CLONING UPDATE, AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

The Earth is not dying, it is being killed by corporations such as those in the biotechnology industry, and the people who are killing it have names and addresses.

The biotechnology industry is moving forward with its crusade to redesign life into packets of optimum profitability and convenience. In the first part of our series to identify these eco-terrorists, the leaders of the cloning industry were exposed. What follows is an update on cloning and more information about genetic engineering and the six members of the recently formed Agriculture Biotechnology Council. (ABC).

The Cloning Industry

Cloning scientists are working on replicating pets and endangered species to make their wacky Frankenscience more palatable to the public and even more profitable for themselves. With funding from the Apollo Group, Mark Westhusin from Texas A&M University, together with Lou Hawthorne, chief executive office (CEO) of Genetic Savings and Clone, Inc. (GSC) successfully produced the first cat clone in December. According to GSC’s website, which features a photo of the kitten “CC” in a glass beaker, GSC is expecting to begin commercial cat cloning later this year and is working on cloning the first dog, Missy. Westhusin can be contacted at m-westhusin@tamu.edu. Hawthorne and GSC can be contacted at GSC Texas Office, 3312 Longmire Dr., College Station, TX 77845; GSC California Office, 80 Liberty Ship Way Ste 22, Sausalito, CA 94965; (888) 833-6063; info @savingsandclone.com; www.savingsandclone.com.

Also active in this area are Betsy Dresser, senior vice president of research for the Audubon Nature Institute and director of the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species, www.auduboninstitute.org, and Richard Denniston, CEO of Lazaron Biotechnologies, Louisiana Business and Technology Center, South Stadium Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803; (888) 882-8918; rdenniston@agctr.lsu.edu; www.lazaron.com.

What these examples illustrate is that all the industry talk about developing cloning for disease therapy is merely misleading propaganda. It is a business, nothing more, and if public acceptance can be gained through selling clones of Fluffy, this opens the way to any application.

Meanwhile, Infigen, the self-acclaimed “leading livestock cloning firm” and patent holder of nuclear transfer cloning technology, announced in February that it had successfully cloned prize boars. Chief Financial Officer Eric Postel said, “We wouldn’t do it if we couldn’t make some money.” He can be contacted at Infigen, Inc., 1825 Infinity Drive, De Forest, WI 53532; (608) 846-0500; www.infigen.com.

Even more ominously, Dr. Lu Guangxiu at Xiangya Medical College in Changsa, China, claims to have cloned dozens of human embryos since 1999. There are reportedly at least three other teams in China that are also active. (US scientists are demanding the right to clone humans, stating that otherwise there will be a “cloning gap.”)

Scientists in China and South Korea have been attempting cross-species cloning. In Korea, Hwang Woo Suk of Seoul National University tried to clone a Siberian tiger in both domestic cat and lion eggs, and Dr. Park Se Pil, director of the Maria Infertility Medical Institute in Seoul, put human DNA in cow eggs.

Genetic Engineering

Moving on to genetic engineering for agriculture, the ABC represents the top corporations of the industry and is dedicated to the end of free choice for consumers and farmers. ABC members include:

Monsanto, 800 North Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63167, www.monsanto.com, 314-694-1000

The “vision” of Monsanto is: “Abundant food and a healthy environment.” How disingenuous. Everyone at Monsanto is an eco-terrorist.

The people at the top are:
Hedrick Verfaillie, President&CEO
Hugh Grant, EVP&COO
Dr. Robert Fraley, EVP&Chief Technology Officer
Cheryl Morley, President Animal Agriculture Group
Janet Holloway, Chief Propaganda and Reeducation (Information) Officer
Sarah Hull, SVP Public Affairs

To give an idea of how well corporate eco-crime pays, Verfaillie in 2000 had an annual salary of $850,000, a bonus of $925,000, and a stock option grant of over one million shares that will yield a gain of $34 million if the stock price rises ten percent.

A list of Monsanto’s many research locations can be found through their website.

Aventis CropScience U.S. HQ, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park (Raleigh), NC, 27709, 919-549-2000

Alain Godard, CEO CropScience. Aventis CropScience is being acquired by Bayer, so the names and executives may change. CropScience locations worldwide are available through www.cropscience.aventis.com.

Research locations in the U.S. and Canada include:
Canada HQ: 295 Henderson Dr., Regina, SK, S4N 6C2, 306-721-4500
Seed/Crop Improvement: 103 Erskine St., Lubbock, TX, 79403, 806-765-8844
Biotech Research and Plant Breeding: 407 Downey Rd., Innovation Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 4L8, 306-477-9400
Field Research Stations:
26-395 Park St., Regina, SK, S4N 5B2, 306-761-4604
204-1144 29th Av. N.E., Calgary, AB, T2E 7P1, 403-250-7294
206 Kennedy Flat Rd., Leland, MS, 38756, 662-686-9323
21 County Road 1200 North, White Heath, IL, 61884, 217-687-4013
11504 County Road 17 South, Horace, ND, 58047, 701-281-3093
2996 Crabtree Church Rd., Molina, FL, 32577, 850-587-2122
266 S. Monroe, Fresno, CA, 93706, 559-650-5088

BASF Agricultural Products Global HQ, 3000 Continental Drive North, Mount Olive, NJ, 07828, 973-426-2600, www.agro.basf.com

Peter Oakley, head of Agricultural Products

Regional HQ, 26 Davis Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, 919-547-2000.
Agricultural Research Stations:
Dinuba ARS, 10181 Av. 416, Dinuba, CA, 93618, 559-591-2548
Greenville ARS, 103 BASF Rd., Greenville, MS, 38701, 662-335-4737
Holly Springs ARS, State Road 1125, Holly Springs, NC 27540, 919-552-7342
El Campo ARS, Houston, TX, 77272, 979-543-2165
Agricultural production sites:
14385 West Port Arthur Rd., Beaumont, TX, 77705, 409-981-5000
3150 Highway JJ, Palmyra, MO, 63461, 573-769-2011

Dow AgroSciences, 9330 Zionsville Rd., Indianapolis, IN, 46268, 317-337-3000, www.dowagro.com

Charles Fisher, President&CEO AgroSciences
Richard Gross, CorpVP R&D
Larry Washington, Jr., CorpVP Environment

U.S. research locations:
1736 North 1200 East, Fowler, IN, 47944, 765-583-3470
7521 W. California Av., Fresno, CA, 93706, 559-494-3320
753 Hwy. 438, Greenville, MS, 38701, 662-378-8989
5501 Oberlin Dr., San Diego, CA, 92121, 858-352-4400
Mycogen Seeds, 19 Huaai Rd., Kaunakakai, Molokai, HI, 96748, 808-567-6871

Dupont, 107 Market Street, Wilmington, DE, 19898, 800-441-7515, www.dupont.com

Howard Minigh, Group VP Agriculture&Nutrition
James Borel, GM Crop Protection
Erik Fyrwald, GM Nutrition&Health
James Howser, President Specialty Grains
Richard McConnell, President Pioneer Hi-Bred

Syngenta, Agribusiness Regional HQ, 2 Righter Parkway, POB 15458, Wilmington, DE, 19805, 302-476-2000, www.syngenta.com

Heinz Imhof, Chmn. Synegnta
Michael Pragnell, CEO
John Atkin, COO Crop Protection
Jeffrey Beard, COO Seeds Business
David Evans, Research&Technology

Other facilities:
Biotechnology Research, 3054 Cornwallis Rd., Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, 919-541-8500
Crop Protection Regional HQ, POB 18300, Greensboro, NC, 27409, 335-632-6000
Crop Protection Western Research Center, 1200 South 47th St., Richmond, CA 94804
Crop Protection Torrey Mesa Research Inst., 3115 Merryfield Row #100, San Diego, CA 92121

Lastly, it should be noted that the ABC trade group is distinct from the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, a nonprofit organization comprised mainly of university researchers in agricultural genetic engineering and which happens to be having its annual conference May 19-21 at the Radisson Hotel Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For more information, visit www.coafes.umn.edu/nabc2002.