Planet Diversity World Congress on the Future of Food and Agriculture

Actualité

01.01.1970

EU food and grain industries call for GMO flexibility

Leading companies in Europe?s vast food industry joined forces on Thursday with key players in much of the EU grain sector to demand tolerance for tiny amounts of genetically modified material not yet allowed in EU markets. EU feedmakers have long complained of problems sourcing raw material, warning that the consequences of Europe?s extreme caution and ?zero tolerance? of unauthorised GMOs, could be disastrous for the food and feed sectors. Europe?s food safety chief has already promised to draft a proposal before early August that would permit very limited amounts -- less than one percent -- of unauthorised GM material to be detected in imports of foods like maize, rice and soya.

01.01.1970

Irish Government Programme plans to develop country into GE free zone

Q. There is a belief that Minister Sargent came in and changed Ireland?s voting stance on Herculex maize. Is the Green Party now deciding Ireland?s policy on GM?
A. No, the situation is that there is a commitment in the Programme for Government that seeks to move towards a GM-free zone. That is aimed at discouraging the cultivation of GM crops in Ireland rather than a ban on imports. Ireland is heavily dependent on imports of feed from regions where GM crops dominate. It?s also worth noting that, to date, there has been no demand for the cultivation of GM crops in this country.

01.01.1970

Lithuanian retailer Rimi Lietuva introduces GE food labels

One of the largest retail networks in Lithuania ? Rimi Lietuva is the first in Lithuania to label products that contain genetically modified organisms (GMO) in its shopping centers, the company announced. [...] In the world genetically modified organisms have been applied to food since 1990. Soy, tomatoes, rice and maize are vegetables that are most frequently modified.

01.01.1970

Norwegian Reds and Greens rally against modified corn

The Socialist Left Party (SV) and agrarian Centre Party (SP) are in an uproar against the import of genetically modified corn. The Directorate for Nature Management has recommended that two types of modified corn be allowed for use as food, fodder and further processing, but not for cultivation. Lars Haltbrekken, leader of the environmental group Norges Naturvernforbund (Friends of the Earth Norway), supports the Directorate in their ban on growing modified crops, but rejects import as being hypocritical.

01.01.1970

GM maize MON810 planted in the Danube Delta (Romania) has been destroyed

The environmental organizations ?Save the Danube and the Delta?, ?Eco Pontica? and Greenpeace appreciate that the illegally cultivated GM maize MON810 in the Danube Delta has been destroyed. [...] ?We thank Mr Amihulesei for signalising this case. Cultivation of GM maize in a protected area - UNESCO World Nature Heritage such as the Danube Delta is a criminal act against biodiversity. It was a totally irresponsible and arrogant gesture of Monsanto, the company that produces MON810, and it was immediately taxed by the Government by destroying it.

01.01.1970

USDA top officials versus USDA data on increasing feed grains demand in China and India

Despite the repeated expectations that China would become a major importer of grains to feed the increased meat animal production, it has remained a net exporter of all grains since the 1996/1997 crop year. [...] As we have already seen, there is no demand for feed grains from China and India, and none from Indonesia and Brazil as well.

01.01.1970

South African draft law foresees Environmental Impact Assessment for GE crops

Sweeping changes to environmental laws - including much heftier fines and jail time for company directors who pollute South Africa?s air, water and soil - have been proposed in new draft regulations published in the Government Gazette. [...] Another major law change is the requirement that no more genetically modified crops should be planted without a comprehensive environmental impact assessment. This follows mounting concern that genetically modified crops developed by local and multinational seed groups could infest and cause irreversible damage to the genetic structure of wild plants, or become unmanageable ?super weeds?.

01.01.1970

EU food safety agency aims for more transparency

Amid growing criticism of its GMO bias and growing overall workload, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has decided to develop a database of external scientific experts to help the agency carry out risk assessments and enhance the transparency of the expert recruitment process. EFSA is the EU?s scientific risk assessment body on food and feed safety, nutrition, animal welfare, plant protection and health. Following its assessments, the Commission decides whether to authorise products on the European market.

01.01.1970

With GM taro bill, Hawai?i (USA) legislators catered to big business

Now that the dust has started to settle after the end of another legislative session, the public can once again be reassured that our representatives put aside the public interest in favor of directives given to them by big business, and the large land owners in the state.
A key bill that illustrates this point was SB-958, which called for a 10-year moratorium on research to genetically engineering (GE) the taro plant in Hawaii. [...] Despite this overwhelming public support for the moratorium, the legislature not only killed the bill, but earlier added a preemptive clause that would have prevented individual counties from enacting any local legislation restricting the planting of ANY GE crops on their counties.

01.01.1970

California?s (USA) GMO bill approved by senate

AB 541 is one step closer to becoming California?s first state law protecting farmers from the hazards of genetically engineered crops. Having already passed the Assembly, it passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on June 5th. It has the support of Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the California Farmers Union, California Certified Organic Farmers, the California Farm Bureau, the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, and many food safety and environmental organizations.

01.01.1970

Humble pie and boy scout ethics - the end of the GE crop dream

Historians will see 15 April 2008 as a milestone in science policy. It was the date when the GM crop dream was officially judged to be a fantasy. The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), the agricultural version of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), concluded ?that data on some GM crops indicate highly variable yield gains in some places and declines in others? ? as the Guardian put it.

01.01.1970

Hematech hopes cloning animals pays off for people

Ten years since its founding, Hematech is moving another step closer to its goal. The company recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a new building in Hudson, where it plans in June to begin production of human antibodies from genetically altered cattle. [...] Hematech's 80-acre site in Hudson will have one 14,000-square-foot building to house 35 to 40 so-called "transgenic" or cloned cattle. But within four to six years, that complex could grow to 10 buildings with up to 450 cattle, said Todd Stahl, president of the Hematech Genetic Advancement Center.

01.01.1970

Hematech hopes cloning animals pays off for people

Ten years since its founding, Hematech is moving another step closer to its goal. The company recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a new building in Hudson, where it plans in June to begin production of human antibodies from genetically altered cattle. [...] Hematech's 80-acre site in Hudson will have one 14,000-square-foot building to house 35 to 40 so-called "transgenic" or cloned cattle. But within four to six years, that complex could grow to 10 buildings with up to 450 cattle, said Todd Stahl, president of the Hematech Genetic Advancement Center.

01.01.1970

South Korea?s disgraced scientist goes into pet-coning business

Disgraced South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk has set up a bio-technology firm specializing in cloning pet animals, a scientist close to Hwang said Wednesday. Hwang, whose breakthrough human cloning research was later proved to be faked, recently established a new research firm in Seoul, said Park Se-pill, a Cheju National University professor and well-known stem cell scientist. Park said he spoke with Hwang a few days ago.

01.01.1970

Researchers block the transmission of malaria with GE mosquitoes

By genetically altering the malaria parasite through gene knock-out technology, a research team consisting of scientists at the University of Copenhagen and John Hopkins University, Baltimore, has prevented the parasite from going through the normal stages of its life cycle and developing a cyst (egg-like structure or occyst), which spawns new infectious parasites.? As it is exclusively the parasites from these oocysts that can infect new individuals, we were able to prevent the disease from being transmitted to the animals in our tests?, explains Assistant Professor, Peter Ellekvist.

01.01.1970

Ugandan scientists to produce GE animals to feed the people

THEY grow faster, are more productive and more resistant to disease. Ugandan scientists will soon start developing genetically-modified animals to increase meat and dairy production in the country. ?We are planning to start genetic modification of livestock to check the serious seed crisis in the country. Biotechnology is here with us and is the only way to go,? revealed Dr. Okasaai Opolot, the Commissioner for Crop Production and Marketing in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.

01.01.1970

Old McDonald had a pharm - on GE pharma animals

Encompassed by pastoral green fields, the headquarters of GTC Biotherapeutics looks like any other New England farmstead. But its serenity is deceiving. Behind barn doors, the farm?s most valuable employees -- a herd of pygmy goats from New Zealand -- are working round the clock, their milk glands churning out hundreds of gallons of high-grade pharmaceutical compounds. The white gold extracted from the goats? udders will someday command big bucks in the American healthcare marketplace -- or so GTC hopes. The company?s genetically modified animals possess a human gene that allows them to produce milk rich with a protein called antithrombin, which helps prevent blood clots from forming and staves off related conditions like heart attacks and strokes.

01.01.1970

Cloned animals research report shows strong consumer resistance in the UK

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has today published research into the views of the UK public about cloning animals, and cloned animals, their offspring and their products (such as milk and eggs) entering the food chain. [...] As participants learned about the current low efficiency rates of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) they became increasingly concerned about the impact the technique has on animal welfare. This became a significant factor behind their reluctance to accept food derived from cloned animals. Other ethical concerns raised were about where the technology is going and whether we, mankind, have the moral right to pursue such a course.

01.01.1970

The colour purple - The Bt brinjal controversy in India

?There was no barrier around the whole field and I visited the field five times, which should not have been allowed,? said Selvam. R. Selvam, president of the Erode District Organic Farmers Federation. First cotton; now brinjal. Both have their centre of origin in India and this must be one of the few countries where there has been very little debate on the safety or even necessity of genetically modified (GM) crops. While Bt cotton is already grow in in India, there are growing protests against the release of India?s first GM food crop: brinjal.

01.01.1970

Monsanto suggests provision for maintaining data confidentiality in Indian law

The seed multinational, Monsanto has suggested inclusion of the provision for maintaining data confidentiality in the draft National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill-2008. Monsanto India?s manager of regulatory affairs, Devraj Arya said : ?It is a good thing to have a single window clearance of genetically modified (GM) products, but the new law should ensure data confidentiality. This is absolutely necessary in the IPR regime and we cannot afford to stand the risk of making such sensitive data public.?

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