[Vision2020] Avoiding Frankenfoods? Shop in Moscow.

[lfalen]

Mark

I don't disagree this . But it is no reson to stop all advancement in technology. Genetic change will occur with and without the aid  of man.

Roger
-----Original message-----
From: Mark Solomon msolomon at moscow.com
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:47:30 -0700
To: lfalen lfalen at turbonet.com,  "Bill London" london at moscow.com, vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Avoiding Frankenfoods?  Shop in Moscow.

> Roger,
> 
> It's not that simple. Here's a link to the last issue of High Country 
> News and their article on Roundup Ready alfalfa. Story is based in 
> Nampa. In a nutshell, making crops Roundup tolerant by genetic 
> engineering is creating Roundup tolerant weeds as they adapt to the 
> new Roundup-rich environment and threatening an entire crop whether 
> you are using Monsanto seeds or not.
> 
> http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17054
> 
> Evolution is a multi-faceted process with species adapting to how 
> other species interact with them. No species exists in an 
> evolutionary isolation bubble.
> 
> Mark
> 
> At 11:15 AM -0700 6/25/07, lfalen wrote:
> >The concept of Frankenfoods is anti-science and anti-progress. 
> >Genetic engineering is no different than selective breeding. It just 
> >speeds uo the process. Genetic engineering is a great tool that is 
> >used to improve products and increase productivity. There is no 
> >danger from these products. Every new improvement has been opposed 
> >by unfounded fears. X-rays, irradiation of food, you name it. The 
> >biggest danger, may be  all the additives and/ingredients that are 
> >in most processed foods to   eople with various food allergies( Soy 
> >etc). This can be handled by reading the labels.
> >
> >Roger
> >-----Original message-----
> >From: "Bill London" london at moscow.com
> >Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:48:44 -0700
> >To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> >Subject: [Vision2020] Avoiding Frankenfoods?  Shop in Moscow.
> >
> >>  OK.  So, this is an article about the Moscow in Russia....but it's 
> >>still interesting...BL
> >>
> >>    Want to be sure it's GM-free? Buy food in Moscow
> >>    By James Kilner
> >>    Reuters
> >>    Posted: 2007-06-24 19:17:07
> >>    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow next week introduces a city-wide label 
> >>to identify GM-free foods, a move ecologists hail as 
> >>ground-breaking but which foreign producers say is complex and 
> >>costly.
> >>
> >>    A handful of individual food producers around the world already 
> >>use labels certifying their food is free of genetically modified 
> >>elements -- but this is the first large-scale political effort to 
> >>introduce such a system, Greenpeace says, expecting it to be 
> >>watched by others as a test-case.
> >>
> >>    "These labels are important for consumers so they know which 
> >>companies keep a tight control on ingredients in their products," 
> >>Greenpeace's GM researcher in Russia, Natalia Olefirenko, said.
> >>
> >>    After an official -- voluntary -- inspection producers will have 
> >>the right to carry Moscow's GM-free label for a year.
> >>
> >>    The European Union  already insists products which contain more 
> >>than 0.9 percent of GM-enhanced ingredients must say so on the 
> >>packet, but environmentalists argue that does not go far enough.
> >>
> >>    "It's very important for the rest of the world to watch Moscow," 
> >>Olefirenko said.
> >>
> >>    Greenpeace estimates around 80 percent of Russian produce 
> >>contains no genetically enhanced ingredients, in line with other 
> >>developing countries, against only about 20 percent in the EU and 
> >>richer countries.
> >>
> >>    But Greenpeace said parts of the EU could follow Moscow's lead 
> >>if it is a success, although the label should remain voluntary.
> >>
> >>    Foreign food producers say that is just one of the problems the 
> >>label brings.
> >>
> >>    Supermarkets eager to curry favour with Moscow's government have 
> >>hinted they will only stock products carrying the GM-free label -- 
> >>and signals from the authorities suggest the label will effectively 
> >>be obligatory, producer lobby groups say.
> >>
> >>    "And it's all extra costs," said Alexei Popovichev, head of 
> >>Rusbrand which represents big Western producers such as Nestle and 
> >>Kraft. "It involves special testing, special packaging and the 
> >>costs will be passed on to the consumer."
> >>
> >>    Small domestic producers will probably feel the burden of the 
> >>extra costs hardest as they will not be able to spread them through 
> >>economies of scale, he said.
> >>
> >>    Western businesses also argue the GM-free label could mislead 
> >>customers into buying poorer products because the assertion that 
> >>foods contain no GM-ingredients could be misread as a signal that 
> >>all the ingredients are of high-quality.
> >  >
> >>    ARGENTINIAN APPLES
> >>
> >>    Greenpeace does warn there is a potential flaw in the Moscow GM 
> >>label, saying the testing system chosen by Moscow is untried even 
> >>though it says over $2 million has already been spent buying 
> >>equipment for laboratories owned by a Moscow businessman.
> >>
> >>    The project, an initiative of Moscow's 70-year-old Mayor Yuri 
> >>Luzhkov, comes to a city where ecological concerns are not 
> >>typically high: traffic chokes Moscow's roads, residents throw out 
> >>rubbish with scant regard for recycling and the centrally 
> >>controlled heating grinds out warmth during even the mildest winter.
> >>
> >>    Russia lags behind in the growing multi-million-dollar organic 
> >>food industry -- Moscow has just one self-styled organic 
> >>supermarket.
> >>
> >>    Called Grunwald, it is tucked away under an 18-storey concrete 
> >>apartment block in a leafy, green suburb 30 minutes west by metro 
> >>from the centre of Moscow.
> >>
> >>    Foreigners and wealthy Russians who live in nearby gated 
> >>communities and dachas form the bulk of the customers, Marina 
> >>Goldinberg, the supermarket's marketing manager, said.
> >>
> >>    All the products in the store -- and everything is foreign -- 
> >>have been certified to be GM-free.
> >>
> >>    On a weekday mid-afternoon visit the handful of middle-aged 
> >>women browsing the displays wore designer sunglasses on their heads 
> >>and the latest fashion from London and Paris.
> >>
> >>    They inspected GM-free apples from Argentina, which cost around 
> >>$12.50 per kg, and wild salmon from Sweden at $80 per kg.
> >>
> >>    "When this new law comes in we will stock locally grown and 
> >>produced food, prices will drop and more and more people will shop 
> >>here," Goldinberg said.
> >>
> >>    And Dmitri Yanin, head of Russian consumer group KonFOP, said 
> >>research appears to suggest GM-free produce is not a priority for 
> >>most Russians.
> >>
> >>    He said research last year showed 60 percent of food buyers in 
> >>Russia said price was the most important factor in choosing what to 
> >>buy. Just over 5 percent picked ingredients.
> >>
> >>
> >>    Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. 
> >>Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by 
> >>framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior 
> >>written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any 
> >>errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in 
> >>reliance thereon.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> 
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