GM foods story in papers

[emordnilap]

Whether you think on-line petitions are effective or not, they take so little time you may as well sign.

Please sign this one.

Any pressure against Monsanto is worth it. Read and weep.

[emordnilap]

Crikey, a third of a million signatures in the first day, that's maybe four a second.

[biffvernon]

Well everybody knows that Monsanto is the most evil corporation on the planet.

[emordnilap]

That particular petition is going to reach one million within the first two days. Yo!

The signers are pouring in from all round the world. Except China maybe.

[emordnilap]

There's plenty of reasons to avoid Tesco, but here's another anyway.

[RenewableCandy]

"The Chinese government appears to be more sensitive to public opinion than Tesco's is in Britain"
Blimey. Outdone by the people who brought you TianAnMen Square (where, famously, nothing happened on 4th June 1989). That takes some doing!

[emordnilap]

More here.

Earlier this week, the heads of Abrange, the Brazilian association of Non-GMO grain producers said in a statement that they were "puzzled by four United Kingdom retailers' decision to switch from Non-GMO to GMO soy for the reason of lack of supply and concerns expressed about product integrity."

In a joint statement, Abrange president Cesar Borges de Sousa and executive director Ricardo Tatesuzi de Sousa said the association is responsible for the import of over 5 million tonnes of Non-GM soy and soy derivatives into Europe each year. They acknowledged that one major supplier of non-GM soy had ceased trading, due to concerns with future supply, and that dramatic increases in export demand from Brazil has created congestion at ports, but said this has resulted in delays for all commodities, not just GM-free soy.

The Pair added, "Considering national affiliations, this change could well have as much to do with interest in opening the UK to imports of GM soy from the USA than to the temporary slow-down in Brazil."

[energy-village]

I bought my usual Morrisons organic coffee today (the only organic one on a whole bay of coffees). There is a Soil Association organic logo on the side. But this time I read the small print: 'Only approved fertilizers and pesticides'. Exactly what is 'approved' I'm not clear.

I went to the Soil Association website and it says:

"For foods to be labelled as organic, at least 95% of the ingredients must come from organically produced plants and animals. Any food product sold as 'organic' falls under the EU regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008."

So up to 5% can be non organic? gm?

With horse masquerading as beef, "free range" a dubious description and gm food entering the system it seems it is becoming harder to tell what we are eating these days.

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Tesco withdraws guarantee its birds are not fed GM food

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 69389.html

[energy-village]

I see the 'Monsanto vs. Mother Earth' petition is almost up to 2m.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/monsanto_vs_mot ... ab&v=23911

[emordnilap]

If you care, the following might help:

• Waitrose: CustomerSupport@waitrose.co.uk
  Dear Waitrose, Just to say well done for maintaining your non GM fed poultry and eggs - an excellent decision. if you let me know about any other non GM fed ranges i will buy them too.
  
  M&S: RetailCustomer.Services@marks-and-spencer.com
  Dear M&S, I am bitterly disappointed in your decision to drop your non GM fed ranges. I will not be buying GM fed meat and dairy, and hence will not be frequenting your shops until you switch back to using non-GM feed in your meat and dairy.
  
  Co-op: customer.relations@co-operative.coop
  Dear Co-op, I am bitterly disappointed in your decision to drop your non GM fed ranges. i will not be buying GM fed meat and dairy, and hence will not be frequenting your shops until you switch back to using non-GM feed in your meat and dairy.
  
  Tesco: customer.service@tesco.co.uk
  Dear Tesco, It is very wrong for you to drop your non GM fed poultry and eggs. It was the only reason I still shopped there. I suggest you rapidly re connect with your customers, use your market power to contract in non-GM soya supplies and reverse your decision as soon as possible.

Personalise your emails, of course. Mind you, if you really cared, you'd be growing some of your own food and/or buying from independent retailers and growers already.

[emordnilap]

Yet more damning observations about gm stuff.

Compared to the first five years of commercial use (1996-2000), today’s GE corn and soybeans in the U.S. require:

About twice as much herbicide per acre, with glyphosate/Roundup accounting for essentially all the growth;

In corn, two to six Bt toxins to deal with European corn borer and the corn rootworm complex;

Delayed release, systemic seed treatments including at least two insecticides and two fungicides, one of which is a nicotinyl implicated in honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder;

A return to corn soil insecticide use as a component of Bt-gene, resistance-management programs (eroding a portion of the reduction in insecticide use brought about by Bt corn);

Significant and historically unprecedented increases in fungicide use on corn (11 percent of crop acres were treated in latest USDA pesticide use survey [2010], no more than 1 percent was treated previously); and
Approval and commercial planting in the U.S. of the first GE crop that will be consumed in significant quantities by humans in a largely unprocessed form – Bt and RR sweetcorn.

It's money, pure and simple. Feck all to do with yields, safety, people, food, resources, poverty and all the other Monshite.

[hodson2k9]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Njd0RugGjA ... jd0RugGjAg

[emordnilap]

Thanks for that link h.

Nothing surprising there - except maybe the suggestion towards the end that "there needs to be more studies of this kind and manufacturers should conduct them before commercialising their product". What?

[emordnilap]

Because Hawaii is geographically isolated from the broader public, it is an ideal location for conducting chemical experiments. The island chain’s climate and abundant natural resources have lured five of the world’s largest biotech chemical corporations: Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Pioneer and BASF. In the past 20 years, these chemical companies have performed over 5,000 open-field-test experiments of pesticide-resistant crops on an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 acres of Hawaiian land without any disclosure

More here.

[emordnilap]

Another reason not to eat chickens or eggs.

The move has been seen as a key victory for GM food giants such as Monsanto which, environmental groups claim, will benefit from the switch. It is also being seen as a precursor to the introduction of GM meat and poultry by "softening up" consumer resistance to the controversial technology.

It has emerged that Marks & Spencer, the Co-operative and Sainsbury's are following Tesco, Asda and Morrisons and reversing policies that prohibit their suppliers from feeding GM soya to chickens used in the production of their own-brand eggs and poultry. The move came following fierce lobbying from groups such as the National Farmers Union and the British Poultry Council.