<div dir="ltr"><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Hi everybody,<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I suppose some or all of us will meet together Tuesday at the workshop.<br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">As a matter of passing interest, since a number of us have been paying close attention to the GMO issue, you might be surprised that this question is being picked up and discussed in a lot of places -- not just among NGOs or those involved in agriculture or food production.<br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">This string of messages is from a group called the Vietnam Information Network, with a focus mostly on technology and innovation.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">
CHUCK SEARCY<br><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Thu Hương Phạm</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:phamthuhuong1010@gmail.com" target="_blank">phamthuhuong1010@gmail.com</a>></span><br>
Date: Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 7:04 PM<br>Subject: Re: [VIN] Monsanto and GMO's in Viet Nam<br>To: <a href="mailto:VNinfonet@googlegroups.com" target="_blank">VNinfonet@googlegroups.com</a><br><br><br><div dir="ltr"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Dear chị Linh, anh Duyên and all family,</font><div>
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Thank chị Linh and anh Duyên for sharing.</font></div><div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">"GMO infiltration is much more prevalent in Viet Nam than I thought. -Kieu Linh" </font></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div></div><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Yes, GMO products on the </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Vietnam </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">market for more 10 years, after we import corn, soybeans .. from U.S and others countries.</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">But why is </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Vietnam - </span><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">an agricultural country - </font><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">import a large quantity of corn and soybeans so? Because </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Vietnam</span><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> can not</font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> grow these plants? </span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">I think GMOs in Vietnam has impact very much, b</span><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">esides </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">the health impact.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">1. The export impact:</font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The importation of corn, soybeans .. will create a series of genetically modified food </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">(GMF) </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">in the country.</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">According to the classification of Department of Agriculture in </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">U.S.</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">, animals which are fed by </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">GMF also be classified as GMF. </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Corn and soybeans are the main raw materials for l</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">ivestock </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">and </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">fisheries.</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> So, livestock and fisheries Vietnam will be classified as GMF.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">People in in-country maybe use GMF because they don't know. But when we export, people in out-country (specially, in </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Japan and Europe), </span><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">they will hardly use. Our exportation will be impact.</font></div>
<div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><br></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2. The </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">livestock</span><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">and fisheries impact</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The importation of corn, soybeans and other agricultural products - </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">are the main raw materials for l</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">ivestock </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">and </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">fisheries - </span><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> will make cost of livestock </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">and fisheries</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">higher.</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">And when the </font><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">cost in in-country rise </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">high, people usually</span><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> will eat pork, chicken, eggs.. from other countries (for example: cheap </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">food from </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">China).</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Especially in 2015, when ASEAN becomes a single market, barriers will lift off, the </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">livestock</span><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">and fisheries</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">of Vietnam</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> will impact very much</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">.</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">So I think the solution to this problem is: Reduce plant rice - rice is not high productive</font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">, increase plant corn, soybeans .. and other plants.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">There are many </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">agricultural</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">countries have </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">major </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">production - is not rice.</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">For example in Philippines. </font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div>
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Every year, Philippines has to import rice. However, exports of major agricultural production such as coconut, tobacco, sugar ... are </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">not only offset the import </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">rice </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">costs but also redundant billions of dollars each year.</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">There are my little opinion. They have many errors. </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Thank you very much for reading</span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">. </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">I look forward hear your voice.</span></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Have a great day.</span><br></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Em Hương,</font></div></div><div><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
</font><div class="gmail_quote"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2013/6/9 Kieu Linh Valverde <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kieulinh@gmail.com" target="_blank">kieulinh@gmail.com</a>></span><br></font><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Hi, em Huong and Others,<br><br></font></div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Corporations have long known to run amok in the US so we do not have GMO labeling either. In fact, companies like Monsanto are suppose to be "self-governing," that means they are to conduce their own scientific research on the (potential) dangers of their products. All they really do is hire their own people to create reports that say their products are safe. <br>
<br></font></div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">I teach at the #1 agricultural school in the nation and Monsanto has deeply embedded itself in "research" here. So, dissent on the matter is crushed and departments like the humanities and social sciences will be eventually pushed out. These departments are in danger of extinction because we are the units that traditional investigate social ills/injustices and are the least funded. My "public" university takes in less than 10% government funding so the university increasingly falls into the hands of corporate agenda, including hiring professional managers and executives to make university policy instead of bringing them in from faculty ranks.<br>
<br></font></div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Beyond this vignette, GMO products are extremely harmful! Monsanto products, specifically, have caused cancer, birth defects, obesity...These are serious issues. At the very least, countries like the US and Viet Nam have to adopt GMO labeling. In both countries, Monsanto, and other like companies, have bought the policy makers.<br>
<br></font></div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">In the long term, there is push back internationally. Even poor countries like Zimbabwe and citizens groups in Bolivia, Guatemala and Nicaragua are
resisting U.S. supplied foods that contain transgenic corn, or maize. In this example, bringing in GMOs will wipe out the diversity of corn/maize in these countries. These are the staples for thousands of years for these people. Watch out for GMO rice in Viet Nam!<br>
<br>Viet Nam can potentially be a leader in producing organic foods and stake a market in the higher end and safe food export (and for in-country use) production. There is always some sacrifice a nation and its people must take for it to grow prosperous over time. The problem is the upper echelons of government are profiting at the expense of its people and the people are duped into thinking they are getting good food at cheaper prices, both proven false by research.<br>
<br></font></div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Kieu Linh<br></font></div><div class="gmail_extra"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br><br></font><div class="gmail_quote"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">On Sun, Jun 9, 2013 at 3:09 AM, Thu Hương Phạm <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:phamthuhuong1010@gmail.com" target="_blank">phamthuhuong1010@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
</font><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">I like tofu, soy milk, peanuts, corn.. Will I eat and drink them the least? Oh no.</font><div>
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
</font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Regards,</font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Em Hương,</font></div></div></div><div><div><div class="gmail_extra">
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br><br></font><div class="gmail_quote"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">
2013/6/9 Thu Hương Phạm <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:phamthuhuong1010@gmail.com" target="_blank">phamthuhuong1010@gmail.com</a>></span><br></font><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Hi chị Kieu Linh and all,</font><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Thank chị Linh for sharing the news.</font></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">In the news of ndhmoney (date: 11/3/2013) <a href="http://ndhmoney.vn/web/guest/s17/-/journal_content/map-mo-san-pham-bien-doi-gen" target="_blank">http://ndhmoney.vn/web/guest/s17/-/journal_content/map-mo-san-pham-bien-doi-gen</a> </font></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Although the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development does not allowed to plant GMOs but GMO products already on the market for years .<br>
</font></div><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Prof. Dr. Nguyen Lan Dung, General secretary of the Vietnam biology said, like it or not, Vietnam is also using GMO products. </font></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">For example:<br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div></div><div><div>
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><font color="#000000">1. Vietnam need about 3 million tons of </font>soybean to produce : cooking oil, soy sauce, tofu, soy milk, peanuts, animal feed processing ... But <font color="#000000">total production of the domestic soybean harvest is only 250,000 tons / year, so each year to import 2.5 to 2.7 million tons of of soy products. </font></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><font color="#000000">To import from the countries: USA, Argentina, Brazil. Paraguay. And more than 90% of the soybeans are GMO.</font><br>
</font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2. Corn is also the similar. <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">Every year we import more than 1.6 million tons of </span><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">genetically modified corn</span><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">.</span></font></div>
<div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></span></div><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">And almost, GMO products on the market did not have labels - "GMO".</font></div>
</div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Em Hương,<br></font></div></div></div>
<div><div><div class="gmail_extra"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br><br></font><div class="gmail_quote"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2013/6/9 Kieu Linh Valverde <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kieulinh@gmail.com" target="_blank">kieulinh@gmail.com</a>></span><br>
</font><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Hi, All,<br>
<br><span>The evils of <a href="http://fracturedparadigm.com/2013/04/15/monsantos-dirty-dozen-the-12-most-awful-products-made-by-monsanto/" target="_blank">Monsanto</a><span></span><span></span> with a history of
producing genetically modified crops, DDT, <b>agent orange</b>, plastics and
synthetic polystyrene,...has <a href="http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/pages/20130119-genetically-modified-organisms-worm-their-way-into-vietnam.aspx" target="_blank">returned to Viet Nam</a>. Does anyone have news on this trend?<br>
<br>
</span></font></div><div><span><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Regards,<br>Kieu Linh<span><font color="#888888"><br></font></span></font></span></div><span><font color="#888888" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><div>
<span><br><br><br></span><br></div><br><div><div><div class="gmail_extra">
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><span></span><span></span><a></a>Kiều-Linh Caroline Valverde<div>
Author of <i><a href="http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/2151_reg.html" target="_blank">Transnationalizing Viet Nam</a></i></div><div><i><br></i><div>Associate Professor, UC Davis</div><div>Asian American Studies Department</div>
<div><a href="http://kieulinh.com" target="_blank">kieulinh.com</a><br></div></div>
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</font></span></font></div></div></blockquote></div><span><font color="#888888" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><span></span><span></span><a></a>Kiều-Linh Caroline Valverde<div>
Author of <i><a href="http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/2151_reg.html" target="_blank">Transnationalizing Viet Nam</a></i></div>
<div><i><br></i><div>Associate Professor, UC Davis</div><div>Asian American Studies Department</div><div><a href="http://kieulinh.com" target="_blank">kieulinh.com</a><br></div></div>
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