Campaigners say plants being grown in US may worsen global food crisis, while farmers express cross-contamination fears US farmers are growing the first corn plants genetically modified for the specific purpose of putting more ethanol in gas tanks rather than producing more food. Aid organisations warn the new GM corn could worsen a global food crisis exposed by the famine in Somalia by diverting more corn into energy production. The food industry also opposes the new GM product because, although not inedible, it is unsuitable for use in the manufacture of food products that commonly use corn. Farmers growing corn for human consumption are also concerned about cross-contamination. The corn, developed by a branch of the Swiss pesticide firm Syngenta, contains an added gene for an enzyme (amylase) that speeds the breakdown of starches into ethanol. Ethanol plants normally have to add the enzyme to corn when making ethanol. The Enogen-branded corn is being grown for the first time commercially on about 5,000 acres on the edge of America’s corn belt in Kansas, following its approval by the US Department of Agriculture last February. In its promotional material Syngenta says it will allow farmers to produce more ethanol from the corn while using less energy and water. Meanwhile, campaigners say the corn will heap pressure on global food supplies and contribute to environmental degradation. They argue Enogen will lead to an increase in the amount of food crops going to fuel, leaving less for human consumption and leading to food price rises. That will lead to food price rises on the global market. “The temptation to look at food as another form of fuel to use for the energy crisis will exacerbate the food crisis,” said Todd Post of Bread for the World, a Christian anti-hunger organisation. Although individual events such as the Somalia famine are caused by a complex combination of factors, several studies have established that the expansion of biofuels has pushed up food prices worldwide, making it harder to afford for the poorest. A World Bank report released on Tueday says food prices that are now close to their 2008 peak have contributed to the famine in Somalia. Marie Brill, a senior policy analyst at ActionAid warned: “It’s going to put even more pressure on a really tight market. It will be really tempting to farmers to take on this new more efficient ethanol form of corn.” The food industry is warning of the dangers of contaminating existing corn crops with the new GM corn. The same traits that make the modified corn so attractive to the ethanol industry – the swift breakdown of starches – would be a disaster for the food industry, turning corn chips into shapeless lumps, and stripping the thickening properties from corn starch. Even a small amount of the amylase corn – one kernel out of 10,000 – could damage food products, according to data supplied to the North American Millers’ Association by Syngenta. The organisation, like most food industry groups, has opposed the corn, noting failures to prevent cross-contamination from earlier GM breeds. The European Union, South Korea, and South Africa have not approved its import. Enogen also has to catch on among farmers. “I’m sceptical as a farmer,” said Allen Jasper, who runs a cattle-feed operation near Whitten, Iowa. “The first thing I’m going to ask is how does it yield. Any time you try and change a corn plant and get it to do something that is not native to the plant you have to be sceptical of the yield.” Syngenta maintains the corn variety has a high yield, and that it has the appropriate safeguards to prevent cross- pollination. After Kansas, the company plans to expand its growing area to Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and southwest Minnesota. Farmers will grow the corn under contract to an ethanol production plant, getting a premium over regular corn. Buffer rows of corn will be planted. “This is a very slow ramp-up. This is not a broad acre crop at this point,” said Paul Minehart, a Syngenta spokesman. Steve McNinch, of Western Plains Energy, in Kansas, the only ethanol plant to have processed the new corn, said adding a small amount of amylase corn to the mix – about 10% – would increase production by 10%. GM Farming Energy Food Famine United States Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Campaigners say plants being grown in US may worsen global food crisis, while farmers express cross-contamination fears US farmers are growing the first corn plants genetically modified for the specific purpose of putting more ethanol in gas tanks rather than producing more food. Aid organisations warn the new GM corn could worsen a global food crisis exposed by the famine in Somalia by diverting more corn into energy production. The food industry also opposes the new GM product because, although not inedible, it is unsuitable for use in the manufacture of food products that commonly use corn. Farmers growing corn for human consumption are also concerned about cross-contamination. The corn, developed by a branch of the Swiss pesticide firm Syngenta, contains an added gene for an enzyme (amylase) that speeds the breakdown of starches into ethanol. Ethanol plants normally have to add the enzyme to corn when making ethanol. The Enogen-branded corn is being grown for the first time commercially on about 5,000 acres on the edge of America’s corn belt in Kansas, following its approval by the US Department of Agriculture last February. In its promotional material Syngenta says it will allow farmers to produce more ethanol from the corn while using less energy and water. Meanwhile, campaigners say the corn will heap pressure on global food supplies and contribute to environmental degradation. They argue Enogen will lead to an increase in the amount of food crops going to fuel, leaving less for human consumption and leading to food price rises. That will lead to food price rises on the global market. “The temptation to look at food as another form of fuel to use for the energy crisis will exacerbate the food crisis,” said Todd Post of Bread for the World, a Christian anti-hunger organisation. Although individual events such as the Somalia famine are caused by a complex combination of factors, several studies have established that the expansion of biofuels has pushed up food prices worldwide, making it harder to afford for the poorest. A World Bank report released on Tueday says food prices that are now close to their 2008 peak have contributed to the famine in Somalia. Marie Brill, a senior policy analyst at ActionAid warned: “It’s going to put even more pressure on a really tight market. It will be really tempting to farmers to take on this new more efficient ethanol form of corn.” The food industry is warning of the dangers of contaminating existing corn crops with the new GM corn. The same traits that make the modified corn so attractive to the ethanol industry – the swift breakdown of starches – would be a disaster for the food industry, turning corn chips into shapeless lumps, and stripping the thickening properties from corn starch. Even a small amount of the amylase corn – one kernel out of 10,000 – could damage food products, according to data supplied to the North American Millers’ Association by Syngenta. The organisation, like most food industry groups, has opposed the corn, noting failures to prevent cross-contamination from earlier GM breeds. The European Union, South Korea, and South Africa have not approved its import. Enogen also has to catch on among farmers. “I’m sceptical as a farmer,” said Allen Jasper, who runs a cattle-feed operation near Whitten, Iowa. “The first thing I’m going to ask is how does it yield. Any time you try and change a corn plant and get it to do something that is not native to the plant you have to be sceptical of the yield.” Syngenta maintains the corn variety has a high yield, and that it has the appropriate safeguards to prevent cross- pollination. After Kansas, the company plans to expand its growing area to Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and southwest Minnesota. Farmers will grow the corn under contract to an ethanol production plant, getting a premium over regular corn. Buffer rows of corn will be planted. “This is a very slow ramp-up. This is not a broad acre crop at this point,” said Paul Minehart, a Syngenta spokesman. Steve McNinch, of Western Plains Energy, in Kansas, the only ethanol plant to have processed the new corn, said adding a small amount of amylase corn to the mix – about 10% – would increase production by 10%. GM Farming Energy Food Famine United States Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
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President hopes to energise re-election campaign with tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, all of which he won last time President Barack Obama began a bus tour of the US midwest focused on jobs and the economy on Monday, aiming to leave behind doubts about his leadership that could dent his 2012 re-election prospects. The three-day trip takes him to Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, states he won in the 2008 presidential election, but could expose Obama to voters who, polls suggest, are furious about political gridlock in Washington as he begins serious campaigning for his 2012 re-election attempt. The White House says Obama is on a listening tour to hear from Americans about the economy and talk about how to boost jobs and hiring. There are no plans announced for a major policy speech to roll out initiatives for economic growth. With unemployment at just above 9%, jobs are expected to be the central issue for voters in next year’s presidential and congressional elections. Even some of Obama’s fellow Democrats have expressed frustration that the president has not promoted plans to boost jobs growth more aggressively. Republicans blasted the trip as a taxpayer-funded “debt end” bus tour and hammered Obama over high unemployment, record national debt and the flagging economy. Obama was distracted for much of the summer by a divisive debate over the debt and deficits that triggered a downgrade in the US credit rating and undermined the public’s faith in Washington. With his own poll numbers flagging, Obama will use the tour to tout his job-growth agenda, which includes extending a payroll tax cut, finalising free-trade pacts and authorising infrastructure projects to create positions for construction workers. He will also try to channel citizens’ anger about the bad economy against Republicans in Congress. Obama’s job approval rating dipped below 40% – to 39% – on Monday in the Gallup daily tracking poll. Obama will speak at a town hall style meeting on Monday in Cannon Falls before heading to Decorah, Iowa. He then holds a rural economic forum in Peosta, Iowa, on Tuesday and town hall meetings in Atkinson and Alpha, Illinois, on Wednesday before returning to Washington. US elections 2012 Barack Obama US politics United States Democrats guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …President hopes to energise re-election campaign with tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, all of which he won last time President Barack Obama began a bus tour of the US midwest focused on jobs and the economy on Monday, aiming to leave behind doubts about his leadership that could dent his 2012 re-election prospects. The three-day trip takes him to Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, states he won in the 2008 presidential election, but could expose Obama to voters who, polls suggest, are furious about political gridlock in Washington as he begins serious campaigning for his 2012 re-election attempt. The White House says Obama is on a listening tour to hear from Americans about the economy and talk about how to boost jobs and hiring. There are no plans announced for a major policy speech to roll out initiatives for economic growth. With unemployment at just above 9%, jobs are expected to be the central issue for voters in next year’s presidential and congressional elections. Even some of Obama’s fellow Democrats have expressed frustration that the president has not promoted plans to boost jobs growth more aggressively. Republicans blasted the trip as a taxpayer-funded “debt end” bus tour and hammered Obama over high unemployment, record national debt and the flagging economy. Obama was distracted for much of the summer by a divisive debate over the debt and deficits that triggered a downgrade in the US credit rating and undermined the public’s faith in Washington. With his own poll numbers flagging, Obama will use the tour to tout his job-growth agenda, which includes extending a payroll tax cut, finalising free-trade pacts and authorising infrastructure projects to create positions for construction workers. He will also try to channel citizens’ anger about the bad economy against Republicans in Congress. Obama’s job approval rating dipped below 40% – to 39% – on Monday in the Gallup daily tracking poll. Obama will speak at a town hall style meeting on Monday in Cannon Falls before heading to Decorah, Iowa. He then holds a rural economic forum in Peosta, Iowa, on Tuesday and town hall meetings in Atkinson and Alpha, Illinois, on Wednesday before returning to Washington. US elections 2012 Barack Obama US politics United States Democrats guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media The San Francisco Chronicle captured video of an Iowa fairgoer last week confronting Todd Palin. “We’re from Alaska,” the woman told him. “We were sick when she quit.” “What would you recommend doing when you got $600,000, $700,000 of debt hanging over your head, and you still have all these people filing complaints against you?” Todd Palin asked. “What would you do?” “Well, you go for the money obviously. That’s what she did. Everybody in Alaska thinks she sold out,” the woman replied. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. You got all this debt going to be there,” Todd Palin insisted. “It’s not there anymore is it? You got quite the deal,” the woman charged, adding that Todd Palin was also a “sellout” as he walked away.
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Click here to view this media The San Francisco Chronicle captured video of an Iowa fairgoer last week confronting Todd Palin. “We’re from Alaska,” the woman told him. “We were sick when she quit.” “What would you recommend doing when you got $600,000, $700,000 of debt hanging over your head, and you still have all these people filing complaints against you?” Todd Palin asked. “What would you do?” “Well, you go for the money obviously. That’s what she did. Everybody in Alaska thinks she sold out,” the woman replied. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. You got all this debt going to be there,” Todd Palin insisted. “It’s not there anymore is it? You got quite the deal,” the woman charged, adding that Todd Palin was also a “sellout” as he walked away.
Continue reading …Association of UK Private Schools and Colleges will ask high court to review Theresa May’s plan to fix ‘broken’ system Private colleges were given the go-ahead on Monday to mount a legal challenge against a government clampdown on “bogus” foreign students. A judge gave the Association of UK Private Schools and Colleges permission to ask the high court to review plans to cut student visas. The home secretary Theresa May announced the proposals earlier this year and said ministers wanted to restore “sanity” to the student visa system. She said the “radical” clampdown would close fake colleges, block entry for those who could not speak good English and make it tougher for non-EU students to stay after courses finish. But private colleges say the plans are “disproportionate”, “arbitrary” and “severe”. Deputy high court judge Charles George, QC, said that the association could seek a high court ruling. At a preliminary high court hearing in London, he said the association had an “arguable” case for a review. But he thought college bosses would face an “uphill task” in persuading a judge that May had acted unreasonably. May said in March that the government wanted to attract the “brightest and best” to the UK but said the visa system had become “broken” under the previous Labour administration. “This package will stop the bogus students, studying meaningless courses at fake colleges,” she said. “It will protect our world-class institutions. It will stop the abuse that became all too common under Labour. And it will restore some sanity to our student visa system.” She said she expected the measures would reduce the number of student visas issued by 70,000-80,000 annually – equivalent to a 25% fall. Students Further education Immigration and asylum Theresa May guardian.co.uk
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Association of UK Private Schools and Colleges will ask high court to review Theresa May’s plan to fix ‘broken’ system Private colleges were given the go-ahead on Monday to mount a legal challenge against a government clampdown on “bogus” foreign students. A judge gave the Association of UK Private Schools and Colleges permission to ask the high court to review plans to cut student visas. The home secretary Theresa May announced the proposals earlier this year and said ministers wanted to restore “sanity” to the student visa system. She said the “radical” clampdown would close fake colleges, block entry for those who could not speak good English and make it tougher for non-EU students to stay after courses finish. But private colleges say the plans are “disproportionate”, “arbitrary” and “severe”. Deputy high court judge Charles George, QC, said that the association could seek a high court ruling. At a preliminary high court hearing in London, he said the association had an “arguable” case for a review. But he thought college bosses would face an “uphill task” in persuading a judge that May had acted unreasonably. May said in March that the government wanted to attract the “brightest and best” to the UK but said the visa system had become “broken” under the previous Labour administration. “This package will stop the bogus students, studying meaningless courses at fake colleges,” she said. “It will protect our world-class institutions. It will stop the abuse that became all too common under Labour. And it will restore some sanity to our student visa system.” She said she expected the measures would reduce the number of student visas issued by 70,000-80,000 annually – equivalent to a 25% fall. Students Further education Immigration and asylum Theresa May guardian.co.uk
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Palestinian refugees in Syria flee attack by Assad gunboats and soldiers on their camp in port city of Latakia More than 5,000 Palestinian refugees have fled a camp in Latakia, Syria, after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces attacked the port city in the latest military crackdown on dissent, the UN said on Monday. UNRWA , the UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees, said the camp’s residents fled after Latakia came under fire from gunboats and ground troops over the weekend. It was not immediately clear where the refugees were seeking shelter. “We are calling for access to the camp to find out what is going on,” said UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness. “There were 10,000 refugees in the camp and we need to find out what is happening to them.” Assad has dramatically escalated the crackdown on the five-month-old uprising since the start of the holy month of Ramadan. Despite international outrage, the regime is trying to re-establish firm control in rebellious areas by unleashing tanks, snipers and – in a new tactic – gunships. On Monday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on Syria to end the bloodshed immediately and threatened unspecified “steps” if it fails to do so. “If the operations do not end, there would be nothing more to discuss about steps that would be taken,” Davutoglu said, without elaborating. Turkey, a former close ally of Syria, has been increasingly frustrated with the brutal crackdown by Damascus. Nearly 30 people, and possibly more, have been killed in the city since the assault on Latakia began on Saturday, activists say. The regime has banned foreign media and restricted local coverage, making it difficult to verify accounts on the ground. The attacks in Latakiaare the latest wave of a brutal offensive that shows Assad has no intention of relaxing his grip despite international outrage and new US and European sanctions. As the gunships blasted waterfront districts on Sunday, ground troops and security forces backed by tanks and armored vehicles stormed several neighborhoods, sending terrified women and children fleeing. The Observatory said troops opened fire Monday as a group of fleeing residents approached a checkpoint in the Ein Tamra district of Latakia. One person was shot dead and five wounded. A Latakia resident confirmed the account, saying troops fired as scores of people, many of them women and children, were fleeing. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The Local Coordination Committees , an activist group that helps organize protests in Syria, also confirmed troops fired at fleeing families. It said random gunfire erupted Monday in addition to a campaign of raids and house-to-house arrests. Troops later entered small neighborhoods in the al-Ramel Palestinian refugee camp, warning people to leave or risk their houses being destroyed, the LCC said. A witness said security forces were rounding up young men in the area and detaining them in a sports stadium nearby. Amateur videos posted online by activists showed smoke rising from al-Ramel, the crackle of heavy gunfire and people shouting, “God is Great!” Monday also saw soldiers storm the area of Houla in the central Syrian city of Homs, which has seen massive protests in recent months. A sniper killed an elderly man, according to the London-based Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists on the ground in Syria. The group said more than 700 people have been arrested in and around Homs since the beginning of August. Syria Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Bashar Al-Assad guardian.co.uk
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