas of mutual benefit, the launch of the technology should have been delayed until products were available that offered the quality traits sought by the market. When these had been identified, an awareness-raising or education program to increase understanding would have been appropriate."

Consumers demanded honesty, openness and transparency, and a "joined up food chain" addressing these issues and offering the quality requirements of the end user would have prevented the reaction.

In a side swipe at the organic sector, he added: "The concept of taking short-term market advantage through specious claims and casting doubt on other sectors can only damage the whole in the medium to long term."

Group pickets Loblaws for not labeling genetically modified food

July 20
Canadian Press

Toronto -- Grocery shopping will be a learning experience for Loblaws customers across Canada on Saturday when a lobby group pickets stores to raise awareness about genetically altered foods.

The Council of Canadians has planned pickets outside Loblaws stores in 21 cities between Vancouver, Toronto and Saint John, N.B., to educate consumers about genetically modified food and pressure the grocery conglomerate to support the labeling of products made with altered ingredients.

Shoppers at a Loblaws in Toronto - one of the stores being targeted by the council - say they'll welcome information about the controversial technology.

"I just assume it's safe and that's probably wrong," said Michelle Gahwiler, who frequents the mid-town grocery store.

"I want to know more about it and if someone gave information about it, I would read it. But it's not like I can afford to buy health food, and I'm not going to freak out about it."

The Council of Canadians, though, is taking the issue very seriously.

"No one can disagree that we should all have the right to know what we're eating and have the option to avoid certain ingredients. Without labeling, we don't," said Nadege Adam, a health protection campaigner for the council.

The group will hand out pamphlets that call for further testing to ensure that inserting new genes into food won't create new toxins or allergens that could harm humans.

The pamphlets also urge people to encourage their MPs to support a private members bill calling for mandatory labeling. It was introduced by Charles Caccia, a Toronto Liberal MP who leads the parliamentary standing committee on environment and sustainable development.

The bill received its first reading in February and will be voted on in September.

"We believe it is only a matter of time before the government listens to public opinion and makes the labeling of genetically modified food mandatory, and we are going to keep the pressure on," Adam said.

Loblaws has said that it won't promote products as being free of genetically engineered ingredients until there are recognized scientific standards and guidelines for doing so.

Adam said that Loblaws won't have a choice in changing their policy on labeling because they are facing a public relations nightmare.

"We just aren't going to let this die down."

Geoff Wilson, Loblaws vice president of industry and investor relations, said company officials have no comment on the planned protests, but said they'll ensure the demonstration is on public property and doesn't stop people from shopping.

"We will ensure that customers have free access to the stores and that any demonstration is peaceful," he said.

John Grimsby, a Loblaws customer at the same mid-town store, said he doesn't know if genetically modified food should be banned but wishes grocery stores were more honest about what they're selling.

"We need to have an open debate about this technology, not refuse to talk about it," he said.

But not everyone at the grocery store was interested in receiving the information.

"To be honest, I don't really care and I probably wouldn't read it," said Marilyn Cooper.

Banana targeted by code crackers

July 19
BBC

The banana genome should allow researchers to develop strains that are more resistant to disease and which require fewer agrochemicals to be applied during their cultivation.

Researchers also have high hopes for the banana as a so-called nutraceutical - its natural packaging could make it an ideal way to transport and consume drugs.

Scientists from 11 countries will make up the newly founded Global Musa (Banana) Genomics Consortium.

Following rice and the small weed Arabidopsis thaliana, the banana will become only the third plant to be sequenced.

Food calories

The banana's genome is relatively small. The genetic code is just 500 to 600 million "letters", or base pairs, in length. And this DNA is wound on to 11 chromosomes.

Farmers in 120 countries grow an estimated 95 million tons of bananas annually, with 85% of the global crop produced for home consumption and local trade.

Bananas and their longer, greener cousin, the plantain, represent the developing world's fourth most important food crop, providing more than one-quarter of all food calories to residents in many parts of Africa.

"Banana will be the first exclusively tropical crop to be sequenced," said Dr Emile Frison, one of the lead researchers and director of the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain in Montpelier, France.

Its economic importance makes the banana an ideal candidate for sequencing - but so too does its increasing vulnerability to disease. New strains are now needed to resist the fungus Black Sigatoka, which afflicts the starchy, potato-like bananas traditionally consumed in the developing world. The fungus, which attacks banana leaves and can reduce yields by up to 50%, is extremely costly to control with chemical spraying.

Seedless and sterile

Large-scale use of agrochemicals is also needed to produce the sweet, Cavendish dessert bananas favored by US and European consumers.

"Ancient farmers selected banana strains that were seedless and thus sterile, and grew the fruit through vegetative sprouting," Dr Frison said.

"Cultivated bananas have, therefore, been at a near evolutionary standstill for thousands of years and lack the genetic diversity needed to fight off disease."

Scientists hope also to acquire much general information that will help them understand how plants grow.

"If we've learned anything from genomics, it is how little we know about biology," said Dr Claire Fraser, president of The Institute for Genomic Research (Tigr) in Rockville, Maryland, US.

"We expect that the banana genome sequencing will reveal surprising insights into the evolution of plants."

Government to examine segregation of GM crops

July 19
The Age (Australia)

The federal government will examine the costs of segregating genetically modified (GM) crops from traditional crops, Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said today.

Mr Truss said the three-year study would cover the entire production process and look at existing systems used to segregate crops.

He said there was growing pressure on all countries to segregate between GM and non-GM crops.

"The project's aim is to determine whether it's feasible to segregate and preserve the identity of Australian agricultural products," Mr Truss said in statement.

"Consumers worldwide are becoming more discerning about the food they buy and Australia's agricultural and food enterprises will have to decide whether to supply genetically engineered or non-GE products, or a combination of both to a range of markets here and overseas."

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia has already commissioned a scoping study into the existing ways products are separated.

The study found increasing use of GM crops would require fundamental changes in supply chains.

It would also force the construction of new infrastructure, such as grain silos, to keep GM and non-GM crops apart.

Mr Truss said Australia had to realize there would be growing pressure to provide GM crops, and to separate them from traditional crops.

"Genetically engineered crops and their products, for example, can provide significant benefits to growers, processors and consumers, and can help Australia find a range of new market opportunities," Mr Truss said.

"What we need is a better understanding of the costs and benefits of segregating different types of agriculture to help ensure Australia's primary producers and food enterprises can make informed decisions."

Monsanto suing another Canadian farmer

July 19
CropChoice News

The biotech giant filed suit against Kelly Ryczak of Yorkton last week in the Court of Queen’s Bench over allegations that the farmer infringed its patent in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Monsanto says that Ryczak "improperly obtained glyphosate-resistant canola seeds" from his father or other farmers who had a license to plant the Roundup Ready seeds.

The company is already involved in litigation with hundreds of farmers in the United States, including the Nelsons of North Dakota and the Roushes of Indiana.

US threatened trade sanctions to block GM labels, says Thai FDA

July 19
just-food.com

A US trade delegation has threatened to impose trade sanctions on Thailand if proposals to label GM foods are approved and harm American exports.

Wichai Chokwiwat, secretary-general of the Thai Food and Drug Administration, revealed yesterday that the threats to invoke Section 301 of the US trade laws were made during an official visit on 13 February this year.

"I explained to them that the Thai government had resolved in 1999 to have food products carry a GM label to protect consumers," said Wichai, adding that the regulations would merely involve a special label reading "manufactured with genetically modified soybean/corn" for products having a GM concentration higher than 3%.

The label would not say that GM foods are dangerous and products would not be allowed to state "GM Free", he explained. It is purely to inform the consumers.
 
The US delegation indicated that any GM labeling was unwanted, said Wichai, as they warned that Thai imports, which are worth about Bt400bn (US$8.7bn) a year, will be placed on a high-priority watch list if Section 301 is triggered.

Field trials continue as opposition to GM subsides

July 18
The Scotsman

Biotechnology industry leaders remain confident the program of field trials of genetically modified crops in Britain will continue to flourish this year in spite of attacks by anti-GM activists.

These campaigners were said to be celebrating the results of their latest attack on a test site in Wales at the weekend, but Roger Turner, chief executive of the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB), was intent on playing down the impact on Monday.

"I have not yet had a full report on the damage they caused but, in any case, we started with over one hundred test sites this year of which only half a dozen have been attacked. We still have plenty of material on test."

The latest attack comes against a background of declining opposition to GM technology, including last month’s report from the Flanders Interuniversity for Biotechnology, which concluded that the GM crops currently on the market are as safe as their conventional equivalents.

The Belgian Farm Minister, Jaak Gabriels, has promised to promote the issue during his country’s presidency of the European Council of Ministers and an informal ministerial meeting on biotechnology is planned for September with the aim of kick-starting the GM authorization process.

This will be broadly welcomed by Britain’s seed and animal feed sectors, which have been looking for more meaningful guidance from the authorities, most notably on purity tolerances of the seed.

This follows the debacle last year in which large amounts of money had to be paid out in compensation by the seed company Advanta to oil seed rape growers in Scotland and the north of England who were forced to destroy crops planted with GM-contaminated seed.

"We are still waiting for the government to advise on GM testing requirements," said Mike Ruthven of the BSPB. "The question is whether we will have to test for genetically modified material in imported seed and what the tolerances are."

Plant breeders remain confident they will be able to plead due diligence in the case of home-produced seed stocks contaminated by current trial sites in view of the buffer zones agreed and policed.

However, in the case of imported stock, the BSPB is calling for a threshold for GM presence in seeds of one per cent. The EU Scientific Committee on Plants has however pointed out that: "The limit of analytical sensitivity is currently around 0.1 per cent for routine analysis."

In reply, the plant breeders say they need urgent guidance on the definition of the test, standardized testing methods and laboratory accreditation.

The issue is also worrying animal feed manufacturers faced with increasing down-the-line pressure from supermarkets who say they will refuse to handle farm products which have been exposed to GM feed.