text for the moosletter from the Buisness community
milk monitor | 17.06.2005 19:26 | Bio-technology
The leaflet that was given out by company directors and GM researchers to Sainsbury's staff at their HQ on Thursday. Micheal Meacher the former environment minister attended.
The Daily Moosletter
from the buisness community 16 June
GM Contamination – an economic liability
You are being leafleted today by Company Directors and some of Britain's leading GM food and crop researchers. Joining us is Micheal Meacher, former UK Environment Minister, who oversaw the only large scale trial of GM in the world.
We have direct experience of the problems of cross-contamination between GM crops (both licensed and unlicensed) and conventional crops. We are concerned both about the economic impact of GM contamination on UK food manufacturers and about legal implications if illegally contaminated products harm customers.
Incidents of GM contamination have globally cost food businesses well over $1,000,000,000. Often foods for human consumption have been contaminated by experimental GM crops or by corps only approved for animals. Contamination by GM animal feed harms food companies because...
1)Products and ingredients have to be recalled.
2)Brand image is harmed, Ingredients need expensive genetic testing for contamination.
3)Insurance is needed to cover possible liability for the effects of illegal contaminants.
A new generation of GM pharmacutical corps that are an even more serious threat to food companies and consumers are now being grown in America. Medical drugs in food could kill customers or bankrupt manufacturers.
Examples of expensive GM contamination.
In March 2005, the journal Nature revealed that Syngenta, had mistakenly produced and distributed an unapproved GM maize known as Bt10 instead of its Bt11 variety. Several hundred tonnes of the maize had been sold across the USA before the mistake was discovered by another plant breeding company. Both Bt10 and Bt11 maize are genetically modified to contain a gene from the soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringensis, which produces an insecticidal Bt toxin. The Bt10 maize, which is not approved for sale in any nation, also contains a gene coding for resistance to the widely used antibiotic ampicillin. In May 2005 , Ireland found illegal Bt10 in a shipment of maize gluten from the USA and reported contamination in shipments from the USA.
In September 200, sampling by a coaliton of public interest groups in the US, showed that a variety of of GM maize known as Starlink was present in taco shells bing sold for human consumption even though it was only approved for feedign to animals. Before the Starlink maize contamination was detected, it was exported from the US and is is still turning up in many nations. Recall of contaminated products, together with segregation, testin and prevention, has so far cost businesses billions of dollars.
Since 1995 there have been 63 such recorded incidents of GM contamination, 10 illegal GM crop releases and 6 negative agricultural side-effects. These are documented at www.gmcontaminationregister.org
from the buisness community 16 June
GM Contamination – an economic liability
You are being leafleted today by Company Directors and some of Britain's leading GM food and crop researchers. Joining us is Micheal Meacher, former UK Environment Minister, who oversaw the only large scale trial of GM in the world.
We have direct experience of the problems of cross-contamination between GM crops (both licensed and unlicensed) and conventional crops. We are concerned both about the economic impact of GM contamination on UK food manufacturers and about legal implications if illegally contaminated products harm customers.
Incidents of GM contamination have globally cost food businesses well over $1,000,000,000. Often foods for human consumption have been contaminated by experimental GM crops or by corps only approved for animals. Contamination by GM animal feed harms food companies because...
1)Products and ingredients have to be recalled.
2)Brand image is harmed, Ingredients need expensive genetic testing for contamination.
3)Insurance is needed to cover possible liability for the effects of illegal contaminants.
A new generation of GM pharmacutical corps that are an even more serious threat to food companies and consumers are now being grown in America. Medical drugs in food could kill customers or bankrupt manufacturers.
Examples of expensive GM contamination.
In March 2005, the journal Nature revealed that Syngenta, had mistakenly produced and distributed an unapproved GM maize known as Bt10 instead of its Bt11 variety. Several hundred tonnes of the maize had been sold across the USA before the mistake was discovered by another plant breeding company. Both Bt10 and Bt11 maize are genetically modified to contain a gene from the soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringensis, which produces an insecticidal Bt toxin. The Bt10 maize, which is not approved for sale in any nation, also contains a gene coding for resistance to the widely used antibiotic ampicillin. In May 2005 , Ireland found illegal Bt10 in a shipment of maize gluten from the USA and reported contamination in shipments from the USA.
In September 200, sampling by a coaliton of public interest groups in the US, showed that a variety of of GM maize known as Starlink was present in taco shells bing sold for human consumption even though it was only approved for feedign to animals. Before the Starlink maize contamination was detected, it was exported from the US and is is still turning up in many nations. Recall of contaminated products, together with segregation, testin and prevention, has so far cost businesses billions of dollars.
Since 1995 there have been 63 such recorded incidents of GM contamination, 10 illegal GM crop releases and 6 negative agricultural side-effects. These are documented at www.gmcontaminationregister.org
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