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THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE 1 September 2004
Dear friends and colleagues,
RE: THAILAND CABINET UPHOLDS MORATORIUM ON GM CROP The Thai Cabinet, in a bold move, on 31 August announced that the three-year moratorium on the planting of GM crops should continue, thus overturning an earlier decision by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to allow open field trials along side non-GM crops. Instead, a panel comprising government officials and academics will be set up to assess the pro and cons of GM crops. Opposition to the lifting of the moratorium has been strong among NGOs which warned of the dangers of taking the GM route, citing the dismal performance of the biotech industry in the US and the retreat by key industry players from the field. In an open letter to the Thai government, the NGOs say that GM products are struggling to gain access to the EU where resistance is still very strong, and that there is lack of success in many countries where GM crops are grown. Even within the government, the issue raises concern. The Thai Natural Resources and Environment Minister had earlier questioned government plans to introduce GM agricultural produce, saying he saw no market for such products. Biotechnology is one of the areas under negotiation in the US-Thailand free trade agreement. The minister questioned the US insistence that Thailand grows GM crops when it did not import Thai agricultural produce (see 19 June 2004 BIS mail-out “Thai environment minister questions GMOs introduction through trade agreement with US).
With best wishes, Lim Li Lin and Chee Yoke Heong Third World Network 121-S Jalan Utama 10450 Penang Malaysia Email: twnet@po.jaring.my Website: www.twnside.org.sg <http://www.twnside.org.sg/>
REF: Doc.TWN/Biosafety/2004/F
Item 1
Thai cabinet overturns GMO approval 31 Aug 2004 09:48:13 GMT Reuters
BANGKOK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Thailand’s cabinet decided on Tuesday to keep a three-year ban on planting crops using genetically modified organisms (GMO), overturning a decision by a panel chaired by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Instead, it decided to set up a panel to hear the arguments for and against GMO crops from state agencies and biotech lecturers at all Thai universities, Science Minister Korn Dabbaransi told reporters. “We will have academics from all universities to hear their view on three options -- 1) to promote GMOs freely in Thailand, 2) to allow the co-existence of GM and non-GM crops, or 3) to ban GMOs completely,” Korn said after the weekly cabinet meeting. Tuesday’s decision reversed one made by Thaksin’s committee only little more than a week ago to allow open-field trials alongside non-GMO plants. The following day, Thaksin used part of his weekly radio address to laud Thailand as a country technologically capable of developing GMOs. “If we don’t start now, we will miss this scientific train and lose out in the world,” he said. The debate on biotech grains has intensified worldwide, with advocates saying they could lead to a more secure future for food, while opponents say they could produce new toxins and allergens, affecting the health of consumers. Following Thaksin’s decision, anti-GMO activists, including Greenpeace and organic food growers, went out on the streets to urge the government to reverse its decision, fearing the country’s organic food export industry would be hit hard. Anti-GMO advocates said by adopting open field trials, Thailand was heading towards promoting GMOs freely as the government had no measures to prevent GM crops from contaminating non-GMO crops. Korn said the government would not change its GMO policy until a law on biotechnology had been passed. Planting of GM crops is now done in government laboratories for papayas, chillies and eggplants, while imports of genetically modified soybeans and maize for animal feedstock and other commercial uses are legal, officials said. A consumer group reacted warily to the cabinet decision and urged the government to allow anti-GMO activists to take part in the drafting process of a new law on biotechnology. “We hope this government didn’t keep the ban because they were afraid of losing their popularity ahead of the general election,” said Sairung Thongplon of the Confederation of Consumers’ Organisations. “We hope it will not lift the ban after the elections” due by the end of March. (Additional reporting by Sasithorn Simaporn)
Item 2
SAMPLE NGO LETTER TO THE THAI GOVERNMENT (Distributed by GM WATCH daily Prime Minister of Thailand: His Excellency Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra Government House Thanon Pissanulok , Dusit Bangkok, Thailand 10300
Natural Resources and Environment Minister: Mr.Suwit Khoonkitti 92 Soi. Phahonyothin 7 Phahonyothin Rd. Samsennai, Phrayathai, Bangkok, Thailand, 10400
Minister of Commerce: Mr.Watana Muangsook 44/100 Nonthaburi 1 Rd., Amphur Muang, Nonthaburi 11000
Agriculture and Coorperative Minister: Mr.Somsak Thepsutin No.3 Rhachadamnernnok Rd. Ban Panthom, Phranakorn Bangkok , Thailand 10200
Deputy Agriculture and Coorperative Minister: Mr.Newin Chidchob No.3 Rhachadamnernnok Rd. Ban Panthom, Phranakorn Bangkok , Thailand 10200
Science and Technology Minister: Mr. Korn Thapparungsri Phrarama 6 Rd., Rachatewee Bangkok, Thailand 10400
Public Health Minister: Mrs.Sudarat Keyuraphan Ministry of Public Health Tiwanonth T.Taladkhawn Muang, Nonthaburi, Thailand 11000
We are writing to express our dismay at the news that you intend to give the green light to GM crops in Thailand. Your doing so risks grave harm both to Thailand’s standing in the world and to the marketability of Thai agricultural produce. We strongly support your exporters, farmers, consumers and civil society groups who are warning you that this is not in the interests of Thailand. You have talked about the need for Thailand to jump aboard the biotech train before it’s too late. This makes us wonder what you have been led to believe about where that train is heading? Were you told, for instance, of a recent report from one of the world’s leading business advisory firms, Ernst & Young, showing that publicly traded biotechnology companies in the US are estimated to have suffered cumulative losses of more than $41 billion in the last decade or so? Were you told that the economist and biotech-industry specialist, Joseph Cortright has described as a “bad-idea virus” the fever that sweeps through political leaders leaving them believing they must succour the money-losing biotech industry or suffer a competitive disadvantage? Cortright’s research on the biotech industry leads him to conclude: “This notion that you lure biotech to your community to save its economy is laughable.” Outside the developing world, GM crops are in serious retreat, as witnessed by Monsanto’s recent announcements that it will: Stop all further efforts to introduce GM wheat globally; stop its GM canola breeding programmes in Australia; withdraw its cereal programmes from Europe. Other GM firms, like Bayer and Syngenta, have suffered similar setbacks. You have said that Europe has opened its doors to GMOs but that is certainly not the view of countries like the US, who are trying to export GM crops to Europe. That is why the US is pressing ahead with its WTO action against the EU. In fact, the EU has just brought in the world’s most stringent rules on GMOs. Many European food companies and supermarkets also have policies of not allowing GMOs in their products. This is the reason why the biotech industry, with the unprecedented backing of the US government, is trying to push its dubious wares in countries in Asia. Countries like Thailand have become the principal targets of a desperate industry. GM crop supporters have doubtless told you that you are in danger of falling behind in Asia’s “biotech race”. But look more closely and you’ll see that that is nonsense. Monsanto has already pulled out of GM in Indonesia, where it is under investigation for corruption. China’s political leaders appear at best ambivalent about going further down the GM route because of increasing evidence of consumer hostility while experts like Prof Dayuan Xue warn that GM crops have brought no significant benefits to China’s many small farmers. In India the only GM crop commercialised in any part of India, GM cotton, has proven hugely controversial. One particularly intractable problem for your farmers and exporters is that GM contamination is difficult to contain or avoid, and the costs of trying to do so can be prohibitive. In addition, no studies have been conducted on the long-term effects of GM crops on the environment or on human health. We therefore ask you not to base your decision solely on the advice of biotech advocates and the demands of Washington and corporations eager to export seeds and products to Thailand that are unwelcome elsewhere in the world. We ask you not to ignore the rights of your farmers and consumers just because of the hype and pressure that is coming from the US and the biotech corporations and their local supporters. We ask you not to put at risk Thailand’s excellent name for quality agricultural produce. And, most of all, we ask you to consult your farmers and consumers about whether they want GM crops.
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