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This paper, ''Partnerships for Development or Privatization of the Multilateral System?'' was presented at a seminar organised by the North-South Coalition in Oslo, Norway.
Photos and words from farm workers and communities neighboring methyl bromide injected fields.
Methyl bromide is a silent killer. Colorless and odorless, it is highly toxic to a wide spectrum of organisms, including human beings. It would be fast on its way out today if it weren't for a small handful of corporations, industry associations and elected officials which have worked stealthily and assiduously to keep this deadly product on the market and in the field.
Methyl bromide is used principally as a fumigant to control a wide range of pests in soils, commodities and structures. Of the 1992 global sale of methyl bromide: 75 percent was used for soil treatment (nursery crops, vegetables, fruits, tobacco) and over 20 percent was used for the fumigation of durable commodities (cereal grains, dried fruits and nuts, timber), perishable commodities (fresh fruits, vegetables, cut flowers) and structures (food production and storage facilities).
Methyl bromide affects human health both directly and indirectly. It is a complete biocide that kills most living organisms in soil, agricultural products and in buildings where it is applied. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies methyl bromide as a Category I acute toxin -- EPA's most deadly category of substances.
Argentina will take legal action against Monsanto in Spain and in other European nations if the U.S. biotechnology giant continues to block Argentine soy shipments from reaching European Union markets, an Argentine Agriculture Secretariat official said.
Statements from policy and press briefings organized by Ozone Action and held in Washington, DC on February 14, 1996.
LIMA, Peru -- On Monday October 22, 2001, two years to the day after 24 children in the remote Andean village of Tauccamarca were killed and 18 more severely poisoned when they drank a powdered milk substitute that had been contaminated with the pesticide methyl parathion, their families brought suit against the product's principle importer and manufacturer, the agrochemical company Bayer.
Leading consumer and environmental groups are fuming because the Clinton administration has appointed a former Monsanto Corp. lobbyist to represent U.S. consumers on a transatlantic committee set up to avoid a trade war over genetically engineered foods.
The Indian government's decision to allow field trials of the controversial genetically-engineered (GE) cotton has come under flak from farmers' rights activists who allege this would ruin thousands of tillers in the country.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has encouraged all UN agencies to form partnerships with the private sector. Most UN agencies are actively pursuing these partnerships.
Delegates from 130 nations arriving this morning at the International Aviation Building in Montreal to restart talks on a set of rules for the transborder movement of genetically modified organisms were greeted by protesters and police. But temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius below zero kept demonstrators subdued and police idle.
A German government backed consumer foundation has reported that over one-third of food products it tested contained either genetically modified (GM) soya or maize (corn).
Novartis, one of the world's leading producers of genetically engineered seeds, has been phasing out genetically engineered ingredients in its food products worldwide for over a year.
Greece and a few other countries in the European Union that have banned genetically modified organisms are on the front lines of a war over the future of modified food in Europe, the only large swath of the world that does not already grow or buy the crops. Facing international pressure and a lawsuit brought by the United States, Canada and Argentina at the World Trade Organization, the union said this year that all member states must open their doors to genetically engineered crops and prepare practical and legal regulations to ensure safety for health and the environment.
The Bay Area-based online auction site Wednesday removed a notice asking for bids on the credibility of Stossel, who last week was reprimanded by ABC News after the Washington-based Environmental Working Group documented that he lied about lab tests for pesticide residues on organic food. In a rare on-air apology last Friday, Stossel was forced to admit the tests were never performed.
Environmental groups, while praising aspects of the first worldwide treaty governing trade in genetically modified organisms (GMO), criticise the scope of the agreement and worry it could be subverted by powerful free trade interests.