Planet Diversity World Congress on the Future of Food and Agriculture

Noticias

01.01.1970

Monsanto's 'healthy bacon' patents raise questions

Patent applications covering the enhancement of meat, including pork with omega-3 fatty acids, are stimulating debate over the ethics and legalities of claiming intellectual property over food. [... Greenpeace] says even if [Monsanto] do not claim ownership of the meat Monsanto might still claim royalties on meat product sales that have been produced using their transgenic feed. Pig industry sources say Monsanto's SDA soybean is a novel way to increase omega-3 levels in pigs but some question whether patent authorities would grant Monsanto ownership to omega-3-enriched meat.

01.01.1970

Illinois (USA) farmers launch PR campaign to fight critical views on industrial agriculture

Illinois farmers launched a new public relations campaign Tuesday to improve their image after research showed that consumers like farmers but have doubts about modern farming methods. Groups representing corn, soybean and livestock farmers announced the campaign at the Illinois State Fair. Representatives said they're particularly concerned about the effect movies such as "King Corn" And "Food, Inc." - both critical of large-scale farming practices - on public perceptions about food safety and environmental damage to land and water.

01.01.1970

Indian Biotech Regulatory Authority bill for safety and efficacy: Ramesh

The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority bill, scheduled to be introduced in Parliament imminently, will not open the floodgates to genetically modified (GM) food. Infact, it has maintained the integrity of both the environmental assessment process and the public consultation process, environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh said today.

01.01.1970

Italian farmer pushes genetically modified crops

"Our biggest goal is to show consumers that it is safe to eat," said the 49-year-old advocate of what's known as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. More activist than farmer, Fidenato's cultivation of nearly 5 hectares, or 12 acres, of genetically modified corn is a rogue act aimed at forcing the legalization of genetically engineered crops in Italy. He waxes on about their benefits: They require fewer chemicals and produce higher yields and greater profits.

01.01.1970

Environment and indigenous land rights: Soy as source of conflict in Paraguay

As the global demand for soy rises, Paraguay has become the world's fastest-growing producer of the crop. But with resulting riches have also come battles over land rights and environmental concerns. [...] This growth has come at a price though, creating social disputes and land rights issues for the country's small-scale farmers, known also as campesinos, as well as environmental and health concerns.

01.01.1970

Threats deny community access to lecture on glyphosate hazards in Argentina

On Saturday 7 August, community activists from La Leonesa, a small town located within an area of large scale rice production in the Argentinian Chaco Department, went to attend a talk that was to be given by Professor Andres Carrasco, a scientist and doctor from the Buenos Aires University Medical School [highlighting] negative effects of glyphosate, a commonly-used agro-chemical, on embryos. [...] the talk was suspended because the delegation was attacked by a group of around 100 people who threatened them and beat them.

01.01.1970

Australia's major parties fail on gene manipulation policies

Gene Ethics? election survey found both major parties are very aware of deep community concerns over Genetically Manipulated Organisms (GMOs) on farms and in food. But unlike the Greens, neither the ALP nor the Coalition would commit to strengthen the law or regulatory systems. ?This complacency over GM threats means the Greens? clear support for GM-free futures and precaution on GM food and crops will be crucial if they hold the balance of power in the next parliament,? says Gene Ethics Executive Director, Bob Phelps.

01.01.1970

Indian GM chicken experiment terminated by biosafety authority

A central government committee has taken action against a Hyderabad institute for carrying out an experiment to create India's first genetically modified (GM) chickens in violation of government rules. When a government panel found the experiment was conducted without proper bio-safety conditions, it ordered the destruction of the GM chickens [...] In all, 263 chicks were hatched for the experiment of which 16 were found positive for the gene protein. Of these, seven died earlier, and the committee ordered the remaining nine - seven males and two females - be destroyed by autoclaving.

01.01.1970

The future of biotechnology patents in the European Union

A recent Court of Justice of the European Union opinion in Monsanto Technology LLC v. Cefetra BV et al. may unintentionally inflict serious economic harm on the European biotechnology industry. In its ruling, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) interpreted Directive 98/44/EC in the context of patent infringement as requiring functionality for there to be infringement of important types of claims.

01.01.1970

Kenya tests GM cotton for production

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) enacted in February 2009 is expected to provide legal framework to allow the safe cultivation of genetically modified crops in the country. Confined field trials currently underway, will by the end of the year determine whether genetically engineered cotton can be adopted commercially in Kenya.

01.01.1970

Tanzania to grow genetically modified cotton, triple output, Tanzania Cotton Board says

Tanzania will start growing genetically modified cotton and offer credit to farmers to almost triple the country?s output, the Tanzania Cotton Board said. [...] ?The timeline for introduction of BT has not been charted but the legal framework is in place,? he said. ?Results from the pilot indicates that productivity will go up as farmers will receive inputs on credit, reliable extension services will be provided in collaboration of the private sector and the government.?

01.01.1970

Turkish goverment announces new bylaw on GMO products

New arrangement that will take effect on September 26 includes provisions on import, export, labelling, sales, marketing, inspection, control and processing of GMO products in Turkey. Under the new GMO bylaw, the ban on use of genetically-modified organisms and products in baby food will continue in line with Biosafety Law. Prohibition on production of genetically-modified plants and animals in Turkey will go on as well.

01.01.1970

GM sugar beets put back under USDA regulation

It is like GM sugar beets hit a home run, but if they want to remain in the game they have to go back to first base. The San Francisco judge ordered Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack to put Monsanto's Genuity Roundup Ready sugar beets back under USDA regulation, but did not impose any immediate ban on further planting, cultivation, and processing as plaintiffs led by the Center for Food Safety wanted.

01.01.1970

Judge revokes U.S.D.A. approval of modified sugar beets

A federal district court judge revoked the government?s approval of genetically engineered sugar beets Friday, saying that the Agriculture Department had not adequately assessed the environmental consequences before approving them for commercial cultivation. The decision, by Judge Jeffrey S. White of Federal District Court in San Francisco, appears to effectively ban the planting of the genetically modified sugar beets, which make up about 95 percent of the crop, until the Agriculture Department prepares an environmental impact statement and approves the crop again, a process that might take a couple of years.

01.01.1970

Genetically engineered salmon under FDA consideration

AquaBounty is seeking FDA approval for a genetically engineered fish that reaches market weight in half the usual time. [...] With a global population pressing against food supplies and vast areas of the ocean swept clean of fish, tiny AquaBounty Technologies Inc. of Waltham, Mass., says it can help feed the world. [...] it hopes to avoid the pollution, disease and other problems associated with saltwater fish farms by having its salmon raised in inland facilities.

01.01.1970

U.S. unsure if cloned meat has been sold in Canada

The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on Tuesday said he doesn't know whether cloned cows or their offspring have made it into the North American food supply. [...] Vislack said that because science is often "ahead of the regulatory process and ahead of the ethics discussion," the U.S. will continue their "moratorium" on not allowing the sale of meat from cloned animals until the products are widely accepted as safe.

01.01.1970

GMO canola found growing wild in North Dakota (USA)

a recent study found wild, or ?volunteer,? canola growing all over the state along roads, ditches and in soybean fields, much of it the genetically modified kind that is impervious to the popular herbicide Roundup. Nothing new about a crop growing wild from stray seeds here and there. But researchers say it?s the first time such ?feral? plants are GMOs. No biggie, say some. Others say it is a harbinger of the unintended consequences of messing with plant genes.

01.01.1970

Monsanto spent $2.18 million lobbying U.S. government in 2Q

Monsanto Co. spent $2.18 million in the second quarter to lobby the federal government on a proposed changes to U.S. patent law and other issues that could affect the world's largest seed company, according to a disclosure report. The company lobbied the U.S. Department of Justice and Congress on antitrust and consolidation issues in agriculture.

01.01.1970

Indian poor starve while grain rots in depots

In the village of Danapur in Eastern India, villager Rita says she has had nothing to feed her son for four days. [...] Yet the government has record amounts of surplus stocks: 59 million tons of wheat and rice. It does have a huge public distribution system that provides free food to families below the poverty line. But corruption and complex bureaucracy means the poorest of the poor often don't make it onto the list.

01.01.1970

On Syngenta?s non-GE drought resistant maize and GE wheat plans

Agrisure Artesian is not genetically modified, rather it relies on advanced corn breeding techniques to improve the plant's water efficiency. Syngenta is the first seed company to launch a water optimization corn hybrid [...] There is no yield penalty if there is plenty of moisture and Agrisure Artesian is grown.

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