some recent GMO data

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2002

Biopharmaceutical Contamination Could Be: Aids Vaccine or Blood
Thickener
Coalition to File Legal Petition Demanding Immediate Halt of
Experimental Biopharmaceuticals Grown on Farms
Government Concealing Information, Coalition Files
Freedom of Information Act to Access Government Documents

Washington�Today, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed a
second incident of contamination of a food crop by
an experimental genetically engineered crop, engineered to contain a
pharmaceutical or industrial chemical, in Iowa. This follows
yesterday?x2019;s announcement that 500,000 bushels of soybeans in
Nebraska destined for human consumption have also
been quarantined due to biocontamination by a similar crop.
The USDA has refused to reveal what chemical or drug was grown in either
crop, but research into the company that produces the
biopharmaceutical crops, ProdiGene, reveals that the contaminates could
be one of the following:
� Aids vaccine ?gp120 a glycoprotein
� Blood-clotting agent�Aprotinin
� Digestive enzyme�Trypsin
� Industrial adhesive�Laccase, an enzyme derived from a fungus

Other biopharm crops reportedly grown by ProdiGene include experimental
oral vaccines for hepatitis B and for a pig disease,
transmissible gastroenteritis. According to USDA records ProdiGene has
received 85 test permits for experimental open-air trials of
genetically engineered biopharmaceutical and chemical crops for planting
in at least 96 locations. More information on ProdiGene.
?x201C;With this latest contamination the government should halt all
experimental genetically engineered crops grown on
farms,?x201D; said Matt Rand, biotechnology campaign manager for the
National Environmental Trust. ?x201C;If the government
continues to develop policies for the biotech industry instead of for
the safety of the U.S. food supply it is just a matter of time
before one of these experimental crops ends up on our dinner
plates.?x201D;.
Today,the GEFoodAlert coalition announced its intention to file a legal
petition to the USDA calling for the immediate halt to all
biopharms. Additionally with the US government not revealing pertinent
information on the contamination incidents, the Center for
Food Safety, a member of the coalition, filed a Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) petition to access all government documents on
ProdiGene. A similar FOIA was submitted by Friends of the Earth in April
2001and the USDA declined to provide permit
information.
Last week members of GEFoodAlert coalition met with the USDA regarding
the open-air farm testing of biopharmaceuticals and
asked the USDA if contamination testing was taking place. The USDA
flatly denied that any contamination testing was being
performed.

?x201C;The government clearly knew about this contamination weeks ago
and chose not to reveal the information to the public,
but instead worked behind closed doors with the industry to try to
cover this up,?x201D; said Joseph Mendelson, legal director at
the Center for Food Safety.

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For a comprehensive report on biopharm, see www.gefoodalert.org.
The GEFoodAlert is a coalition of health, consumer and environmental
groups that supports the removal of genetically engineered
ingredients from grocery store shelves unless they are adequately safety
tested and labeled.

-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
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