Californian citizens are organizing to ban genetically engineered (GE) crops from their state. They are particularly concerned about GE rice, and have just sent out an urgent action alert on biopharmaceutical rice:

"On March 29th, the California Rice Commission gave their approval for the planting and milling of two genetically engineered drug-producing rice varieties spliced with synthetic human genes. This will be the first commercial pharmaceutical food crop in the world and could be planted anywhere in the state."


NANO'S TROUBLED WATERS. The ETC warns about the health hazards of nanotech. According to this latest report:

Latest toxic warning shows nanoparticles cause brain damage in aquatic species and highlights need for a moratorium on the release of new nanomaterials

"A new study revealing that engineered carbon molecules known as "buckyballs" cause brain damage in fish is one more brick in the wall of evidence suggesting that manufactured nanoparticles are harmful to the environment and to health. The results of the study highlight the urgency to heed ETC Group’s 2002 call for a moratorium on manufactured nanoparticles in commercial products and they back up last month’s recommendation by the Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftforschung – in a report commissioned by the European Parliament – that nanoparticles should not be released into the environment.(1) Recent scientific studies have raised serious concerns about the toxicity of nanoparticles (see "Ten Toxic Warnings," below). This latest study, which has yet to be published, is the first to simulate what could happen when nanoparticles are released into the environment."