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THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE 22 June 2005
RE: Starlink, GM canola in Japan After nearly five years after the discovery of Starlink, the genetically engineered corn which is not approved for human consumption was found in the food chain, the GE corn continue to show up worldwide. It recently appeared in corn shipments in Japan, which bans it. It was reported that in samples of imported US corn for animal feed, the presense of Starlink accounted for between 0.2 percent and 1.2 percent of the 10 samples which were found to contain the GMO corn strain out of 15 tested. Also in Japan, genetically engineered canola, suspected to be from Canada, was found growing wild in the countryside by the National Institute of Environmental Studies, causing concern among some quarters of contamination of the food products and the environment. With the increasing incidences
of contamination worldwide it is more imperative than ever the importance
of establishing a documentation system of the transboundary shipment of
GMOs and that the recent setback in the breakdown in talks during the
second meeting of the parties of the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety should
not deter the development of With best wishes, Chee Yoke Heong Item 1 6/10/2005 6:00:00 AM TOKYO A genetically modified
(GMO) corn banned in Japan, known as StarLink, The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said StarLink accounted for between 0.2 percent and 1.2 percent of the 10 samples which were found to contain the GMO corn strain out of 15tested, Kyodo news service reports. The ministry tested the 15
samples from April through June in response to growing An analysis is now under way
of corn samples taken from July through September, the Japan has banned StarLink corn entirely, while the United States has approved it only for animal consumption. Item 2 Japan plans to reassess import of genetically modified canola from Canada The Canadian Press, by Jason T. Testar posted by Checkbiotech. org, Switzerland http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm? fuseaction=news&doc_id=10450&start=21 &control=217&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1 31 May 2005 Japan plans to reassess import of genetically modified canola from Canada TOKYO - Genetically engineered canola believed from Canada has been found growing in the wild in Japan, prompting concerns among farmers and environmentalists in a nation generally wary of such crops. The Japanese government says the import of canola seed from Canada is considered safe. But the agriculture ministry indicated Japan intends to reassess the situation soon. The conclusions could affect one of Canada's main exports to Japan, a key agricultural market. Canadian exporters are responsible for 80 per cent of all the canola Japan imports each year. It's estimated that of the 1.6 million tonnes of seed Canada ships annually to Japan, the same proportion - 80 per cent - is genetically modified. Canola, or rapeseed, is crushed to produce vegetable cooking oil. Japan is one of the world's largest markets for canola but the country produces very little canola itself and relies on imports. Strict guidelines are in place to prevent genetically engineered seeds from contaminating local plants. When researchers at Japan's National Institute of Environmental Studies discovered genetically engineered canola growing wild, conventional farmers and environmentalists expressed shock. There is no definitive proof of origin but it has not stopped critics from blaming Canada. "We cannot distinguish where the wild GE canola is from because we have no molecular marker with which to distinguish a Canadian strain from that imported from other countries," said Nobuyoshi Nakajima of the environmental studies institute. "However, I expect that the possibility is very high that it is in fact from Canada." France and Australia also ship canola seed to Japan, but neither commercially exports genetically engineered varieties at present. Genetically engineered canola strains were created to resist heavy doses of herbicides. Some researchers believe that once spread into the wild, either of the two strains discovered in Japan can transfer herbicide- resistant genes to domestic plants, creating so-called "superweeds" that require increasingly toxic chemicals to control. Such a view is not unanimous. Manabu Yoshikawa, a leading science writer, wrote in the Mainichi newspaper that even if genetically engineered seeds "are spilled and grow wild, such plants will have low fertility; therefore there is no possibility they will spread and disturb the native species." Japan's agriculture and environment ministries do not see any problems right now. "At the moment GE canola imported from Canada is deemed safe," said Hirokatsu Watatani, a spokesman at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. "This assessment is based on both the Food Hygiene Law and the Feed Safety Law." But Watatani noted "these laws were established before implementation of the Cartagena protocol" - an international convention on biological diversity aiming to prevent contamination from genetically modified organisms. "However, the use of these (laws) is just a transitional measure and we plan on giving a new assessment of the current situation based on the Cartagena protocol in the near future." Some 800 delegates from around the world are expected at a meeting on the Cartagena protocol in Montreal this week. The protocol was signed by 150 governments, including Japan and Canada, at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. In a recent survey by the Food and Consumer Safety Commission, 74 per cent of respondents expressed serious concerns about the safety of genetically engineered products in Japan. Steve Shallhorn, a Canadian representative of Greenpeace in Japan, says Canadian dominance in the canola market means Canada has a leading role to play in safeguarding the environment of Japan. "The Canadian government has a responsibility to the people of Japan to stop exporting this GE canola," he said. Local non-government organizations and farmers groups recently delivered a letter of protest to the Canadian Embassy, calling on Ottawa to "stop the contamination of food products and the environment in Japan by exporting only non-GE canola in future."
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