RE: Seminis GE vegetable seeds (via Pesticide Action Network)

H* A*

In NYC's Hell's Kitchen we have all sorts of drug dealers and hustlers. The
Clinton Community Garden  on W 48th Street has been organic and a drug free
zone since its' inception. Trust us to keep this "drag-nasty" out.

Thanks for the heads up,

Adam

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Libby J. Goldstein [SMTP:libby@igc.org]
> Sent:	Tuesday, February 01, 2000 12:27 PM
> To:	sallymcc@libertynet.org; Steve Maurer
> Cc:	Blaine Bonham; Campbell, Jed/PHL; cpete@nb.net;
> community_garden@mallorn.com; Duane Perry; 73700.2570@compuserve.com;
> jeg30@columbia.edu; Judith Asch-Goodkin; Ken Dahlberg; Lois A. Stringer;
> cityfarm@unixg.ubc.ca; NEFOOD-L@SARDONYX.TUFTS.EDU; OGL@LSV.UKY.EDU;
> nga_terry@pennhort.org; philadelphia@email.cas.psu.edu; Hartford Food
> System
> Subject:	[cg] Seminis GE vegetable seeds (via Pesticide Action
> Network)
> 
> I thought that you folk might be interested in this especially since a got
> a brochure and supplier list from Seminis recently (via the Review) that
> made absolutely no mention of their genetic engineering work. One of their
> pea varieties, 'Mr. Big Pea' is an All American Award winner for this
> year.
> 
> They also sent a list of their "Retail Mail-order Seed Source List --2000"
> if you're interested.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >X-Sender: safefood@mail.cpinternet.com
> >Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2000 07:13:51 -0600
> >To: Community Food Security Coalition <comfood-l@listproc.tufts.edu>
> >From: "Ericka & Rich Dana" <doodles@netins.net> (by way of Debbie  Ortman
> ><debbie@organicconsumers.org>)
> >Subject: Seminis GE vegetable seeds (via Pesticide Action Network)
> >Mime-Version: 1.0
> >Reply-To: doodles@netins.net
> >Sender: owner-comfood-l@listproc.tufts.edu
> >
> >FYI forward from Ericka Dana, Catnip Farm (apologies if this is a
> duplicate)
> >
> >===========================================
> >P A N U P S
> >Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
> >===========================================
> >
> >SEMINIS - GE Vegetable Seeds
> >-----------------------------
> >January 31, 1999
> >
> >In the past five years, the California-based company Seminis Vegetable
> Seeds
> >has gained control of approximately 19% of the worldwide fruit and
> vegetable
> >seed market; Seminis now provides the seeds for some 40% of all
> vegetables
> >sold in the United States. Through the combined strategies of controlling
> >large amounts of germ plasm and entering cooperative agreements with
> biotech
> >developers such as Monsanto, Seminis Vegetable Seeds is positioning
> itself
> >to lead the way in future genetic engineering of fruit and vegetable
> seeds.
> >
> >Seminis is a subsidiary of the Savia Corporation, formerly known as
> Empresas
> >La Moderna (ELM). Based in Monterrey, Mexico, Savia is part of the Pulsar
> >Group, headed by Mexican billionaire Alfonso Romo Garza. Pulsar's
> activities
> >range from health care to insurance to agribusiness. The company was
> created
> >through the merger of three large seed brands -- Asgrow, Petoseed and
> Royal
> >Sluis -- plus the acquisition of nine smaller ones. These smaller brands
> >include regional specialties such as Choong Ang, which supplies seeds in
> >South Korea, and Horticeres, which operates in Brazil.
> >
> >Seminis has seed production facilities in Arizona, California, Idaho,
> Oregon
> >and Washington as well as in over 18 other countries; major processing
> >facilities in California, Idaho, Chile and the Netherlands; and research
> >centers in France, Italy, South Korea, the Netherlands and the U.S.
> >
> >Seminis is developing a range of crops with traits such as herbicide,
> virus,
> >insect or fungus resistance, as well as foods with "improved"
> >characteristics intended to appeal to consumers. Plans are in the works
> to
> >introduce fungus-resistant lettuce, virus-resistant melon with longer
> shelf
> >life, peas with high sugar content, and disease-resistant tomatoes with
> >increased levels of the nutrients beta-carotene and lycopene.
> >
> >A collaborative agreement established with Monsanto in 1997 lays the
> >groundwork for applying Monsanto's genetic engineering technologies,
> >including insect resistance (Bt toxin) and glyphosate resistance, to
> >vegetable and fruit seeds. Seminis is developing Roundup Ready lettuce
> >(engineered to tolerate Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, active ingredient
> >glyphosate); if approved for sale, the lettuce could enter supermarkets
> as
> >early as 2003. Work is also under way to develop Roundup Ready tomatoes.
> >
> >Seminis is currently field testing many of its genetically engineered
> crops.
> >In California alone, Seminis is testing or has recently tested plots of
> >glyphosate-resistant lettuce, peas, cucumbers, and tomatoes plus a wide
> >variety of fungus-, insect-, and virus-resistant vegetables. Among its
> >activities in other states, Seminis has planted or is currently testing
> >insect-resistant tomatoes in Florida and glyphosate-tolerant lettuce in
> >Georgia and New Jersey.
> >
> >One of Seminis' genetically engineered products, a virus-resistant
> squash,
> >is already being grown commercially. Developed by Asgrow, the first
> >transgenic squash was approved for commercial production in 1994. A
> second
> >variety, with resistance to three viruses, was approved in 1996 and a
> third
> >is now being field tested. Domestic squash has a number of wild relatives
> in
> >the United States. Thus a real threat exists of genetic pollution, in
> which
> >the trait for virus resistance could spread to wild relatives creating
> >"super weeds" with a competitive advantage. Asgrow's tests for ecological
> >safety have been criticized as entirely inadequate by ecologists and
> >organizations such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, but were
> accepted
> >by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as sufficient for approving
> commercial
> >cultivation of the crop.
> >
> >Seminis' 1999 prospectus states that "the application of genetic
> >improvements to crop plants has provided greater value to growers which
> can
> >be captured by the seed industry through higher prices and greater
> demand."
> >An illustration is Seminis' long shelf life tomato seeds, which sell for
> >$5,200 per pound, contrasting with $1,400 per pound for traditional
> >varieties. Another way Seminis expects to profit from genetic engineering
> is
> >by producing a "reallocation of grower spending": farmers will spend less
> on
> >agricultural chemicals and therefore will be willing to pay more for
> seeds.
> >
> >Source: "Expanding the Biotech Frontier -- Seminis Vegetable Seeds,"
> Global
> >Pesticide Campaigner, December 1999.
> >
> >Contact: PANNA.
> >
> >
> >===========================================
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> >will not be read.
> >
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> >
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> >Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)
> >49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
> >Phone: (415) 981-1771
> >Fax: (415) 981-1991
> >Email: panna@panna.org
> >Web: http://www.panna.org
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> 
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