Actualité
11.11.2008
Newspaper brings to light abuses against poor farmers in Argentina
According to official statistics, between 2002 and 2006, more than 500,000 hectares were deforested to make way for genetically modified soybeans, Argentina’s main export crop. The advance of monoculture, besides destroying the area’s natural biodiversity, is also undermining the very survival of campesinos who have lived and farmed in the region for generations.
11.11.2008
Report cannot disprove links between Bt cotton and farmer suicides in India
The authors admit in the actual paper that the data is simply not available that would allow specific conclusions as to the numbers of Bt cotton farmers who have committed suicide: ”...none of the reported data sources on farmer suicide provide information about the concerned farmers’ characteristics.” [...] there’s nothing in this report to contradict the award-winning Indian development journalist P Sainath [...] calling the massive hyping of Bt cotton to poor debt-burdened dryland farmers as, ”murderous... stupid... killing”.
11.11.2008
Indian campaign against GM crops gaining momentum
The distinction between a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian might soon get blurred with the introduction of genetically modified crops. Now, imagine tomatoes, which are genetically modified with the gene of a pig. This has sparked a global campaign against genetically modified (GM) foods. Uttar Pradesh, too, has been engulfed in the campaign — ”I am no lab rat”.
11.11.2008
Austrian study shows fertility problems in mice fed with Monsanto’s NK603xMON810 Bt maize
The fertility of mice which have been fed with genetically modified maize NK603xMON810 of the U.S. agro-multi Monsanto is impaired significantly. This is the results of a long-term study published by the Austrian Ministry of Health in Vienna today. In contrast to mice fed with conventional maize, the treated animals gave birth to less and weaker offspring. Greenpeace calls for an immediate moratorium on genetically modified crops in the EU.
10.11.2008
Engineering a false hope
The recent spike in food prices, as well as concerns about what the future may hold, are weighing on the minds of people across the globe. The biotech industry is exploiting such worries and claiming, contrary to evidence, that genetically engineered (GE) crops must be accepted to help the world feed itself. The industry hopes to use these scare tactics to expand into the many countries, especially in Europe and the East, that have wisely rejected GE foods because their human health and environmental safety have not yet been assessed.
10.11.2008
Clinton at UN: food, energy, financial woes linked
”Food is not a commodity like others,” said Clinton, who heads an international non-governmental organization bearing his name. ”We should go back to a policy of maximum agricultural self-sufficiency,” Clinton said. While there would always be a global market for crops like rice, wheat and corn, he added, ”it is crazy for us to think we can develop a lot of these countries where I work without increasing their capacity to feed themselves and treating food like it was a color television set.”
10.11.2008
Indian Cotton farmers adopt Bollgard II in 4,5 mill acres
Due to improved yield and better control of pest-resistance, adoption of Bollgard II version of GM cotton has increased four-fold since its commercial launch in 2006 and area under cultivation has risen to 45 lakh [4,5 mill ac; 1,8 mill ha]. Of 172 lakh acres of total Bt cotton, farmers cultivated Bollgard II in 45.1 lakh acres and Bollgard in 127.2 lakh acres during kharif 2007-08 season, said Mahyco Monsanto Biotech, a 50:50 joint venture between Maharashtra-based seed firm Mahyco and global seed giant Monsanto.
10.11.2008
First GM canola crop delivered to silo in New South Wales (Australia)
THE first genetically-modified canola crop has been delivered into a silo in NSW, Monsanto Australia announced. Parkes farmer Graham Barron, who delivered his Roundup Ready canola crop to a silo at Grenfell this week, said in a statement issued by Monsanto that he was impressed by the results and with the supply chain processes.
- Weekly Times, Australia (07.11.2008): First GM canola crop delivered to silo
- The West Australian, Australia (08.11.2008): The good oil on GM canola
- Stock & Land, Australia (04.11.2008): GM crops ready to face first test
- Stock Journal, Australia (29.10.2008): SA waits on interstate GM yields
- Stock Journal, Australia (22.10.2008): GMs - is SA missing out?
10.11.2008
Australian farmers could face prosecution over GM canola
A growing number of Australian farmers who have signed on to grow genetically modified canola have begun to express growing concerns as to the ”onerous” obligations they are exposing themselves to. [...] The contract, as exposed in the Canberra Times recently, signifies that if the land is sold, contractual obligations are passed on to the new owner for up to two years after they have signed on the dotted line. The onerous liability in this situation means that the new owner could be liable for any breaches of the contract incurred by the previous owner.
10.11.2008
IRRI chief volunteers to be human guinea pig for GM rice
International Rice Research Institute chief Dr. Robert Zeigler has said he will be the first to eat genetically modified (GM) ”golden” rice when the IRRI introduces it in the Philippines in 2012 to show Filipinos it is both safe for human consumption and nutritious. IRRI scientists over the past 10 years have been investigating and field testing the safety of this GM rice invented by a Swiss plant biologist which contains beta-carotene. It is called ”golden” because the inserted beta-carotene turns the rice grains a golden yellow color. In a typical serving, golden rice can supply 10 percent of a person’s daily requirement of Vitamin A.
06.11.2008
Germany names little-known MP as farm minister
Ilse Aigner, a little-known backbench member of parliament, was officially named as Germany’s new Agriculture and Consumer Protection Minister on Friday. [...] She is an engineer and before entering parliament was involved in development of the Eurocopter helicopter project. [...] The opposition Green Party had claimed she supports an expansion of farming of genetically-modified organisms. Aigner said on television only that she would continue Seehofer’s current GMO policy.
06.11.2008
GE salmon hotly debated in the USA
Genetically engineered food: It’s either a great scientific leap forward, or a potentially dangerous experiment. And for the first time, the door is open to the possibility of genetically engineered meat and fish on grocery shelves. The idea is hotly debated. One of the first companies trying to bring this new food to the market is headquartered in Massachusetts. Aqua Bounty Technologies, based in Waltham, has created genetically engineered salmon.
06.11.2008
Argentine cow clones may help boost milk output
Argentine scientists have found a way to make cows produce more milk by injecting them with a bovine growth hormone produced by cloned and genetically modified dairy cows. Synthetic bovine somatotropin, which is also called rbST, is already injected into cows to boost milk production, but Argentine researchers say their method is cheaper and produces a natural bovine hormone.
06.11.2008
GE Free New Zealand brings GE animal trials to High Court
GE Free New Zealand is mounting a legal challenge to plans by AgResearch to extend transgenic animal research. The Crown Research Institute has applied to the Environmental Risk Management Authority to continue research into cows that have been genetically modified to include human proteins in their milk. [...] GE Free claims the applications lodged with ERMA are too general and do not give information on the risks, costs and benefits of the proposal.
- Radio New Zealand, New Zealand (04.11.2008): Lobby group seeks GE review by High Court
- GE free New Zealand in Food & Environment, New Zealand (03.10.2008): New Zealand stolen by stealth
- Organics Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand (30.10.2008): Genetically modified menagerie puts reputation at risk
- Stuff, New Zealand (25.10.2008): Ruakura transgenic cattle research awaits approval
06.11.2008
CIMMYT and KARI develop on-GE stem borer and drought-resistant maize for Kenyan farmers
Scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CYMMYT) and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute have said that they have developed a new maize variety which has resistance to pests and diseases. The new maize variety they said is not genetically modified but a hybrid seed which will be made readily available to farmers in six months time.
06.11.2008
Global partnership brings non-GE striga-resistant maize Kenyan markets
Work by a multilateral partnership has resulted in a promising Striga control measure that has recently started moving from the laboratory to farmers’ fields. The practice is based on a type of maize with a natural mutation that allows it to resist the chemical imidazolinone—active ingredient in many herbicides. Seeds of this imidazolinone-resistant maize are coated with a herbicide and, when sown, the coated seed kills sprouting Striga, allowing the crop to flourish.
05.11.2008
Soya - Paraguay’s painful harvest
The team discovers that the protest is part of a nationwide peasant uprising, pitting ordinary Paraguayans against a wave of soya farmers - mainly Brazilian - who they claim are colonising their country, pushing people aside and contributing to the almost total deforestation of the eastern provinces. Nearby, the team meets Pedro Silva, a seventy-one year old peasant who was shot five times by unknown assailants after he refused to sell up his smallholding to a soya farmer. Two Brazilians are currently awaiting trial for attempted murder.
05.11.2008
Monsanto invests in Brazilian sugarcane biofuels development
Monsanto is set to acquire Aly Participacoes Ltda., which operates the Brazilian sugarcane breeding and technology companies, CanaVialis S.A. and Alellyx S.A., it was announced today (3rd November). The deal, worth a reported $290 million, sees the purchase of the company from Votorantim Novos Negocios Ltda and will be completed as soon as practical. Monsanto explained that because the acquisition represents a long-term investment in research and development and breeding, it does not expect the acquisition to contribute to earnings until the middle of the next decade. The company additionally expects a purchase-accounting adjustment for in-process R&D.
05.11.2008
First foreign-funded crop research center opens in China
Swiss biotech company Syngenta has opened the first foreign-funded crop research organization in China. The Syngenta Biotechnology (China) Co Ltd., in the Zhongguancun Life Science Park, would focus on improving yields and drought resistance of crops like corn and soy, as well as conversion to biofuels. ”China is increasingly recognized for the scale and caliber of its biotech expertise in agriculture,” said Wang Xun, president of Syngenta Biotechnology China.
05.11.2008
Ecological Society of the Philippines urges government to guard against entry of GMO products
The Ecological Society of the Philippines is urging the government to initiate testing procedures to determine whether any of the crops and consumer goods imported from abroad and sold in the market today contain so-called genetically modified organisms. ”This is a serious problem. Genetically modified crops are not safe beyond reasonable doubt. It has been banned in other countries, especially in Europe, and the government should protect us from the influx of imported GMOs,” said ESP president Antonio M. Claparols.
