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--- Carmelo Ruiz <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2005 > Subject: Molcular pharming, chloroplast > Transformation > > http://www.i-sis.org.uk/MPTNB.php > > Molecular Pharming – the New Battlefront over GM > Crops > > The biggest battle for democracy in the ‘heartland > of > democracy’ is being fought over GM crops and it has > shifted to molecular pharming. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho > > The battlefront over GM crops in the United States > and > Europe has shifted to molecular pharming, the use of > GM crops to produce pharmaceuticals. > California-based > company Ventria Bioscience has been at the forefront > of pharm crops development, and has planted 75 acres > of genetically engineered rice near Plymouth in > Eastern North Carolina [1]. > > Ventria made applications to grow GM rice producing > human lactoferrin and lysozyme, normally produced in > human milk, saliva and tears, in California, > Missouri > and North Carolina, stirring up a storm of > opposition. > Ventria was driven out of California last year [2], > and forced out of southeast Missouri earlier this > year > by a last minute uprising from rice farmers who > feared > contamination of their crops and damage to a $100 > million industry that depends heavily on exports > [3]. > > The USDA was under pressure to turn down Ventria’s > request and others like it. The Grocery > Manufacturers > of America, representing $500 billion in annual > sales, > says that the government lacks a way to prevent > pharmaceutical proteins from contaminating food. > Advocacy groups presented Agriculture Secretary Mike > Johanns with 30 000 signatures asking for a ban on > the > use of food crops to produce pharmaceuticals. > Northwest Missouri State University President Dean > Hubbard insists, however, that his institution is > going ahead with a $40 million agricultural > pharmaceutical centre that would house Ventria and > other companies. > > On 30 June, the USDA approved Ventria application to > grow its GM rice on 270 acres in North Carolina [3], > despite opposition from scientists working at the > state and federally-operated Rice Quarantine Nursery > at the Tidewater Research Station, just over half a > mile from the Ventria test site. USDA also cleared > the > way for Ventria to grow its pharm rice on 200 acres > in > the middle of Missouri’s chief rice-growing region, > even though Ventria has already withdrawn its permit > applications for that site. Anheuser-Busch, the > nation’s largest brewer, had indicated it would > refuse > to buy any rice from southeastern Missouri’s > hundreds > of growers if the Ventria pharm rice was planted > there. But USDA dismissed the concerns as > “non-scientific” and beyond its legal purview. > > > http://www.i-sis.org.uk/MPBCT.php > > Molecular Pharming by Chloroplast Transformation > > The advantages are also its greatest hazards; no > environmental releases should be considered. Dr. > Mae-Wan Ho and Professor Joe Cummins > ========================================= Activism enriches our lives in multiple ways. It brings us into personal contact with other people who are informed, passionate and altruistic in their commitment to help make the world a better place. These are good friends to have, and often they are better sources of information than the experts whose names appear in the newspapers. Activism, in our opinion, is a path to enlightenment. - Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber (from "Trust Us, We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with your Future") http://carmeloruiz.blogspot.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Find what you need with new enhanced search. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250