Snowball fights banned in some Belgian communities

In what could be called a spoil-sport move with all the snow around these days, two different communes in the Flanders region of Belgium have banned snowball fights.

Not only is the activity banned, but police are enforcing the ban and there are fines to be paid. If you should throw a snowball in either Wingene or Lichtervelde in western Flanders, you could have to cough up 100 Euros.

 

The mayors of the two communes were quoted as saying that snowball fights put both children's and adults' health at risk and they even compared it to throwing stones.

 

Some local news outlets are theorizing that the fines may be used to bolster the budget for regional authorities. 

 

It does seem to be a pity, as the region is famous for snowballs. The Flemish city of Leuven apparently once boasted the title of the "snowball capital" of the world when one of the largest snowball fights in history happened there. Apparently in October 2009, around 5,700 Belgian students decided to break the world record for a snowball fight, and this required that 120 tons of snow had to be brought into the city's central square.

 

In the meantime, flights have been grounded and schools forced to close temporarily due to the heavy snowfall, so good luck with that ban!

 

Now one could understand if the snowballs looked like the one below ...

Kamyar Adl

Enormous snowball made in South Park in a snow-covered Oxford in February 2007.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/341899

Poland: Seeds Act not vetoed, GM seeds can still be traded

The good news was that Poland banned the planting of GM seeds. The bad news is that the Seeds Act was not vetoed by the Polish Prime Minister and the 'trading' of GM plants and seeds is allowed to continue.

Digital Journal reported recently on the ban by Poland on GM corn and potatoes from BASF and Monsanto. Greenpeace was apparently thrilled that "the government has kept its promises."

 

However, the latest news in from Poland is that everyone was deceived. Despite a great surge of action and letters calling for the flawed act to be vetoed, the Seeds Act is alive and well. While the New Year dawned with Polish Prime Minister Tusk announcing that Poland is to ban the planting of GM seeds as from January 28, he is, however, NOT banning 'trading' of GM plants and seeds.

 

According to the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC), if trading is allowed, what sort of control will be in place to stop planting? In a word, none. 

ICPPC says that farmers will soon become aware that they will be responsible for any infringements, should their land become contaminated by GM plantings. Should their crops become cross-contaminated, it will be their responsibility and all costs will be payable to the great Monsanto and Big Pesticide.

 

 

ICPPC says that this is a classic political deception. "As the word spins out across the world that Poland is banning GM maize and potato crops, the corporations are being offered the freedom to ply their GM trade. What sort of 'ban' is that?" say Sir Julian Rose and Jadwiga Lopata of ICPPC.

 

The government says that it has the support of Greenpeace. Greenpeace in return, confirms that it is supporting the government position along with a "clique of Facebook supporters".

 

However, the ICPPC has the support of the great majority of farmers and aware consumers and the backing of the Solidarity trade union, the nurses union, the farmers chamber and the bee keeping association. Its members will be uniting the GM opposition groups to form a united front, able and willing to take on the government and the corporations, to force a total ban on GM trading and planting. 

 

The fight continues in Poland against GMOs.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/340694

African Civil Society petitions the African Union to ban GMOs

In the wake of the recent ban by Kenya on the importation of GMO products until proper health evaluation has been completed, the African Civil Society is now requesting the African Union (AU) to ban GMOs.

Digital Journal reported recently on the ban by Kenya on the importation of genetically modified products. 

Following this ban, the African Civil Society has called on the AU to discuss banning all genetically modified organisms throughout the African Union at the next AU summit, set to be held in January 2013.  

 

The African Civil Society is represented by 400 African Organizations consisting of small-scale farmers, social movements, non-governmental organizations, faith-based groups, organic producers and consumers, business people and ordinary citizens. As a group, they signed a statement, which has been sent to the Permanent Representative Council (PRC) of the AU. In the statement, they point out the lack of safety data on GM foods, as well as condemning the patenting of life and privatization of agriculture, which will threaten to displace the control of African food producers over their production systems. 

 

An extract from the statement reads:

"We also call upon the governments of Africa to take note of our additional strong objections to GMOs. These concern the patenting of life forms and privatization of agriculture, which has led to the dependence by farmers, rural communities and indigenous people on external private and monopolistic seeds suppliers. We are also extremely concerned about the adverse impact of industrial and GM based agriculture on biodiversity and climate change. We cannot ignore the suicide epidemic of farmers in India - a direct result of farmers' dependence on GM cotton - and the resultant increased costs and unmanageable debt"

The full statement can be read here. 

 

The group requests that African leaders address this issue at next year's Summit, which is themed “Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance”. 

Elizabeth Mpofo is Chairperson of the East and Southern African Farmers Forum (ESAFF) and member of La Via Campesina, an international peasant movement. Mpofu says that, “corporate-owned, genetically modified seed won’t solve any of our problems. We have our own varieties, we have our own knowledge. We need to be supported so that we can flourish in the agricultural systems that are our heritage”.

 

The group's call for a ban is consistent with the Precautionary Principle, which states that "where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent that damage."

 

A prevalent issue of concern is the long term safety of genetically modified products and their consumption, and this concern has escalated after the results of an independent study were published in the Journal of Chemical and Food Toxicology in September 2012.

 

The peer-reviewed study, run over the lifespan of the test rats by Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini, and his research team at the University of Caen in France, found that GM maize and its related chemical, glyphosate, had a significant impact on the kidneys and livers of rats, as well as their hormonal balance, mortality rates and life spans. 

 

The rats developed cancerous tumors within the fourth month of the study.

Director of the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB), Ms Mariam Mayet, explained that, “the results of this study have been discredited by scientific bodies with industry ties, but even they acknowledge that long-term safety studies do not exist and are necessary. Maize is a staple food for millions of Africans, making it imperative to ensure that it is safe in the long term”. 

 

The statement by the African Civil Society reminds the PRC that “the African Union has played an important historical role in shaping global biosafety policy and shown admirable political will to protect African citizens. They must now show the rest of the world that GE crops can only be accepted when society is satisfied that their benefits outweigh the risks. Currently, that is not the case”.

 

Faustin Vuningoma, Secretary General of the PELUM Association, an African regional network representing over 200 organizations, said that its members “stand to fight for food sovereignty through securing indigenous seed rights and practising ecological systems of agriculture that are affordable to the small-scale farmers and sustainable to feeding the masses”. 

 

 In October 2012, in the wake of the peer-reviewed study, ACB, a consumer watchdog organization, also called on South African Authorities to enact a ban on Monsanto’s tumor linked maize crop known as NK603, saying, “We urge the South African government to take the necessary steps to protect its citizens.”

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/338726

San Juan County, Washington, USA now GMO-free

Local voters in San Juan county voted yes for Initiative Measure 2012-4 by a wide margin in the November 6 election. This essentially puts a ban on genetically modified organisms in the county.

The declaration made on the Initiative Measure read as follows: 

"The people of San Juan County, desiring to protect our agricultural industry, our natural environment, the private property rights of our citizens, and the health, safety and welfare of our People, deem it advisable and appropriate to restrict the cultivation of genetically modified crops, livestock and other organisms in San Juan County." 

With 8,877 votes counted, "Yes" votes outnumbered "No" votes by 5,183 to 3,329, for Initiative Measure 2012-4.

GMO-ban supporter, Marta Nielsen of Orcas Island is an organic farmer who raises chickens. She announced, "I'm proud to live in a county that could see the immense benefit of passing this forward-thinking initiative."

The GMO ban was proposed by organic farmers and other interested party in the county. The ban makes it unlawful to propagate or grow plants or animals in San Juan County, Washington, that have been genetically modified. It further provides for penalties and the destruction of such organisms. 

A recent opinion piece on GMO's by Ken & Kathryn Akopiantz, primary sponsors of the initiative can be read here.

The video above features Ken Akopiantz, a farmer and owner of Horse Drawn Farm and the Seed Librarian of Lopez Community Land Trust. He speaks on the dangers of genetic engineering (GE) and genetically modified organism (GMO) and explains why it is important to support the Initiative Measure No. 2012-4 to ban raising GMOs in the San Juan county. This speech was delivered during the Food Charrette on Lopez Island, Feb 25, 2012.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/336431#ixzz2Be90I1ED

Russian government approves harsh anti-tobacco ban for 2015

Russia has finally caught up with the rest of the world, and smokers now have a couple of years to give up the habit, before harsh anti-smoking legislation comes into effect during 2015. 

Should this legislation pass, smoking will be prohibited in any public place, including restaurants and cafes. Many efforts have been made in the past to impose smoking bans, without success. 

However, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has been persistent in pushing for this legislation. Addressing ministers after the discussion, he said, “This is a big problem and we are too careless about it.”

“We have to move towards civilization, like the rest of the world. And this will bring in an effect that will be measured in human lives,” he added.

Reasons for pushing the ban are clear - every third person in Russia is a smoker, and according to statistics this makes up some 44 million smokers in the country. 

Russia's Minister of Health, Veronika Skvortsova, says that the health benefits from just 10% of these smokers giving up the habit would bring an additional $3,5 billion into Russia's budget in 2013. According to health officials, around 400,000 are afflicted each year by smoking-related illnesses. 

As stated in the video, it is unsure what will happen to people who ignore the smoking ban. Medvedev says that the legislation is not a governmental war on smokers, but on smoking itself. Government officials are getting ready for what they say will be a “battle” with the powerful tobacco lobby in Russia.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Public Chamber member and former Duma deputy Maxim Mischenko said, “We will face an enormous amount of difficulties, particularly in the State Duma, and people will attempt to emasculate this bill.” 

 British-American Tobacco (BAT), Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco International account for around 90% of the Russian tobacco-related market, which makes this the second largest in the world behind China. According to Health Ministry statistics, Russians spent over 4 billion rubles (about $130 million) on tobacco products in 2011 alone. 

The anti-tobacco ban would stop smoking in state offices, education, medical, sports and cultural facilities, in public transportation, on playgrounds and in public areas in residential buildings, making things a little hard on the tobacco addict. 

Starting from July 2014, there will be no smoking allowed in hotels, markets and stores, and on long distance trains and planes. 

Finally, in 2015, the ban will be brought in for restaurants and cafes. There will also be a prohibition on advertising of tobacco products. 

The draft has now been approved by the government and now goes on for approval by the Russian State Duma and then by the Federation Council.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335104