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projections. However, the Bataan plant was never brought on line 7. Independent Study Points to Dangers of GE Foods due to the fact that it was near an active volcano. Despite this, I 1998, Arpad Pusztai, a researcher at Rowett Research Institute The Philippines still pays about $300,000 a day in interest on the in Aberdeen, Scotland, performed the first independent, non- Ex-Im loan that funded the project. Should The Philippines industry-sponsored study analysing genetically engineered food default, US taxpayers will pick up the tab. and its effects on mammals. The study had been undertaken to "American contractors are selling a product that most people determine whether or not the spliced genes themselves could be don't want," says Dave Martin of the Toronto-based Nuclear damaging to the mammal ingesting them. However, preliminary Awareness Campaign. US taxpayers are subsidising this industry. data from the study suggested something even more startling. Without Ex-Im, which offers terms just too good for Third World Pusztai's study found that rats fed transgenic potatoes (artificial- countries to pass up, American firms would not succeed in selling ly bioengineered to include a gene from another species) showed nuclear power plants worldwide. evidence of organ damage, thickening of the small intestine and Reference poor brain development. The potatoes used in the study had been * Ken Silverstein and Ian Urbina (iurbina2@aol.com), "Pushing the genetically engineered to contain lectin, a sugar-binding protein, Nuclear Plants: A US Agency Hooks Foreign Clients", The to make the plants pest-resistant. The adverse reactions only Progressive, March 2000, www.progressive.org occurred in the group that was fed the transgenic potatoes, and were not caused by the added lectin but by the process of genetic 6. International Report Blames United States and engineering itself. Others for Genocide in Rwanda In August 1998, Pusztai appeared on the British television pro- Bi Clinton and his administration allowed gram The World in Action to report the find- the genocide of 500,000 to 800,000 peo- ings of his study. In an attempt to quell the ple in Rwanda in 1994. Ina clear effort to resulting public furore, Rowett Institute direc- avoid responsibility and embarrassment, the tor Philip James (who had approved Pusztai's Clinton administration has refused to TV appearance) said the research didn't exist. acknowledge its role in failing to prevent the — He fired Pusztai, broke up his research team, genocide in Rwanda. Physicians know seized the data and halted six other similar This allegation c s fi th cent A jects. It cz t later that Monsanto, < oes sotan tn team | that antidepressants fo) Samson ser a onan ated with the Organization for African Unit if nl r f h Rowett Institute a US$224,000 grant prior to g ry grant p OAU). OAU set up a panel ised of Pusztai's interview. wo ‘Aican eads of state, chairwomen of the answer for me ntal ‘Evidence emerged to support the legitimacy Swedish Committee for UNICEF, a former health, but marketing of Pusztai's research. The British medical Chief Justice to the Indian Supreme . journal Lancet published a peer- Court and a former Canadian by drug companies teviewed paper that Pusztai had co- Ambassador to the vated Nations. h has created the anor suppor ts research D e panel was asked to review the . ack in , the ‘ood and Drug mythology of pills as cure-alls. 1994 genocide, the actions preceding the Administration determined that geneti- massacre and the world's response to the cally engineered foods were in most killings. The panel concluded that the cases "the same as or substantially simi- nations and international bodies that lar to substances commonly found in should have attempted to stop the killing food" and thus are not required to under- chose not to do so. The report convinc- go specific safety tests prior to entering ingly condemns the United Nations, the market. Belgium (a former colonial occupier), References France (which maintained close relations ¢ Ben Lilliston (blilliston @iatp.org), with Rwanda) and the United States. "Don't Ask, Don't Know", Multinational The panel found that after the genocide began, the Clinton admin- Monitor, January-February 2000, www.essential.org/monitor/ istration chose not to acknowledge that it was taking place. mm2000/mm0001.05.html According to the report, the killings could have been stopped + Joel Bleifuss, "No Small (Genetic) Potatoes", In These Times, before they began. The report refers to the well-known fax that January 10, 2000, www.inthesetimes.com Canadian Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire, commander of the UN peacekeeping troops in Rwanda, sent to the UN three months 8. Drug Companies Influence Doctors and Health before the genocide began. In it, Dallaire warned that an extermi- | Organisations to Push Medications nation campaign was coming. He asked for an additional 3,000 Mer than 130 million prescriptions were written in 1999 [in UN troops, which would have brought the total to 5,000—a num- the USA] for depression and mental health-related symp- ber likely to have been able to prevent the genocide. However, toms at a cost of US$8.58 billion. Physicians know that antide- Madeleine Albright played a key role in the UN Security Council pressants are only part of the answer for mental health, but mar- in blocking the troop expansion. keting by drug companies has created the mythology of pills as References cure-alls. However, a 1999 federal research study found that the * David Corn, "Loyal Opposition: Clinton Allowed Genocide", newer antidepressants were effective in only half of the cases and Alternet, July 25, 2000, www.alternet.org/story.html ?StoryID=9494 outperformed placebos by only 18 per cent. * Ellen Ray, "The Role of the US Military", Covert Action Quarterly, Drug companies spend $5 billion annually to send sales repre- Spring/Summer 2000 sentatives to doctors' offices. Sales reps keep FBI-style dossiers * OAU report, www.oau-oua.org/Document/ipep/ipep.htm on physicians, which include information such as the names of projections. However, the Bataan plant was never brought on line due to the fact that it was near an active volcano. Despite this, The Philippines still pays about $300,000 a day in interest on the Ex-Im loan that funded the project. Should The Philippines default, US taxpayers will pick up the tab. "American contractors are selling a product that most people don't want," says Dave Martin of the Toronto-based Nuclear Awareness Campaign. US taxpayers are subsidising this industry. Without Ex-Im, which offers terms just too good for Third World countries to pass up, American firms would not succeed in selling nuclear power plants worldwide. Reference * Ken Silverstein and Ian Urbina (iurbina2@aol.com), "Pushing the Nuclear Plants: A US Agency Hooks Foreign Clients", The Progressive, March 2000, www.progressive.org Physicians know that antidepressants are only part of the answer for mental health, but marketing by drug companies has created the mythology of pills as cure-alls. 8. Drug Companies Influence Doctors and Health Organisations to Push Medications Mer than 130 million prescriptions were written in 1999 [in the USA] for depression and mental health-related symp- toms at a cost of US$8.58 billion. Physicians know that antide- pressants are only part of the answer for mental health, but mar- keting by drug companies has created the mythology of pills as cure-alls. However, a 1999 federal research study found that the newer antidepressants were effective in only half of the cases and outperformed placebos by only 18 per cent. Drug companies spend $5 billion annually to send sales repre- sentatives to doctors’ offices. Sales reps keep FBI-style dossiers on physicians, which include information such as the names of JUNE — JULY 2001 NEXUS #15 www.nexusmagazine.com