Risk World | October 19, 1999
An October 18 press release from the American Phytopathological Society, an organization dedicated to the study and control of plant disease, announced that the "recent approval and commercial release of genetically modified, insect-resistant corn hybrids (Bt corn)" provides an innovative technology for discouraging the buildup of corn mycotoxins, which are "potentially dangerous human and animal toxins produced by fungi that cause plant disease." The press release also addresses controversy over the production of Bt corn, saying that consideration should be given to "food safety and environmental implications of Bt corn when making decisions about its use."
This announcement follows a meeting during the week of October 4 at the Blue Mountain Center in upstate New York where, according to the Wall Street Journal (October 12, 1999), 22 participants from 12 countries met "to plot the first all-out assault on the U.S. biotech-food industry." The attendees included activists, attorneys, and scientists who have successfully conducted campaigns against genetically modified foods in continental Europe and the U.K. Among other topics, the WSJ says that the possibility of massive litigation from people suffering from genetic pollution of crops was discussed. A representative from India is quoted as saying "The problems of the entire world have been created in the U.S., so we have to bring these issues back home."
Prominent at the meeting was a representative from Greenpeace, the organization most instrumental in convincing the U.S. Gerber division of Swiss-based Novartis AG to cease using genetically modified ingredients in its baby food.
Greenpeace has been extremely active in campaigns against genetically engineered (GE) foods, and also in covering GE news on its web site. In two papers (1,2) published prior to the United Nations sponsored meetings on a Biosafety Protocol (Vienna, September 15-19), Greenpeace demanded that the participants adhere to the Precautionary Principle and cited examples of how countries are using the principle to ban GE crops, particularly Bt corn. Norway, Austria, and Luxembourg have applied the principle to ban Novartis' Bt corn because of the (potential) impacts of the pesticide gene on biodiversity and the impacts of the antibiotic resistance gene on human health. They reported that scientific findings show that the Monarch butterfly is at risk of increased mortality from feeding off the pollen of genetically engineered corn. (The Biosafety Protocol participants are to meet again in January 2000.)
More recently, Greenpeace has announced its success in pressuring the giant Aldi supermarket chain in Germany into declaring that it will not use genetic engineering in its brand-name foods; moreover, the company will seek the same commitment from its suppliers. Six other companies controlling over three-fourths of the German food market had already made similar promises. Europe's leading dry dog food producer, Royhal Canin, has also agreed not to include genetically modified ingredients in its products.
Greenpeace predicts that the next international confrontations will occur in November 1999 at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, Washington (USA), where grain-exporting countries will push for GE decisions to be treated as trade disputes. France's president Jacques Chirac says that France and the European Union will oppose the sale of genetically modified foods (and hormone treated beef) at the global trade summit. He is also recommending that an impartial scientific body be set up within the United Nations to assess the risks of GE foods, hormones, and other agricultural issues.
