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We received this item from our neighbour Wallie Seto...

• Monsanto abandons worldwide GM wheat project (May 11, 2004)

We received the following items from Greenfields Farms...

• Quote of the Week (March 3, 2003)
• Mission Accomplished - Menocino County Banned GE Crops!
• New Study Indicates Health Hazards of GMOs

Monsanto abandons worldwide GM wheat project (May 11, 2004)

According to the Guardian:

Monsanto has abandoned plans to introduce GM wheat on to the world market despite spending seven years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing the crop.

The decision, announced yesterday, is a major fillip for the anti-GM lobby and follows pressure from US and Canadian farmers who feared the introduction of GM wheat would lead to the collapse of their billion-dollar markets in Europe and Japan.

Read the full article>>

Quote of the Week (March 3, 2003)

Press Release March 3, 2004 by citizen group GMO Free Mendocino

"These multi-billion dollar corporations underestimated the savvy and determination of Mendocino County voters," said Els Cooperrider of Ukiah, California, a retired medical scientist and Ukiah business owner who helped spearhead the citizen-led initiative. "This is just the beginning of the revolution," she said. "We're the first county in the U.S. to prohibit the growing of genetically altered crops and animals -- but we won't be the last."

Mission Accomplished - Menocino County Banned GE Crops!

Mission Accomplished - Menocino County Banned GE Crops!

It's official! Mendocino County (CA) has passed a ballot initiative making it the first county in the U.S. to ban genetically engineered crops and animals. This is an important and precedent-setting victory for farmers and consumers, particularly given the fact that corporate agribusiness and the biotech industry spent over $620,000 attempting to convince citizens to vote against the referendum (grassroots supporters of the referendum had only $100,000 to work with, including $11,500 from the Organic Consumers Association). Organic and non-GMO farmers in Mendocino say the new law will help protect their crops from potential contamination from neighboring GE fields. The success of the initiative is already proving to be highly contagious. Humboldt County (CA) claims it's next in line for passing a similar referendum, while farmers in the U.S. Midwest see it as evidence that they may be able to resist the release of Monsanto's new GE wheat. Grassroots activists across California and the nation will be meeting in San Francisco this weekend to discuss launching similar initiatives. Similarly Prince Edward Island in Canada is now considering becoming a "GMO Free Zone." Meanwhile, the biotech industry has made it clear that it will do its best to snuff out Mendocino's GE ban with state legislative or legal action. Informed sources have told the OCA that the California Farm Bureau and the Gallo wine company are spearheading an effort to introduce a bill in the California Senate that will nullify the Mendocino GMO ban and make it illegal for other California counties to pass similar laws. OCA and its allies are planning a major campaign to stop or defeat this legislation. Stay tuned to Organic Bytes and the OCA website for forthcoming news on this front...

New Study Indicates Health Hazards of GMOs

New Study Indicates Health Hazards of GMOs

New scientific research has revealed some disturbing health implications related to genetically modified foods. The viral promoter used in GE crops to "turn on" certain genes has been found in the tissue of test rats. The biotech industry has consistently claimed this is impossible. According to Dr Terje Traavik, the study's results indicate that these same promoters could switch on any number of viruses that normally lay dormant within our own DNA and/or change the activity and structure of chromosomes, creating the potential for inducing cancer and/or metabolic changes.