August 15, 2007

Contents:

1. EDITORIAL: What Do You Think of Our New Look?
2. FEATURE: Food Ingredients a Giant Question Mark
3. UPDATE: New WHO Report Tackles Children`s Environmental Health

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EDITORIAL: What Do You Think of Our New Look?

Hello HANS members and friends;

Since we first started the HANS e-News in March 2005, we`ve always been focused on the informational aspect of bringing you news about hot campaigns and stories. Well, this summer, we also figured it was about time for a face-lift!

We`re pretty proud of the team that strived to make the format more user-friendly and visually appealing. But what do you think of our new look? Do you love it, hate it, or could you care less? Drop us an e-mail at enews@hans.org and let us know your thoughts.

Warm regards,
Lorna Hancock
HANS Founding Member and Executive Director

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FEATURE: Food Ingredients a Giant Question Mark

On August 8, 2007, Greenpeace activists made a 61-metre long question mark in a field containing genetically engineered (GE) corn near Abbotsford, BC to highlight the absence of GE food labelling in Canada.

Greenpeace located the question mark in the riding of BC minister of public safety and solicitor general John Les, and submitted a report on GE toxicity to health minister George Abbott. Both were made public at a news conference that morning, which called on British Columbians to sign a petition demanding the Premier adopt mandatory labelling for the province.

`We`re asking the Ministers to put consumers first and put labels on GE products,` said Josh Brandon, agriculture campaigner with Greenpeace. `People have the right to know what`s in their food, especially when GE foods have been associated with health risks.`

Greenpeace`s report to the `Conversation on Health,` a public consultation led by the health ministry, compiles information on the toxicity of three varieties of GE corn grown and sold in Canada. It cites a French research institute`s findings that Monsanto`s NK603 corn - the corn located in the Abbotsford field - was found to be toxic to rats in recent clinical trials. Peer reviewed research cited in the report also found immune response abnormalities in salmon and further evidence of toxicity in rats for Monsanto`s MON810 and MON863 corn.

`Monsanto GE corn is a dangerous product. We have evidence it is toxic in rat feeding trials. Genetically engineered crops also spread throughout the environment and the food system without control. Greenpeace has labelled this field with a question mark to remind people genetic contamination is out there and it needs to be stopped,` said Brandon.

Recent polls in Quebec and BC have shown overwhelming support for mandatory labelling of GE foods. In Quebec, a Leger Marketing poll released in May showed 86 per cent support for mandatory labelling. A Strategic Communications poll released in January showed 79 per cent of British Columbians want mandatory labelling before the next provincial election.

Forty countries around the world already have mandatory labelling legislation, including Europe, South Korea, Japan and Australia. Last year, the Quebec government released a report showing that the cost of GE labelling would be only a fraction of previous estimates done by industry. And the BC Provincial Health Officer has already recommended mandatory labelling.

For more information:
Josh Brandon
Genetic Engineering Campaigner, Greenpeace Canada
Ph: 604-253-7701 ext. 20
E-mail: josh.brandon@yto.greenpeace.org

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UPDATE: New WHO Report Tackles Children`s Environmental Health

On July 27, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the first ever report highlighting children`s special susceptibility to harmful chemical exposures at different periods of their growth. This new volume of the Environmental Health Criteria series, Principles for Evaluating Health Risks in Children Associated with Exposure to Chemicals, is the most comprehensive work yet undertaken on the scientific principles to be considered in assessing health risks in children. It highlights the fact that in children, the stage in their development when exposure occurs may be just as important as the magnitude of the exposure.

`Children are not just small adults,` said Dr Terri Damstra, WHO`s team leader for the Interregional Research Unit. `Children are especially vulnerable and respond differently from adults when exposed to environmental factors.`

Air and water contaminants, pesticides in food, lead in soil, as well many other environmental threats which alter the delicate organism of a growing child may cause or worsen disease and induce developmental problems. Over 30 percent of the global burden of disease in children can be attributed to environmental factors. More at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2007/np27/...