U.S. Sent Banned Corn to Europe for Four Years

[chlamor]

US sent banned corn to Europe for four years

By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor

17 April 2005

All imports of United States corn have been stopped at British ports following the discovery that the US has been illegally exporting a banned GM maize to Europe for the past four years.

The unprecedented move, which has angered the Bush administration, follows efforts to hush up and play down the scandal on both sides of the Atlantic. For weeks the official food watchdog failed to look for imports of the maize, which is banned on health grounds. It has been forced to take action by the European Commission.

<snip>

The scandal - the worst yet involving GM imports - centres around maize named Bt 11, modified to repel a pest called the corn borer. It also contains a gene conferring resistance to antibiotics. All such crops are banned in Europe because of fears that the resistance could spread to consumers via the food chain.

<snip>

But the Bush administration failed for three months to inform European customers that they were importing a banned maize. The scandal was admitted only after it was exposed by the scientific magazine Nature, on 22 March. Even then the US failed to mention that the maize contained the gene for antibiotic resistance.

http://news.independent.co.uk/low_res/story.jsp?story=630186&host=3&dir=58

[Conservativesux]

1. Gotta luv the honest, uncorruptable administration we have in power...

NOT !!!!

[VegasWolf]

2. Booze just making friends far and wide. n/t

[Daphne08]

3. Why are we even growing corn that contains

"...a gene conferring resistance to antibiotics..."

That seems very short-sighted and counter-productive to me!

[lenidog]

5. We have already made ourselves resistant to antibiotics its just

icing on the cake.

[HeeBGBz]

4. Hmmm, antibiotic resistance?

First corn to weaken resistance and then send em some highly contagious flu by mistake. This is starting to read like a bad politic/med drama.

Where's my tinfoil safe room?

[ret5hd]

6. not disputing the general "tone" of your post, but...

antibiotics, and/or resistance to antibotics, bears no relationship to susceptibility to flu, which is a virus. Antibiotics only affect bacteria.

[Trillo]

8. A virus is genetic code, no? nt

[Igel]

23. Yes, but if everything ever susceptible to antibiotics continues

to be so, it doesn't help one bit against viruses.

Except to combat secondary (bacterial) infections resulting from viral infection(s) weaking their host.

[HeeBGBz]

9. Oh, ok, but you got the general drift

Not really related except for some disturbing carelessness.

[Trillo]

7. Self deleted

[truthisfreedom]

10. bushco is always surprised when they run out of reach... thinking they can

control everything everywhere and then *poof*! their power disappears and they're embarrassed again by their own thuggery.

[dweller]

11. ruh roh ...

i guess there'll be no lawsuits over this.

dp

[lovuian]

12. Bush just doesn't OWN Europe yet!!! Its a pain!!!

If Europe Bans it who gives a hoot we still sell the GM corn with a different label!!! Hey it worked for 4 years!!!

[PSPS]

13. The article doesn't mention this ...

but I'm assuming that this monstrosity has been gleefully added to the domestic food supply in the US. We're never told about it because it might hurt the business of a BushCo contributor. I seem to recall a rule that forbids the mention of frankenfood on US food labels.

[Hekate]

19. We've been eating GM corn products in the US for years & years

I only found out last year, so it's not something the average consumer could reasonably be expected to know about. We produce SO MUCH corn that manufacturers of processed foodstuffs have distributed corn syrup into just about everything whether sweet, salty, sour, or bitter. Fritos are made of corn -- GM corn. Parts of corn can be found in an amazing number of foods.

There are several problematic areas (both known and potential) with GM foods, and I think the Europeans have been wise to hold off. I'm ashamed that my government has chosen to betray our friends once again in a mindless quest for endless corporate profits.

We've all become lab rats in their eyes.

Hekate

[jbnow]

14. It "angered the Bush administration"?

Like they have the grounds for anger on this side! They should at least be pretending to be humbled and sorry.

[tanyev]

22. I have to assume that it was the discovery

that "angered the Bush administration." Way to go, Bush. There aren't that many countries left who will even pretend to like us and you're playing the few remaining ones for fools. Idjit.

[peacetalksforall]

15. They'll just laugh and laugh...so clever....they're just rascals, after

all. They'll just blame some underling.

[Iterate]

16. Oh, is that going to piss them off

Debating the science of this is quite a separate issue as I see it, and actually quite irrelevant.

It may not occur to the bushco-ADM-Monsanto partnership that even though they run the world, there is still such a thing as sovereignty. It doesn't matter one bit how rational or irrational the reasons, if country X says "no GM", it means "no GM".

They seem to be quite border conscious when it comes to people, so it's not as if the concept escapes them.

Frankly, if the EU leadership had the balls, they'd simply say "No grain imports" for four years, so that you might learn the meaning of "No". I'd love it. Then watch the market adapt.

And then we could watch the Midwest turn blue.

[rfkrfk]

17. if you don't want something --> don't buy it

if Europeans need to develope a 'trusted' supply chain,
I suggest they go do that.
How can a farmer know where his stuff goes,
when ownership probably changes ten times
on the way to the consumer.

side issue, does anyone know how much rice and/or
sugar sells for, in a European grocery store? tia

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

18. labels are helpful- mislabeled products = deception-

too hard to keep the good stuff in one pile and the bad stuff in another...I mean c'mon what do you expect, that'll be hard,....like being the president->"it's hard work"---too hard for some people I guess...

I guess if you don't want to get decieved don't deal with tha U.S eh?
Should know what yer gettin into.

[MetaTrope]

20. Bush's ambassador to France, Howard Leach, owns major agribusinesses

and is now on the process pf scurrying away under the rocks he came out of, that is, "retiring". I wonder if this has something to do with it?

[Maine-ah]

21. this is interesting, scared the shit out of me.

http://www.karinya.com/gm2.htm

if anyone has more links of companies that us GM products we should start putting together a list, and start informing as many people as possible. :grr:

[chlamor]

25. Have many links

and may be able to post if I get my computer up and running again. There is SOOO much GM stuff on the shelves.

There are in 16 or so States laws on the books against "food slander" which was a direct result of anti-GMO activists trying to inform the public.

[Placebo]

24. Eh. What doesn't kill Old Europe makes it stronger.

:patriot: