"Jane Gillett" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Gordon Couger wrote:
"Hamish Macbeth" wrote in message
...
"Gordon Couger" wrote in message
...
Wiht no evidence just another trade barrier for which the EU paying
a
fine.
I wonder what happens if the US decides to press the case of GM
crops
with
the WTO?
Does the WTO have any mandate for goods banned in an area?
This would suggest that American gun manufacturers could complain that
Britain is curbing their trade by blocking imports.
Ig GM crops are banned from all sources I don't see that WTO has any
authority.
The US postition is there is no differnce in GM crops and anyohter crop.
We
don't treat them any differntly after they are approved and there is no
evidence that there is any danger more danger from them than any other
food.
It's possible. But....
IMO there has not been and will never be an independent assessment of any
danger. The "interested parties" are too powerful for it to happen. The
major (US) multinationals can and do control the US govt to enhance the
interest of the major companies. One step further along the line, the US
govt is then driving the UK govt to take steps which will enhance the
financial reurns of the multinationals. According to you it is also trying
to drive the bodies which control world trade so that they also act in the
interest of the multinationals.
In that climate, I am very suspicious of any assessments leading to claims
of "no danger". I also have a strong personal aversion to any system which
says "I am bigger than you and I am going to see that I get my way.".
Jane
Would you rather have crops that were developed by treating them with
radiation or mutigens to the point 50 to 70% of the seed dies and sort
through what's left for things that look good and breed it back to
conventional varieties and market it with out testing? That's one way
conventional breeding works.
Almost everything you eat has been enhanced by mutengens at some time or the
other. In contrast genetic engineering only transfers a few genes and
verifies that they moved them and were they are and they check for novel
proteins and other products and get approval from at least the one agency
and in the case of BT crops two. The delays run 2 or 3 years
Compare that to some of these organic methods that are really dangerous.
Gordon
Tosco Uses Killer Spiders
- The Sun (UK)
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2002550314,00.html
Tesco (the British supermarket - CSP) yesterday admitted using deadly
Black Widow spiders to kill off insects in its bunches of grapes.
The shock revelation comes after three women found Black Widows - two of
them ALIVE - in fruit they bought at different Tesco stores. The spiders,
which have red markings on their backs, were introduced to Tesco vineyards
in California as an alternative to pesticide, following customer demand
for "natural" food.
But the grapes are supposed to be hand-checked before being exported.Tesco
spokesman Greg Sage said last night: "We use natural predators on grapes
because they prevent insects from puncturing the grapes. The spiders are
very effective.
"All I can do is apologise for any distress this may have caused. We've
spoken to our suppliers to ensure that the checking process is as good as
it can be. "The fact that the spiders are alive is evidence that we're not
using pesticides - because if we were they'd be dead."
A Foods Standard Agency spokesman said: "The local authority has powers to
take action." London-based spider expert Paul Hillyard said: "Black Widows
can cause considerable damage with a bite which is potentially lethal."
***********
CAMPYLOBACTER, CHICKENS - UK: FREE-RANGE REARING
*********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2002
From: ProMED-mail
Source: Telegraph (UK), 20 Nov 2002 [edited]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...20/nchick20.xm
l&sSheet=/news/2002/11/20/ixhome.html
Risk soars in organic chickens
------------------------------
Free-range and organic chickens are twice as likely to carry a food
poisoning bacteria than battery hens, research said yesterday. Initial
findings from a study sponsored by the Government show much higher levels
of campylobacter in flocks reared outdoors.
The study, led by Prof Tom Humphrey at the University of Bristol,
investigated 60 organic and 130 conventional flocks. He found campylobacter
in 58 percent of indoor-reared flocks, but in all the organic flocks. All
chickens studied were destined for human consumption.
Campylobacter and _E. coli_, Britain's most common bacterial causes of food
poisoning, are thought to be carried by wild birds, a theory explaining
high levels in outdoor-bred flocks.
Prof Humphrey, professor of food safety and well-known for his work on
bacteria in poultry and eggs, was unavailable for comment. His research is
sponsored by the Food Standards Agency, whose spokesman said: "The birds
that remained outside were organic and free-range so it is therefore more
about the method of production."
Richard Young, policy adviser at the Soil Association, which campaigns for
organic food and farming, said: "If there is an issue here it is about
whether chickens should be kept indoors or outdoors and not whether they
are organic or conventional." The research was incomplete and not
peer-reviewed.
--
ProMED-mail
[In September 2000, the chairman of the (then newly established) Food
Standards Agency (FSA), Sir John Krebs, said in an interview to the BBC
that organic food consumers were "not getting value for money, in my
opinion and in the opinion of the Food Standards Agency, if they think
they're buying food with extra nutritional quality or extra safety". Sir
John based his statement upon the results of research by scientists at the
Eclipse Scientific Group laboratory in Cambridgeshire. As expected, a
bitter public debate encompassing the British parliament ensued.
In a recent submission of FSA to the Welsh Assembly on organic food (Mon,
27 May 2002) the FSA indicated that on the basis of current evidence, the
Agency's assessment is that organic food is not significantly different in
terms of food safety and nutrition from food produced conventionally. FSA's
views on organic food are at:
http://www.food.gov.uk/science/scien...s/organicfood/
Campylobacteriosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus
Campylobacter. The Campylobacter organism is actually a group of
spiral-shaped bacteria that can cause disease in humans and animals.
_Campylobacter jejuni_ has become a major public health hazard and the main
etiologic contributor -- at least, quantitatively -- to food poisoning in
many countries, with contaminated raw poultry meat playing the main role
(See "Campylobacter jejuni -- An Emerging Foodborne Pathogen", S. F.
Altekruse et al, EID, Vol 15 No 1, Jan-Mar 1999
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no1/altekruse.htm ).
Most human illness is caused by _Campylobacter jejuni_, but 1 percent of
human Campylobacter cases are caused by other species. Most people who
become ill with campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain,
and fever within 2 to 5 days after exposure to the organism. The diarrhea
may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The illness
typically lasts one week. Some persons who are infected with Campylobacter
don't have any symptoms at all. In persons with compromised immune systems,
Campylobacter occasionally spreads to the bloodstream and causes a serious
life-threatening infection. According to the US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), Campylobacter is the most common bacterial cause of
diarrheal illness in the United States. Virtually all cases occur as
isolated, sporadic events, not as a part of large outbreaks. Even though
surveillance is very limited, over 10 000 cases are reported to the CDC
each year, equaling approximately 6 cases for each 100 000 persons in the
population. Many more cases go undiagnosed or unreported, and
campylobacteriosis is estimated to affect over 2 million persons every
year, or 1 percent of the population.
An FSA survey announced in August 2001 indicated that 50 per cent of
UK-produced retail chickens are contaminated with campylobacter. It has
become the single biggest identified cause of food poisoning in the UK. The
emergence of Quinolone and Macrolide resistance in _Campylobacter jejuni_
is a reason for additional concerns. Reducing campylobacter levels in
chickens is an essential part of the Agency's commitment to cutting food
poisoning cases in the UK by 20 percent by 2006. FSA's Advisory Committee
on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF), of which Professor Tom
Humphrey is a member, is playing a key role in tackling the campylobacter
issue.
The current posting, ostensibly based upon his group's research (yet to be
published), might be followed by renewed and heated debates between
supporters and opponents of the ever-growing organic agriculture movement
(in a recent poll by the FSA, 64 percent of the participants indicated they
buy organic food). - Mod.AS]
[And the additional sound advice from our copy editor PG "wash your hands,
cook the chicken right, and you won't get sick" - Mod.MPP]
[see also:
1998
----
Campylobacter & foodborne gastroenteritis - USA 19980228.0391
1997
----
Food-borne disease outbreaks (worldwide) (02) 19970901.1858
1996
----
Antibiotics in livestock feed (8) 19960907.1532]
................................mhj/arn/pg/mpp
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http://www.lifesciencesnetwork.com/n...sp?newsID=1122
Ewen-Street should get his facts right
NZ Life Sciences Network
Green Party MP Ian Ewen-Street should take care to get the facts right
when he rushes into print promoting organic farming, the Chairman of the
Life Sciences Network, Dr William Rolleston said today.
The only food scare in recent history in New Zealand stemmed from the
farming methods of organic farmers and others who use unconventional
farming practices.
In late February this year New Zealanders were regaled with stories about
killer zucchini which had developed high levels of natural toxins and
been sold on the vegetable market. The result was several recorded cases
of people suffering food poisoning in the Canterbury area.
Now it turns out that, where the growers were able to be identified, a
significant proportion were organic growers.
An examination of common factors shows the levels of toxin apparently
increased among zucchini growers who did not spray their crops. Unusual
climatic conditions meant there were huge numbers of aphids about in
January and insect predation is sometimes associated with increased levels
of toxins in plants.
A literature review by Crop & Food scientists showed there was no direct
research to show increased levels of the particular toxin (cucurbitacin)
in zucchini fruit as a result of insect activity, though it has been shown
in leaves. Neither does this research mean the contamination did not
result from insect activity. More research will need to be done to
establish the facts.
Of greater relevance was the clear link between increased toxin levels
and older open-pollinating varieties of seeds.
The Royal Commission on Genetic Modification was told many times by
organic growers of their preference to save seed from previous crops. It
is likely zucchini grown from saved seed will therefore be more vulnerable
to toxin build-up.
The reviewing scientists are very clear that the most likely cause of the
build up of toxins is a genetic weakness in older varieties.
This is a clear case where the growers decision to use older varieties
and to save seeds is likely to have resulted in a health risk for
consumers - something which has never happened with crops derived from
genetic modification.
It is possible the problem may have been exacerbated by the pressure put
on the zucchini by insect predation.
To the extent there was an insect problem this could have been avoided
through use of the same sprays which all conventional vegetable growers
use to limit insect damage, and to make their crop safe for consumption.
Mr Ewen-Street should acknowledge that, in this case, the organic growers
should have responded to the insect infestation with pesticides, or
withdrawn their product from the market for food safety reasons. Organic
production methods sometimes impose risks to the health of consumers and
that certifying food as organic does not make it safe.
Mr Ewen-Street should further acknowledge that all food production
methods carry risks; that human error and failure to follow the right
procedures are the biggest food safety risks we face not new technology.
Those who live in glass houses should not throw the first stone Mr
Ewen-Street, concluded Dr Rolleston.