"GREENPEACE STARTS PREVENTIVE HARVESTING OF NOVARTIS MAIZE IN TWO EU-COUNTRIES Agnet Sept 11, Sept. 11/98 from a press release
Hamburg/Paris/Amsterdam,
Greenpeace today cut down about two tonnes of Novartis transgenic MAIZE in two EU-countries to highlight the environmental risks posed by the MAIZE. Greenpeace demands an immediate separation of the conventional and transgenic crops to halt the contamination of the European food supply.
About 40 activists from France, Germany and Switzerland cut down transgenic maize in Germany and France. Both actions happened in an agreement with the farmers. A few thousand hectares of Novartis maize planted this year in Europe threatens to contaminate the maize yield of millions of tons, Greenpeace spokesperson Isabelle Meister said. So far there is no segregation of the conventional and transgenic crops. The Novartis maize should not be allowed to sneak into European maize production since it possess a risk to the environment and human health. Greenpeace demands that Novartis takes back its antibiotic resistant maize from France and Germany. It also needs to inform the public and competent authorities about the location of the MAIZE fields. Because Novartis will not volunteer information about these sites, governments have an obligation to ensure that this information is available and that these crops are kept separate of conventional crops, said Meister. Food processors should demand for guarantees from their suppliers that their MAIZE is not contaminated by Novartis or any other transgenic maize. Novartis transgenic maize is genetically engineered to kill the European Corn Borer. A toxin producing gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis has been inserted in to the maize. Recent scientific studies indicate however that the maize will also harm beneficial insects such as green lacewing.
Novartis maize also contains a gene which confers resistance to the antibiotic Ampicillin. Spread of antibiotic resistance has reached alarming proportions worldwide. It is a major concern within the medical community. The use of antibiotic resistance genes in genetic engineering has the potential to aggravate this problem.
When there are reports that antibiotics could lose their capacity to fight diseases in next 20 years we find it amazing that Novartis deliberately adds on to this process. No matter how small they might estimate their contribution, Meister said.
An article published in a French scientific journal La Recherche earlier this year emphasised that the link between transgenic crops and the spread of antibiotic resistance has been underestimated so far. It is certain that cultivation of Ampicillin resistant transgenic crops will favour the evolution and dissemination of the Ampicillin resistance gene because of the high number of gene copies coded, stated the article. Norway has banned all genetically engineered organisms containing antibiotic resistance genes. Also EU-member countries Austria and Luxembourg have banned the import of Novartis MAIZE because of these risks. Formally these bans can be over ruled by the Commission from September 11th although a majority of member states has refused to support such a decision.
Note to the editors: According to Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) about 4.4 million hectares of MAIZE was grown in Europe last year. Novartis maize is grown on about 15 000 hectares in France, Spain and Germany this year .Pictures and video of the actions are available at the Greenpeace International Press Desk, Amsterdam