Welcome to GMFAA's July newsletter!
GM-Free Australia Alliance advocates for food and farming free from
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
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Thank you for your interest in clean GM-Free food for Australia.
Welcome to our July 2024 newsletter! This month we have Part 5 of the GM corn situation in Mexico, offering U.S. farmers premium opportunities to grow non-GMO corn. Then in other international news, we learn how Greenpace is being blamed for blocking GM Golden Rice in the Philippines and how the EU Parliament votes on GMO/NGT and seeds.
Below is also a selection from our growing GM-Free True Food Guide, 2024 GMO-Free Shopping List.
Please consider donating to the Alliance to help us carry on and keep getting the message out. Even a $10 minimum helps us to continue to cover costs.
Thank you to all those who have donated to us so far this year!
Our product of the month is Larder Fresh Roast Pumpkin and Chickpea Burger
Larder Fresh tread lightly to ensure their range is good for your bodies and our planet. Using only fresh locally sourced ingredients they pack flavour into every morsel. 100% plant-based made with real ingredients. Sourced from local Australian Farmers and Growers. Larder Fresh don’t use any preservatives, fillers or numbers and being Gluten Free is an added bonus.
Part 5 Mexico's corn situation: Analysts say Mexico’s NO GMO corn policy could expand premium non-GMO market for U.S. farmers
Mexico’s proposed restrictions on genetically engineered corn offer U.S. farmers premium opportunities to grow non-GMO corn, according to analysts who say U.S. overbearing trade policy to Mexico ignores potential benefits to those farmers.
During a seminar in May hosted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a Minneapolis-based think tank focused on sustainable food and agriculture policy that has backed Mexico’s position in the dispute, analysts said the decree could harm large companies that sell genetically engineered seeds but that U.S. farmers stood to gain if they shifted to Mexico’s preferred varieties of corn.
“It’s our belief that this opposition primarily protects the major seed and agrochemical corporations who would really have the most to lose if a substantial number of American corn farmers were to shift to non-GM production,” said Angela Huffman, president of the nonprofit Farm Action. The organization focuses on building “fair competition in rural America,” according to its website.
“There’s a strong $40 billion non-GMO market in the U.S., and non-GMO grain suppliers, seed companies and farmers would be happy to supply Mexico with non-GMO white and yellow corn,” Roseboro said, charging that “U.S. commodity groups and trade officials” were “ignoring a fundamental principle of business—business common sense—which is to give the customer what they want.” (The Organic and Non GMO Report, 2024)
Organic Popcorn Kernels Original are GM-Free and available from Honest to Goodness stockists.
References
(The Organic and Non GMO Report, 19 June 2024) Analysts: Mexico’s GMO corn policy could expand premium non-GMO market for U.S. farmers. Organic & Non-GMO Insights June 2024. Non-GMO News. Analysts: Mexico’s GMO corn policy could expand premium non-GMO market for U.S. farmers | The Organic & Non-GMO Report
Say NO to GMOs by sending us photos of the labels of your favourite GM-Free Foods to add to our list at [email protected]
Greenpeaces' cheeky move to block GMO Golden Rice
Prof Glenn Davis Stone debunks renewed hype around GM crop that after 30 years “is still not ready”. Report: Claire Robinson and Jonathan Matthews
With the recent Philippines court decision blocking the further planting of GM Golden Rice in the country, pro-GMO advocates have renewed their attacks on Greenpeace, which, with the farmer-scientist network MASIPAG and others, brought the lawsuit.
On 19 April, the Philippine Supreme Court issued a cease-and-desist order on the commercial propagation of genetically modified (GM) Golden Rice and GM eggplant in the country, Countercurrents recently reported.
The Stop Golden Rice Network says that the court decision is a victory for farmers and consumers everywhere as the decision goes beyond Golden Rice and insecticidal eggplant and covers “any application for contained use, field testing, direct use as food or feed or processing, commercial propagation, and importation of GMOs.”
The court recognised that government agencies and other proponents of GM Golden Rice and GM eggplant “failed to submit proof of safety and compliance with all legal requirements.” The order remains indefinite until GMO proponents can fulfil all the mandated steps and provide concrete evidence that these GMOs are indeed safe.
Researchers still had problems developing beta carotene-enriched strains that yield as well as non-GM strains already being grown by farmers. It was questionable whether the beta carotene in Golden Rice could even be converted to vitamin A in the bodies of badly undernourished children. There had also been little research on how well the beta carotene in Golden Rice would hold up when stored for long periods between harvest seasons or when cooked using traditional methods common in remote rural locations.
In the meantime, Glenn Stone noted that that, as the development of Golden Rice crept along, the Philippines had managed to slash the incidence of Vitamin A deficiency by non-GM methods.
Sarojeni V Rengam, executive director of Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific, called on the donors and scientists involved to wake up and do the right thing:
“Golden Rice is really a ‘Trojan horse’; a public relations stunt pulled by the agribusiness corporations to garner acceptance of genetically engineered (GE) crops and food… money and efforts would be better spent on restoring natural and agricultural biodiversity rather than destroying it by promoting monoculture plantations and GE food crops.” (Sustainable Pulse, 2024)
The Observer’s science editor Robin McKie has published an article accusing Greenpeace of causing “a catastrophe” by its role in the court case. GM Golden Rice is engineered to contain the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene and is targeted at poor people, especially children, suffering from vitamin A deficiency (VAD).
The Observer also chimed in with an editorial headlined, “When modified rice could save thousands of lives, it is wrong to oppose it”, and subtitled, “The green movement’s attempts to block the cultivation of a grain enhanced with vitamin A is misguided”.
However, experts on Golden Rice have roundly debunked the claims, with one pointing out that blaming Greenpeace for blocking the GM crop is “a sleazy sleight of hand to hide the fact that after 30 years of development, Golden Rice is still not ready”. Glenn Davis Stone, Research Professor of Environmental Science at Sweet Briar College, also points out that there is no evidence that Golden Rice can actually improve vitamin A levels in its target population and that farmers may not be prepared to even plant it without special inducements to do so.
Readers of the Observer article, having been told Golden Rice was approved for commercial cultivation back in 2021, may be somewhat taken aback that Prof Stone says Golden Rice is not just still unproven to work but is not even ready for prime time (GMWatch, 2024).
For further reading, go to Expert: Blaming Greenpeace for blocking Golden Rice is “sleazy sleight of hand” (gmwatch.org)
We commend Greenpeace for helping to block the Golder Rice crop. The Golden Rice crop should not be released without the proper checks and balances.
Pure Harvest Organic Rice Milk Unsweetened, Ceres Organics Brown Rice Cakes and Ceres Organics Brown Rice Crackers Cream and Chives, Seaweed, with Chia and Sea Salt and Vinegar are GM-Free.
References
(GMWatch, 2 June 2024) Expert: Blaming Greenpeace for blocking Golden Rice is “sleazy sleight of hand” Expert: Blaming Greenpeace for blocking Golden Rice is “sleazy sleight of hand” (gmwatch.org)
(Sustainable Pulse, 7 May 2024) GM Golden Rice in the Philippines Stopped: The Deception of Development and the Politics of Progress. 10 July 2024 Global Breaking News on GMOs and Pesticides enewsletter. GM Golden Rice in the Philippines Stopped: The Deception of Development and the Politics of Progress - Sustainable Pulse
EU Parliament votes on GMO/NGT and seeds: Repeated violations of farmers' rights
The European Parliament confirmed its support for deregulation of patented GMOs/NGTs and opened the door to their dissemination without traceability through seeds regulation.
On 24 April 2024, all MEPs voted on two files that are essential for peasants’ rights on seeds and the future of European agriculture, in particular the GMO-free agricultural sector and peasant agroecology, reports European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC).
First, ECVC strongly condemned the vote in favour of the proposal to deregulate GMOs obtained with new genomic techniques (NGTs),[1] which aimed to consolidate the Parliament’s position adopted in February 2024 before the European elections. In several open letters to MEPs, ECVC had denounced that it was unacceptable for the European Parliament to consolidate its position, while many key issues remained unresolved: extension of the scope of patents covering NGTs to traditional seeds, violation of the precautionary principle, negative opinions by several European agencies,[2] the Commission’s impact study on patents, and EFSA's opinion, which is still to be published.
ECVC said, "The European Parliament has demonstrated its lack of integrity by approving this proposal without this essential information, despite the numerous inquiries of peasants’ organisations and GMO-free agricultural sector. This position of Parliament, which is based on empty promises on traceability, labelling and patentability of NGT plants, is unacceptable for small farmers in Europe, as any deregulation of patented GMOs would threaten their rights to preserve, use and exchange their own seeds, as well as the possibility of continuing to produce GMO-free.
Second, on the second vote on Parliament’s agenda on seeds (plant reproductive material, PRM), all MEPs confirmed the majority of the amendments approved by the Agriculture Committee in March 2024. ECVC welcomed these changes to the Commission’s original text,[3] in particular concerning the right of farmers to exchange PRM in the context of their agricultural production without this activity being considered as marketing, unfortunately in quantities that are too restrictive. ECVC said, "This is a first victory for peasant organisations, which have been struggling for decades for peasant seed systems to be recognised in European law." (GMWatch, 2024)
For further reading, go to EU Parliament votes on GMO/NGT and seeds: Repeated violations of farmers' rights (gmwatch.org)
Image of Patented stamp and sunflower seeds Photograph: GMWatch
References
(GMWatch, 29 April 2024) EU Parliament votes on GMO/NGT and seeds: Repeated violations of farmers' rights EU Parliament votes on GMO/NGT and seeds: Repeated violations of farmers' rights (gmwatch.org)
A selection from our growing GM-Free True Food Guide:
Here's a selection of products from our True Food Guide which is growing and we thought you might like to look for it on supermarket shelves. Lotus Bourghal Course and Noya 100% Mixed Nut Butter are GM-Free.
Our mission is to educate the public through spreading the word on the GMO situation in Australia and internationally. Plus share the array of GMO-Free products available to our readers thus supporting GMO-Free companies to continue to provide these clean products. Empower Australians to make healthy GM-Free food choices. We rely solely on the generous donations of people like you, who care about the health and sovereignty of the food that you and your family eat.
Help the GM-Free Australia Alliance, help keep GM-Free foods out of the food supply, improve health by remaining GM-Free, and especially feed our children and babies with the best GM-Free food and produce.
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It's been a journey over the past 17 years - educating and advocating for GM-Free farms, foods and futures. We've influenced public sentiment to demand labelling of GMOs, voice concerns and help grow awareness of GM-Free products all over Australia.
We are currently looking for a social media volunteer for our cause. If you are a student in Communications, or know of someone who is, it could be a great internship for you. Please get in touch.
To join or Volunteer for our cause, please visit our website to get involved. Follow our Facebook pages, GM-Free Australia Alliance and True Food Network for the latest news, info and campaigns.
In our next Newsletter, look out for more information on the True Food Guide and the future of food.
Our team of mostly volunteers at GM-Free Australia Alliance Inc. work tirelessly on educating people about the dangers of GMOs, including the next generation of GMOs 2.0, GENE EDITING. We are strongly advocating for more accurate GMO labelling, we encourage all companies to add the GMO-Free logo to their products where appropriate.
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Working for a GM-Free Australia
GM-Free Australia Alliance advocates for food and farming free from
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)!
We oppose the genetic engineering, editing, modification & manipulation
of living organisms.
Yours in True Food Freedom,
GMFAA Committee of Management
GM-Free Australia Alliance Inc.