News (as of May 13):
 | On Monday, May 15, A joint committee of the California
Senate, led by Sen. Tom Hayden, will be holding a hearing investigating the Novartis alliance. A
representative of SRR is among the invited speakers. Join us! Rides will be available at
the circle between Mulford and VLSB, leaving at 10 AM sharp.
 | Official invitation and announcement about the hearing:
The Senate Natural Resources Committee and the Select Committee on Higher Education will
hold hearings on the impacts of genetic engineering on the California environment,
beginning on Monday, May 15, 2000. I am inviting your testimony.
The Legislature has not taken a critical look at the environmental consequences of
biotechnology in over a decade. The Department of Food and Agriculture is required to
review and comment on hundreds of corporate applications for introducing novel,
genetically modified strains of food crops, but has not a single full-time professional
assigned to such issues.
The New York Times, in a recent comprehensive review, noted a "remarkable
reliance" by the federal government on unsupported claims by corporations seeking
permits. In addition, the Times noted that the bright original image of biotechnology is
being tarnished by more recent research; for example, "previously, researchers talked
about the movement of foreign genes into wild plants as unlikely, but the picture emerging
today is that with many crops it will be inevitable", including rice, beets,
cranberries and strawberries. The effects of Bt toxoids on Monarch butterflies are being
questioned in new research. A Time Magazine story recently raised alarms about
"frankenfish", i.e. the threat of genetically-engineered salmon on salmon in the
wild. (Mar. 1, 2000). Other scientists have questioned whether genetic engineering will
increase the total use of herbicides and threaten the viability of organic agriculture.
This circumstance is exacerbated by the potential loss of independence of our most trusted
research bases. A recent Atlantic Monthly investigative report charged undue influence by
the chemical company Norvatis over research at the University of California Berkeley
("The Kept University", March 2000).
It is time for independent voices to be heard on these issues. Studies in the Journal of
the American Medical Association and the Annals of Internal Medicine have shown that
research funded by corporations results in a higher prevalence of favorable conclusions
concerning pharmaceutical products for those companies underwriting studies of their own
products compared with research not so funded
The hearings will begin by reviewing the controversy reported in Atlantic Monthly
concerning the Novartis contract at the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley.
Novartis is a global chemical company which provided $25 million in research money to the
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology in 1988. The firm was granted two of five seats
on the department's research committee, and first right to negotiate licenses on many of
the department's (state-funded) research discoveries. This agreement proceeded in spite of
adverse reactions from the faculty and student body. It raises significant questions of
whether biotechnology research primarily serves the interests of corporations and
marginalizes potential academic critics at the expense of free inquiry and unfettered
research.
The hearing will continue with a focus on any potential adverse effects of biotechnology
on the California environment, the kinds of independent research that may be needed, and
how to institute independent oversight and regulation now and in the future. Issues will
also include how to monitor the use of the state's money on public-private partnerships
that may advance the interests of the biotechnology industry without proper mechanisms to
protect the public interest.
The practical purpose of the hearings will be to enlighten this year's debate on
biotechnology issues in the Legislature, formulate resolutions and legislation for
introduction no later than January 1, 2001 concerning environmental and health protection,
oversight and regulation, and insuring that safeguards to academic freedom are in place. |
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| May 4: The Graduate Assembly of the University of California passed a
resolution calling for the termination of the Novartis agreement. |
| CNR move on Gill Tract? From Prof. Miguel Altieri: "As you may
know UCCE Alameda County will not continue its field project at Gill Tract. Sharon Fleming
, Associate Dean of CNR is asking that they vacate the field by May 1 and probably plow it
under to grow corn for plant molecular biology. We are talking about 75 raised beds
managed organically for at least 5 years that would be the backbone of any urban ag
activities that the center would engage in. It took hundreds of hours to build and years
to reach the soil quality they now have. I think we should ask CNR to not do anything with
this land until a decision about the center has been made. If the Center is formed
then we will make us of these beds, if not they can grow corn on that land." |
| Dean search continues: The first round of searching for a new CNR
yielded no viablible candidates. The process will begin again in the summer. Current Dean
Rausser will step down on July 1, to be succeeded by an interim appointed dean. |
| SRR is working to hold a forum to update the public on the status of the alliance.
We hope to include PMB representatives, including Prof. Gruissem. |
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