Kinnow: Pakistan may lose Russian market

Pakistan may lose one of its most profitable Kinnow markets, Russian market, and suffer heavily in case Russian government does not rescind its decision by December 1, banning import of fruits and vegetables from Pakistan. The ban was imposed by Russian government a few months back as the quality of fruits and vegetables did not meet the laid down sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) conditions.
According to fruit and vegetable exporters, Pakistan's department of plant protection should immediately lay down its quarantine policy in consultation with Russian authorities so that the quality of horticulture products could be improved.
The ban would impact on the export of around 50,000 ton Kinnow if the same is not lifted as the season has started and exporters are getting ready to ship the fruit to various markets.
They said that Russia is a good market for Pakistan's fruits and vegetables, particularly Kinnow but in order to increase the volumes, they need to reduce the trust deficit and establish banking channels between the two countries.
Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of National Food and Security must take cognisance of this alarming situation and raise the issue at diplomatic level as the ban may cause colossal loss to country's economy at this crucial juncture, they said.
A bumper Kinnow crop is expected during 2013-2014 and according to preliminary estimates the production might touch 2.1 to 2.3 million ton.
This year Kinnow will be shipped to Indonesia at zero percent duty as Indonesian government has allowed Pakistani Kinnow to be shipped to Tanjung port, Jakarta. The activation of PTA followed the signing of a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on plant quarantine and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures between Pakistan and Indonesia wherein Indonesia officially acknowledged Pakistan as pest-free area for Kinnow.
Ministry of Commerce may initiate kinnow export agreement at zero percent duty with Thailand following the visit of Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Talking to Business Recorder, acting CEO of Harvest Trading, Azam Ishaque said currently Thai market is not open for Pakistani fruits but due to our geo-economic position Kinnow may easily serve the consumption volumes in ASEAN region.
Thailand is a trading nation and the exchange of business delegations could be a better option for exploring areas of common interest. Thailand has recently been recognised as the `world kitchen' owing to the plenty of food resources as well as the continuous success in development in food industry. Pakistan could benefit from Thailand in processing of food to increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables to curtail post harvest losses.
In this regard, Azam Ishaque suggested that both countries may set-up a joint committee on agriculture and share the concepts of modern technologies in agricultural systems for the improvement of agricultural productions such as crop yield, livestock production, aquaculture production and sustainable agriculture.

News Source: Business Recorder                                                                                         News Collected: agrinfobank.com Team

Russia bans all GM corn imports; EU may also ban Monsanto GMO in wake of shocking cancer findings

Russia has now officially banned all imports of genetically modified corn, citing concerns from a recent study by French researchers showing rats grew massive cancer tumors when fed a lifetime of Monsanto's genetically modified corn.

Russia's consumer protection group, Rospotrebnadzor, said it was halting all imports of GM corn while the country's Institute of Nutrition will be evaluating the results of the study.

The Russian ban is the latest blow to Monsanto, a company desperately clinging to the myth that its genetically modified crops are "no different" than traditional crops and therefore long-term safety testing is completely unnecessary. Monsanto has assaulted the French study, claiming it did not use enough rats and that the duration of the study was too short -- an absurd claim, given that Monsanto's own studies on animals are only 90 days in duration, while the French study looked at the effects of rats eating GM corn (and drinking trace levels of Roundup herbicide) for two years.

Notably, the large cancer tumors did not begin to appear until after the rats reached adulthood. Monsanto's GM corn has been in the U.S. food supply for more than a decade, and its corn is found in many popular breakfast cereals.

A European ban, too?

In addition to the Russian ban, Monsanto may also soon be facing a European ban. France is reported asking for a European-wide ban on GM corn if its national health agency confirms the findings of French scientists.

On top of that, if Proposition 37passes in California, food producers will be required to label GMO on foods sold in that state. This is widely expected to cause U.S. food producers to abandon to use of GMO in foods, since virtually all consumers who know anything about GMO would refuse to buy items labeled as containing genetically engineered ingredients.

Toxicity of GMO now scientifically established

CRIIGEN.org has issued a statementsummarizing its findings of the recent rat study, saying:

The implications are extremely serious. They demonstrate the toxicity, both of a GMO with the most widely spread transgenic character and of the most widely used herbicide, even when ingested at extremely low levels, (corresponding to those found in surface or tap water). In addition, these results call into question the adequacy of the current regulatory process, used throughout the world by agencies involved in the assessment of health, food and chemicals, and industries seeking commercialization of products.

Here's one of the photos released by researchers in the recent study, demonstrating the massive cancer tumors found in rats who were fed GM corn:

Government regulators have been infiltrated by Monsanto; scientists bought off

In truth, Monsanto has managed to influence food regulators all around the world. It has paid money to numerous scientists in the USA, and it has essentially "placed" GMO-pushing iividuals such as Michael Taylorinto influential positions in government.

The European Union's Food Safety Agency (FSA) is also staffed by decision makers with financial ties to genetic engineering seed companies.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich has called for a national GMO labeling law. He says: "The FDA has received over a million comments from citizens demanding labeling of GMOs. Ninety percent of Americans agree. So, why no labeling? I'll give you one reason: The influence and the corruption of the political process by Monsanto. Monsanto has been a prime mover in GMO technology, a multi-million dollar GMO lobby here and a major political contributor."


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037328_Russia_GMO_Monsanto.html#ixzz2FcvuBul3

Russia completely suspends use of Monsanto's GM corn

 What does Russia know about genetically modified corn that we don't? Well, maybe not much, but the difference is Moscow is at least prepared to act on the information it has.

According to recent reports, the Russian consumer-rights watchdog agency, Rospotrebnadzor, said recently it made the decision to suspend importation and use of genetically engineered corn made by Monsanto Co., after release of a study alleging that the crop causes cancer.

Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement that Russia's Institute of Nutrition has been asked to gauge the validity of the study's results, while the European Commission's Directorate General for Health & Consumers has also been contacted, in order to lay out the European Union's position on the issue.

The study was conducted by the University of Caen in France and published earlier this month. Researchers alleged that rats that were fed over a two-year period with the U.S. crop-biotech company's GMO corn, called NK603 and marketed under the brand name "Roundup Ready," "developed more tumors and other severe diseases than a test group fed with regular corn," Fox Business reported.

French government to decide whether it will also ban GMO corn importation

The study also proffered that rats fed with the modified corn and then exposed to the St. Louis-based Monsanto's Roundup weed killer tended to suffer more pathologies that did the test group.

The corn variety is genetically engineered to stave off glyphosate, a weed killer that Monsanto offers under the Roundup brand, the report said.

As expected, a number of scientists and nutritionists discounted the study, greeting it with skepticism. For example, the Science Media Centre, a London-based independent organization that gathers reactions to published research, posted a number of comments by several experts that were critical of the research. Most said the sample size was too small while the data was incomplete, among other concerns.

The study prompted the French government to order its food-safety agency to quickly review its results. Officials said they planned to seek an immediate ban on EU imports of the crop if the findings of the study were deemed to be legitimate and conclusive.

Again, as expected, Monsanto repeated earlier claims that nothing in the French study warranted any sort of ban of the company's biotech-engineered seed.

In particular, the company bashed the study in a statement released shortly after the research published its findings, saying they did "not meet minimum acceptable standards for this type of scientific research," adding that "the findings are not supported by the data presented, and the conclusions are not relevant for the purpose of safety assessment."

Call for GMO labeling in the U.S. by congressman

Fox Business went on to report that an unnamed spokesman from Monsanto downplayed the effect of the Russian ban, pointing out that Moscow imports little American-grown corn anyway.

"Russia is a net exporter of grain, so the actual impact of their temporary suspension, if any, is likely to be small," the spokesman said.

Further, the company said any impact on its sales of corn seed to farmers will also be similarly limited, most likely because the Russian government doesn't allow farmers to plant transgenic crops.

The Health Ranger, Mike Adams, wrote this week that U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, has called for a national GMO labeling law here in the U.S.

"The FDA has received over a million comments from citizens demanding labeling of GMOs. Ninety percent of Americans agree," Kucinich has said. "So, why no labeling? I'll give you one reason: The influence and the corruption of the political process by Monsanto. Monsanto has been a prime mover in GMO technology, a multi-million dollar GMO lobby here and a major political contributor."

Sources:

http://www.foxbusiness.com

http://www.naturalnews.com/037328_Russia_GMO_Monsanto.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/037290_Zyklon_B_GMO_food_weapons.html

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037370_Russia_GM_corn_Monsanto.html#ixzz2F8a3mFnP

Russia's small-scale organic agriculture model may hold the key to feeding the world

Imagine living in a country where having the freedom to cultivate your own land, tax-free and without government interference, is not only common but also encouraged for the purpose of promoting individual sovereignty and strong, healthy communities. Now imagine that in this same country, nearly all of your neighbors also cultivate their own land as part of a vast network of decentralized, self-sustaining, independent "eco-villages" that produce more than enough food to feed the entire country.

You might be thinking this sounds like some kind of utopian interpretation of historical America, but the country actually being described here is modern-day Russia. It turns out that Russia's current agricultural model is one that thrives as a result of the millions of small-scale, family-owned and -operated, organically-cultivated farms that together produce the vast majority of the food consumed throughout the country.

Do Russians have more food freedom, independence than Americans?

A far cry from the unsustainable, chemical-dependent, industrialized agriculture system that dominates the American landscape today, Russia's agricultural system, which is not technically a system at all, is run by the people and for the people. Thanks to government policies there that actually encourage autonomous family farming, rather than cater to the greed of chemical and biotechnology companies like they do here in the states, the vast majority of Russians are able and willing to grow their own food on privately-owned family plots known as "dachas."

According to The Bovine, Russia's Private Garden Plot Act, which was signed into law back in 2003, entitles every Russian citizen to a private plot of land, free of charge, ranging in size from 2.2 acres to 6.8 acres. Each plot can be used for growing food, or for simply vacationing or relaxing, and the government has agreed not to tax this land. And the result of this effort has been phenomenal, as Russian families collectively grow practically all the food they need.

"Essentially, what Russian gardeners do is demonstrate that gardeners can feed the world -- and you do not need any GMOs, industrial farms, or any other technological gimmicks to guarantee everybody's got enough food to eat," writes Leonid Sharashkin, editor of the English version of the The Ringing Cedars series, a book collection that explains the history behind this effort to reconnect people with the earth and nature. (http://www.ringingcedars.com/)

Most food in Russia comes from backyard gardens

Back in 1999, it was estimated that 35 million small family plots throughout Russia, operated by 105 million people, or 71 percent of the Russian population, were producing about 50 percent of the nation's milk supply, 60 percent of its meat supply, 87 percent of its berry and fruit supply, 77 percent of its vegetable supply, and an astounding 92 percent of its potato supply. The average Russian citizen, in other words, is fully empowered under this model to grow his own food, and meet the needs of his family and local community.

"Bear in mind that Russia only has 110 days of growing season per year -- so in the U.S., for example, gardeners' output could be substantially greater. Today; however, the area taken up by lawns in the U.S. is two times greater than that of Russia's gardens -- and it produces nothing but a multi-billion-dollar lawn care industry."

The backyard gardening model is so effective throughout Russia that total output represents more than 50 percent of the nation's entire agricultural output. Based on 2004 figures, the collective value of all the backyard produce grown in Russia is $14 billion, or 2.3 percent of Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) -- and this number only continues to increase as more and more Russians join the eco-village movement.

Sources for this article include:

http://thebovine.wordpress.com

http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20080211.htm

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037366_russia_home_gardens_food_production.html#ixzz2F8ZGZxHy