Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (2027)	5/17/1999 4:09:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

Brazil clears sales of Monsanto Roundup Ready soy Monday May 17, 1:30 pm Eastern Time SAO PAULO, May 17 (Reuters) - Brazil officially ended its ban on the commercial planting of genetically-modified crops on Monday by approving the sale of Roundup Ready soybean seeds produced by the local arm of U.S. life sciences giant Monsanto Co. (NYSE:MTC - news), a spokesman at the Agriculture Ministry said. The long-awaited announcement closes months of legal footwork by Monsanto officials, who have been cutting through red-tape to clear sales of the transgenic crop since it won safety approval from the government last September. ''Starting today (Monday), they can produce and sell five varieties of Roundup Ready seeds,'' said spokesman Tito Matos de Souza. ''I do not have any other technical information right now,'' he added. Officials at Monsanto did not immediately return phone calls. In previous interviews, however, company executives estimated that within three years, Roundup Ready soybeans will cover half of Brazil's 13-million-hectare soybean crop, the world's second largest. Roundup Ready still faces opposition from a loose association of farmers in Brazil's top three producing states, who fear they will lose business to transgenic-weary European consumers. Such genetically-modified crops have been dubbed ''Frankenstein foods'' in Europe. Brazil's third-largest producing state of Rio Grande do Sul is attempting to illegalize in-state planting, in defiance of the federal decision. Top producing Parana and Mato Grosso states are working on ways to certify some farming cooperatives as ''transgenic-free.'' On Monday, shares of St. Louis-based Monsanto were down 11/16 to 47-3/16 in composite New York Stock Exchange trading. biz.yahoo.com

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (2027)	5/17/1999 4:12:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

INTERVIEW-Cargill bullish on China, rest of Asia By Kenneth Barry HONG KONG, May 17 (Reuters) - U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill Inc sees Asia as a major growth target, with China offering great potential if Beijing liberalises its food policies, the head of Cargill said on Monday. Ernest Micek, chairman and chief executive of Cargill, also said in an interview he sees controversial value enhanced crops (VEC) playing a greater role in grains trade in Asia and Latin America. Asia was making a slow economic recovery but should return to its role as a major user of North and South American agricultural goods, Micek said. "We don't see any big, quick spike, rather a gradual recovery," Micek, who was in Hong Kong to speak at international conferences, told Reuters. Long term, Cargill is bullish on the region because the population is expanding, moving to the cities and demanding food that is more nutritious and convenient. "Asia to us is the big market," he said. On China, Micek said membership by the world's most populous country in the World Trade Organisation would greatly benefit China and the United States. "A significant number of tariffs would be reduced over time, so that U.S. agricultural products would come into China and be more competitive," Micek said. At the same time, the Chinese would receive products at cheaper prices. "It is 'win-win' for both," Micek said. But China's policy of being nearly self-sufficient in food meant that in some categories, the opportunities to sell were limited to times when China suffered crop shortages. "It is our hope that eventually they will see us as a more reliable supplier and ... would become less insistent on being totally self-sufficient," he said. Micek is retiring as chief executive on June 1 but will remain as chairman for about one year at Cargill, a $51 billion empire based in Minneapolis that touches every sector of agriculture as well as producing steel and trading in financial markets. The company has more than 80,000 employees in 65 countries. Micek sees VEC crops playing a larger role in trade in Asia and Latin America because of the pressures of growing populations, finite farm land and the need to preserve the environment. "We are going to need high-intensity farming and genetically modified plants as part of that solution," he said. Consumers, especially in Europe, have resisted genetically modified (GM) crops because they don't trust government to ensure the food is safe, Micek said. But as the research and development of GM products advances, consumers can be shown their benefits and will drop their resistance, Micek said. "You could have GM oilseeds that produce a healthier oil that is less saturated, more stable and better tasting. These are traits that the consumer will recognize and accept," he said. Cargill expects its joint venture with Monsanto <MTC.N> to produce GM products in three to seven years, beginning in North America but expanding to other regions, Micek said. moneynet.com@NEWS-P1&Index=0&HeadlineURL=../News/NewsHeadlines.asp&DISABLE_FORM=&NAVSVC=News\Company

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (2027)	5/18/1999 4:21:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

FOCUS-Brazil ends ban on genetically-altered crops By Phil Stewart SAO PAULO, May 17 (Reuters) - Brazil turned over its farmland to the advance of modern science on Monday by allowing the local arm of U.S. biotechnology giant Monsanto Co. <MTC.N> to sell genetically modified soybeans seeds nationwide. The long-awaited announcement ends Brazil's historic ban on genetically modified crops, which are engineered using genes offering traits like resistance to drought or potent weed-killers. But the move also deals a severe blow to many farmers worried about losing business to transgenic-weary customers in Europe, who are boycotting what they call "Frankenstein foods." According to the Agriculture Ministry, St. Louis-based Monsanto is free to begin immediately selling seeds for five varieties of its herbicide-resistant Roundup Ready seeds in Brazil, the world's second-largest soybean producer. The United States ranks No. 1. But ministry officials declined to offer specifics on the agreement, adding only that Roundup Ready would be protected until July 5 under Brazil's provisional intellectual property right law while paperwork for permanent protection is filed. "There is nothing else to say now. It has been approved. Monsanto can begin selling Roundup Ready seeds. That's all," said ministry spokesman Tito Matos de Souza. Monsanto, for its part, said it would not comment on the announcement under it was given "final approval language." "We have not received confirmation," Monsanto said. "Prior to final approval language from Brazil, we cannot speculate on any specific commercial aspects of this product." The widespread caution owes to continued controversy over genetically modified crops in Brazil, Latin America's agricultural titan and the the world's top producer of coffee, sugar and oranges. It took Monsanto eight months to get its Roundup Ready soybeans cleared for commercialization even after the crop was declared "safe" by the government last year by the Commission for Biological Security (CTNBio). Environmental groups led by Greenpeace stalled Monsanto in court while the left-wing government of Rio Grande do Sul state threatened to torch test plots and is waging a battle in the state Legislature to declare itself "transgenic free." Top producing Parana and Mato Grosso states are working on ways to certify select farming cooperatives free from genetically modified crops. Monsanto executives said in earlier interviews they expect Roundup Ready soybeans will make their way off test plots and onto commercial farms later this year. They will cover half of the 13 million hectares annually dedicated to the crop within just three years, they estimated. Brazil currently has no law governing labeling of transgenics crops, or food products made using them. CNTBio has opposed labeling, while Souza quoted Agricultural Secretary Francisco Turra as saying he was in favor of the practice. Other multinationals are soon seen winning safety approval for their transgenic crops, such as LibertyLink corn produced by the agrochemical joint venture between Germany's Hoechst AG <HOEG.F> and Schering AG <SCHG.F>. Greenpeace said on Monday it would not back down on Roundup Ready, despite the Agriculture Ministry's announcement. Group leaders said they would ask Monsanto to delay planting until it performs a detailed environmental impact analysis. "We are going to present a request in court on Tuesday for an environmental assessment ... But we do not know how long that would delay (planting)," a local Greenpeace official said. On Monday, Monsanto stock fell $1.125 to $46.75 in composite New York Stock Exchange trading.

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (2027)	5/18/1999 6:15:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

Dissecting Biotech Industry's Bleak Prospects sfgate.com Excerpts: The brewing trade war with Europe over genetically modified foods has far less effect on the local industry than the funding crisis because ag biotech is largely a Midwest phenomena. But food labeling is an issue that could rear up in the United States as it has in Europe. Industry says genetic modifications to crops -- generally meant to increase their resistance to insects -- are an environmental plus because they lessen the need for insecticide sprays. Americans have been swallowing enhanced corn and soybeans for years with no ill effects, says BIO President Feldbaum, who calls European insistence on labeling ''irrational.'' But Doreen Stabinsky, environmental studies professor at California State University in Sacramento, calls labeling a consumer protection. ''Irradiated food is labelled,'' she said. ''If people want to know how their food is produced, they should have that right.'' Stay tuned for more on the food fight. Look for BioScope every Monday in the Business section. Send your bio- feedback to Tom Abate by e-mail, abate@sfgate.com; fax, (415) 543-2482; or phone, (415) 777-6213. ©1999 San Francisco Chronicle Page B1

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (2027)	5/18/1999 10:44:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

Work of GM food scientist is flawed, say experts By Steve Connor and Charles Arthur The Independent 18 May, 1999 THE government's senior advisers on the safety of genetically modified food have dismissed as irrelevant and inconclusive the work of Arpad Pusztai, the scientist who caused a furore with his studies on GM potatoes. The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) found Dr Pusztai's work is seriously flawed and could not be used to justify his comments in a television interview last year that the public are unwitting guinea pigs in a mass GM experiment. A separate investigation by a panel of Britain's leading experts appointed by the Royal Society, which is due to be published today, is also expected to cast serious doubt over the claims made by Dr Pusztai and his supporters. Professor Janet Bainbridge, who chairs the ACNFP, said that an inquiry into Dr Pusztai's experiments - in which he fed GM potatoes to rats - had failed to find any meaningful conclusions due to "serious doubts" over the way the study was designed. She said last night: "We have concluded that the results from Dr Pusztai's work have been severely distorted by the recent media campaign in an unwarranted attempt to cast doubt on the safety of GM foods in general. "The ACNFP is clear that these potatoes would never be approved for food use. Furthermore, if a company submitted data from such poorly designed studies to support an application, we would have no hesitation in rejecting it." However, concern about GM food safety was expressed by the British Medical Association, which has called for a moratorium on the commercial planting of GM crops "until there is a scientific consensus on safety". In a report that was due to be published later this week but was released early, the BMA suggested that it is not yet known whether there are any serious risks to the environment or human health. Sir William Asscher, chairman of the BMA's board of science and education, said: "Once the GM genie is out of the bottle, the impact on the environment is likely to be irreversible." The health implications of GM food are currently being reassessed by the government's Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientist. independent.co.uk