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traits was specifically condemned by the UN earlier this year. It recommended that the technology not be field-tested, and called for a moratorium on its development until the impact had been fully assessed. The patent documents seen by the Observer suggest that Novartis intends to use the new GM technology on barley, cucumbers, tobacco, rice, chillis, wheat, bananas and tomatoes. The company cites an extensive list of more than 80 crops, includ- ing several cereals, dozens of fruits such as apples, pears and strawberries, vegetables like beans and lentils, and cash crops like cotton and tea. Dr Sue Mayer, Director of Gene Watch, says: "These compa- nies should halt development of these potentially dangerous prod- ucts until there has been a proper assessment of whether they are good for agriculture." (Source: The Observer, London, October 8, 2000) PCBs. A salmon farm of 200,000 fish releases an amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and faecal matter roughly equivalent to the nutrient waste in untreated sewage from 20,000 to 25,000 people. Farmed salmon (usually called Atlantic or cultured Atlantic salmon) are genetically modified to be larger and have a 50 to 70 per cent higher metabolic rate. There is also a wide range of chemicals used in aquaculture, including antibiotics, parasiticides, pesticides, hormones, anaes- thetics, minerals and vitamins. The use of these antibiotics is a health risk for fish as well as people, since it promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance in both human and fish pathogens. (Sources: Mother Jones, November/December 2001; Pew Oceans Commission Report on Marine Aquaculture, 2001, website http:/www.pewoceans.org) (Source: The Observer, London, October 8, 2000) 23: Horses Face Lives of Unnecessary Abuse for Drug Company Profits 21: Large US Temp Company Undermines Union Jobs emarin, the top-selling hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and Mistreats Workers for menopausal women, is made from pregnant mares' urine Le Ready Inc. is a national temporary employment agency (PMU). Oestrogen is extracted from the urine and is sold in many that employed over 700,000 people in 2000. Labor Ready has different forms to help with the symptoms of menopause. 839 offices in 49 US states and in Canada, and stands ready to Approximately nine million women are currently taking some place temporary workers as strike- form of Premarin, and that number is breakers in union labour disputes. expected to rise as the baby-boomer During the recent Northwest steel population ages. strike, it was Labor Ready which Premarin, made by Wyeth-Ayerst provided hundreds of strikebreakers . . Laboratories, a subsidiary of to Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane, Premarin, the top-selling American Home Products, is the only Washington. hormone replacement therapy human oestrogen replacement drug Labor Ready temps are often paid that is derived from animal products; minimum wages for what can be very (HRT) for menopausal women, most others are derived from soy and rigorous construction work. They i vegetables. The patent on Premarin, receive no health benefits and can be Is made from pregnant owned by Wyeth-Ayerst, is about to seriously mistreated in their tempo- mares urine. expire. This may well result in the rary places of employment. Workers are required to arrive at despatch offices between 5.00 and 6.00 am and wait for daily referrals; however, industry. they are not paid for the waiting time Pregnant mares are four-legged at the despatch office. Labor Ready workers also have to pay an _—_ drug machines, being repeatedly impregnated and confined to nar- average of US$1.58 when they cash their daily paychecks at the _row stalls as their urine is collected. Horses are kept inside for six company's cash-dispensing machines. In 1999, the company months out of the year. The horses are housed in cramped stalls raked in $7.7 million in fees from these machines. Labor Ready's _ no bigger than 8 feet x 34 feet x 5 feet, and are hooked up to urine manufacture of an array of generic substitutes, and is likely to increase the number of horses used in this worker injury rate is three times the national average. collection bags that are fixed into position just below the tail. The AFL-CIO Building and Constructions Trade Department These urine collection devices (UCDs) are painful and unhygien- (BCTD) has supported class action lawsuits by former Labor ic. Urine soaks the skin of the vulva and can cause severe infec- Ready employees, and would like to see a national union organis- tion and painful lesions. The horses are tied with a short rope to ing efforts to protect temporary workers nationwide. keep them from taking more then a single step in either direction (Source: The Progressive Populist, June 1, 2001) or from lying down. After several years on line, the mares are shipped to slaughterhouses where they are butchered, so their 22: Fish Farms Threaten Health of Consumers and meat can be exported to Europe or Japan for human consumption. Aquatic Habitats Guidelines state that horses should be offered water no less than Fr fish provide one-third of the seafood consumed by peo- twice a day. However, PMU farmers prefer to give water as little ple worldwide. In the US, aquaculture supplies almost all of as possible, to keep the concentration of oestrogen in the urine the catfish and trout as well as half of the shrimp and salmon. In high. They are paid based on the concentration, not the volume, the early 1990s, the fledgling aquaculture industry was hailed as a of urine collected. remedy to the problem of marine overfishing and the subsequent Every spring, each mare gives birth to a foal. These foals spend decline in jobs for fishermen. Unfortunately, aquaculture's harm __ the first few months with their mothers and then are rounded up in to people and surrounding environments may be greater than its September to allow their mothers to rejoin the lines. Most of these young horses are then taken to feedlots were they are A that Premarin, the top-selling hormone replacement therapy 77 Lt ee (HRT) for menopausal women, is made from pregnant mares’ urine. 22: Fish Farms Threaten Health of Consumers and Aquatic Habitats Fr fish provide one-third of the seafood consumed by peo- ple worldwide. In the US, aquaculture supplies almost all of the catfish and trout as well as half of the shrimp and salmon. In the early 1990s, the fledgling aquaculture industry was hailed as a remedy to the problem of marine overfishing and the subsequent decline in jobs for fishermen. Unfortunately, aquaculture's harm to people and surrounding environments may be greater than its highly anticipated benefits. A recent Canadian study found that a single serving of farmed salmon contains three to six times the World Health Organization's recommended daily intake limit for dioxins and Continued on page 74 18 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazi ne.com DECEMBER 2002 — JANUARY 2003