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Monsanto challenged

Greenpeace marks a maize field with signs showing corn with a 'question mark' indicating that 1 in 200 maize crops can be genetically contaminated if the draft EU seed directive is passed . Enlarge Image

Monsanto: heading for disaster?

Monsanto, the company that gave us PCBs, Agent Orange, pesticides and beef growth hormones, is desperate to get us to plant their genetically engineered (GE) seeds, spray them with their herbicides and eat GE foods. Will they get away with it? Not according to a new study done by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors.

Activst helps quarantine a government-run farm in Canada to expose the risks of Monsanto's genetically engineered wheat. Enlarge Image

Biohazard - Stopping GE wheat

Activists have quarantined a government-run farm in Canada to expose the risks of Monsanto's genetically engineered wheat. The approval of GE wheat would not only a potential environmental disaster but will clearly be a commercial disaster for North American farmers.

Greenpeace marks a maize field with signs showing corn with a 'question mark' indicating that 1 in 200 maize crops can be genetically contaminated if the draft EU seed directive is passed . Enlarge Image

Biosafety Protocol becomes law

When the tiny pacific nation of Palau ratified the UN Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety last Friday, the way was cleared for the world's first legally binding agreement that reaffirms the sovereign right of countries to reject imports of genetically engineered organisms (GMOs). Entering into force on 11 September 2003, the Biosafety protocol recognises that GMOs are fundamentally different from their conventional counterpart since their release pose a risk to the environment, biodiversity and human health.

Action against GM maize in Spain, August 2003 Enlarge Image

GM crops flunk the test

The debate on Genetically Modified (GM) crops is often a polarised one with environmentalists and the majority of sceptical consumers against the crops and powerful corporate interests attempting to steamroller all opposition. Now those companies may be in for a serious setback, as scientific tests devised by the UK Government and GM companies look set to say that GM crops are environmentally unsafe.

Monsanto announced that it has suspended further development and open field trials of its genetically engineered, Roundup Ready wheat Enlarge Image

Victory: Monsanto drops GE Wheat

There's a reason to celebrate today: Monsanto has caved at last and given up on further development or open field trials of its genetically engineered "Roundup Ready" wheat. Monsanto won't admit it has bowed to overwhelming market rejection, but that's clearly behind their decision. It's a hard-won victory for every environmental group, every consumer, every cyberactivist who has said "no" to genetically engineered foods. The decision fits a pattern of industry retreat set last month by Bayer CropScience's decision to withdraw GE maize from the UK.

Monsanto has been fined for bribing senior Indonesian environment ministry official to try and avoid an environmental assessment on its GE cotton. Enlarge Image

Monsanto pays fine for bribery

What do you do if you're trying to plant genetically engineered cotton in a hurry, but the government wants to make sure there won't be any environmental damage from doing so? If you're the giant Monsanto corporation, one answer might be: bribe somebody to skip over that pesky environmental assessment. Who knows how many times this tried and true practice has worked before? This time, they've been caught red-handed in Indonesia, and fined US$1.5 million.

Terminator seeds don't produce replantable offspring. Enlarge Image

Suicide seeds

A document leaked to the ETC group reveals that Canada is going to the UN to promote "terminator" technology: genetically engineered (GE) seeds designed to grow crops which can't reproduce. These "suicide seeds," designed solely to protect the patents and profits of multinational corporations, are currently forbidden from being planted outside the lab. The secret instructions to Canada's delegation: block concensus on any other option than testing these seeds in the wild.

Monica Gibbs lives next to a chemical plant in south Louisiana and needs to wear a breathing mask. She has suffered from respiratory problems since birth. Her town is part of the infamous 'cancer alley', so called because of the huge number of chemical refineries in the area and illnesses related to the pollution from the plants. Enlarge Image

Dodgy deals and irresponsible care

A recently leaked document has revealed the secret plans of the American Chemistry Council to trash anti-pollution laws in California. The internal memo, a proposal from PR firm Nichols-Dezenhall, outlines tactics such as the creation of phoney front groups and spying on activists to undermine pioneering laws that protect the environment. Unfortunately the Chemistry Council is just one of many industry front groups dedicated to making sure nothing interferes with corporate profits.

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