Actualité
12.02.2010
Italian court overturns national GE crop ban
The highest appeals court in Italy has overturned a standing ban on the cultivation of genetically modified plants. The Ministry of Agriculture and a majority of the population seem otherwise inclined. According to London weekly Agra Europe, the highest court in Italy has instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to allow the planting of genetically modified (GM) maize.
11.02.2010
Agitation against Bt Brinjal was well-orchestrated says former Monsanto official
A former senior Monsanto official today said he wasn?t surprised by the government?s moratorium on commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal, noting that the agitation against the genetically-modified variety of the vegetable was ?well-orchestrated, loud and united?. [...] ?The agitation against Bt Brinjal was so demonstrative, well-orchestrated, loud and united as compared to lacklustre and hesitant efforts by most of the protagonists,? [former head of Monsanto Research Centre TM Manjunath] said.
- DNA India, India (09.02.2010): Agitation against Bt Brinjal was well-orchestrated: Monsanto official
- The Wall Street Journal, USA (11.02.2010): India?s genetically modified mistake
- The Times of India, India (11.02.2010): Bt brinjal bytes
- The Financial Express, India (10.02.2010): Column : It passed science, but failed politics
- Business Week, USA (10.02.2010): India rejects first GM vegetable, hampering Monsanto
- Thaiindian News, Tailand (10.02.2010): Monsanto to continue research on GM crops in India
11.02.2010
Indian activists, scientists and NGOs support decision on Bt brinjal
Terming Jairam Ramesh?s step as a correct one, agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan said: ?This is a breathing spell to clear the apprehensions of public, states and scientists and develop a regulatory mechanism to inspire public confidence and remove fears about Bt brinjal.? He added that the ministry has not pushed it under the carpet. ?This breathing spell should be used to carefully look at the situation for everyone?s concern,? he said.
- Business Standard, India (10.02.2010): Activists, scientists and NGOs support decision on Bt brinjal
- Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA) (10.02.2010): Bishop applauds delay over hybrid eggplants
- Centre for Science and Environment, India (CSE) (09.02.2010): CSE supports environment minister on Bt-brinjal
- Greenpeace India, India (09.02.2010): Moratorium on Bt Brinjal, not a long-term solution!
- Inter Press Service News Agency, Italy (09.02.2010): India bans farming of GM aubergine
11.02.2010
Senior Indian scientists Swaminathan and Bhargava support Bt brinjal moratorium
Swaminathan had advised Ramesh to assess the chronic effects of the consumption of the brinjal through studies at the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, and the Central Food Technology Research Institute, Mysore. His views appear to reflect concerns expressed by environmental groups and other scientists that the safety tests conducted on animals were entirely sponsored by the developers of the brinjal and not performed by independent laboratories.
11.02.2010
Ramesh for biotech in public domain
Stressing that India needed to look at its seed industry, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today said he believed in the fundamental primacy of the public sector seed industry. ?The first Indian public sector Bt cotton is in the market and we can?t depend on private sector biotechnology in agriculture, which is different from that in health. Biotechnology in agriculture must remain overwhelmingly with the public sector,? he said.
- Business Standard, India (10.02.2010): Ramesh for biotech in public domain
- DNA India, India (11.02.2010): Bt Brinjal leads to research rethink
- The Economic Times, India (10.02.2010): Confusion over Bt brinjal curbs
- Express Buzz, India (10.02.2010): TNAU puts Bt brinjal project on the backburner
- The Hindu, India (10.02.2010): Research on GM crops may slow down
11.02.2010
Different set of standards needed for GM food crops says Indian Environment Minister
Q: Does your report set the standards required for clearance of all future GM food crops even though this is for a specific case?
A: Absolutely, for food crops. [...] We should have a different set of standards for food crops. I am persuaded by the argument that many doctors, including the DG of ICMR, feel standards should be stricter than for drugs because food is something you consume every day, not just when you are sick.
11.02.2010
Legitimacy of safety tests cooks Bt brinjal?s fate
The main issue that seemed to have worked against granting clearance to Mahyco?s Bt brinjal was the tests undertaken for establishing its safety, both from the human consumption as well as the environment angle. In this case, the data as well as the tests were carried out by the developer itself and not in any independent laboratory. ?This does raise legitimate doubts on the reliability of the tests, doubts that I cannot ignore,? said the Union Minister for Environment Minister and Forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh
- The Hindu Business Line, India (09.02.2010): Legitimacy of safety tests cooks Bt brinjal?s fate
- The Economic Times, India (11.02.2010): Final decision on Bt Brinjal to take six years?
- The Hindu, India (10.02.2010): It?s moratorium on Bt brinjal: Jairam
- Thaiindian News, Tailand (09.02.2010): Chief ministers influenced Ramesh?s Bt Brinjal decision
- DNA India, India (10.02.2010): Opposition-ruled states forced brinjal rethink
- Business Standard, India (10.02.2010): Ministry nod needed for new seed: Pawar
10.02.2010
Mexico starts planting GM corn, activists appeal
Capping a decade-long battle, private companies in Mexico have begun the first legal plantings of genetically modified corn, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday. Environmentalists and farm groups announced they have filed an appeal with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, arguing the government has been unwilling or unable to halt the illicit spread of GM crops in Mexico, the birthplace of corn.
10.02.2010
GM wheat rejected by 233 consumer and farmer groups in 26 countries
233 consumer and farmer groups in 26 countries have joined the ?Definitive Global Rejection of GM Wheat? statement to stop the commercialization of genetically modified wheat and remind the biotechnology corporation Monsanto that genetically modifying this major crop is not acceptable to farmers or consumers. The 233 groups signed the rejection statement first launched by 15 Australian, Canadian and U.S. farmer and consumer groups in June 2009.
10.02.2010
Alarm raised over illegal GM crop samples in Thailand
Genetically-modified chilli and soybean have been found growing in farms in the North and Central Plains, fuelling concerns over the possible spread of the banned crops. Farmer advocacy group Biothai and the Academic Network on Bio-Resources Protection yesterday released the lab results of 768 crop samples, including maize, rice, papaya, soybean, chilli, pineapple, cotton, tomato and sunflower, which show 17 of the samples are GM crops.
10.02.2010
Brazilian farmers declare war on Monsanto
Growers in Mato Grosso have declared war against Monsanto, the multinational corporate owner of the GMO soya technology known as RR. After exhausting all attempts to engage the company in dialogue, the growers are now considering legal action. In Cuiaba, Aprosoja is preparing a lawsuit. In Sinop the growers are looking to sue the company as well. Aprosoya wants to determine if the royalty fee paid by the soya growers is actualy due.
10.02.2010
Who is Brazil catering to in approving Bayer?s new controversial rice?
It is possible that Brazil may win a sad new title in 2010: the first country in the world to license the commercial planting of a new variety of genetically-modified rice, Bayer?s LL62. If CTNBio approves the proposal at a meeting later this month, the rice will be the 20th genetically-modified product grown commercially in the country.
10.02.2010
Biotechnology scientists and donors blast Ethiopia?s bio safety law
Tilahun Zewelde is a former plant scientist at the Ethiopian Research Organization. He now work at Uganda?s Agriculture Biotechnology Support Program. Speaking at this week?s meeting, he charged Ethiopia?s law was written by environmental extremists and adopted without review by a parliament that had no idea of its consequences. [...] Togolese scientist Jacob Mignouna is Technical Director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation. He says the law rejects conclusive evidence about the safety of genetically modified organisms in common use.
09.02.2010
India places indefinite moratorium on the commercial release of Bt Brinjal
Placing an indefinite moratorium on the commercial release of Bt Brinjal, which would otherwise have been the first genetically modified food crop in India, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Tuesday said he took the ?precautionary approach? as there was no clear consensus on the subject among Indian scientists. ?Impose a moratorium on the release of Bt Brinjal till such time that independent scientific studies establish satisfaction of both public and professionals, the safety of the product from the point of view of long-term impact on human health and environment,? Ramesh said at a press conference here.
09.02.2010
India awaits go-ahead on first GM crop despite scientists? warnings
India will decide tomorrow whether to approve its first genetically modified (GM) food crop. It is a move that supporters argue will help to avert a global food crisis but which critics say is being rushed through recklessly. The new vegetable, an aubergine — or brinjal in Hindi — contains a toxic gene that poisons insect pests and will boost yields while reducing dependence on pesticides, its champions say. It would also open up the world?s second most-populous nation to at least 56 other GM crops that are in the final stages of development.
- The Times, UK (09.02.2010): India awaits go-ahead on first GM crop despite scientists? warnings
- The Hindu, India (09.02.2010): BT Brinjal issue: CPI seeks PM?s intervention
- MyNews.com, India (09.02.2010): Pawar passes buck over Jairam in Bt Brinjal case
- Express Buzz, India (09.02.2010): Don?t allow GM varieties into India: Uncage
- Indian Law News, India (09.02.2010): PIL against safe recognition for Bt brinjal in Madras HC
09.02.2010
Monsanto 'faked' data for approvals claims its ex-chief
Jagadisan, who worked with Monsanto for nearly two decades, including eight years as the managing director of India operations, spoke against the new variety during the public consultation held in Bangalore on Saturday. On Monday, he elaborated by saying the company ?used to fake scientific data? submitted to government regulatory agencies to get commercial approvals for its products in India.
09.02.2010
Bt brinjal approval key to progress in Indian GM rice trials
The Government?s decision whether to allow or not allow commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal holds the key for further trials in genetically modified (GM) rice. ?Bt brinjal is the first product that has come up for approval. The Government?s decision will pave the way for other GM crops,? said a research scientist. ?At least, 25 separate trials are being held in GM rice. In some cases, the first bio-safety research trials have been completed. Six private firms and some 15 universities are carrying out research on genetically modified rice,? said an official of Greenpeace India.
- The Hindu Business Line, India (07.02.2010): Bt brinjal holds the key to progress in GM rice trials
- Hindustan Times, India (07.02.2010): Bt brinjal: Philippines, Bangla watching India
- DNA India, India (09.02.2010): Brinjal hurdle not overcome, firms line up GM rice, bhindi
- The Independent, UK (09.02.2010): India?s new delicacy: a 45-day-old tomato
- The Hindu, India (04.02.2010): Tomatoes that keep longer
09.02.2010
Clinton aide in Delhi on Bt Brinjal decision day
US diplomat Nina Fedoroff, science and technology adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, arrived in the national capital late Monday. She is here on an official visit. Fedoroff made it to New Delhi just in time for the much-awaited decision on the commercial release of Bt Brinjal, expected Tuesday evening. In the past, she has often urged Indian industry to boost research and development for transgenic crops like Bt Brinjal.
09.02.2010
More Indian States appeal Centre not to permit Bt Brinjal
Gujarat Government has appealed to the Centre to defer its move to give approval for commercial farming of Bt Brinjal in the country. ?The Centre should take into account the views of all stakeholders and conduct a long-term research on Bt Brinjal?s bio-safety and its consequent contributions to food security and farmers? well being,? Gujarat Agriculture Minister Dilip Sanghani told PTI over phone today.
- Business Standard, India (09.02.2010): Gujarat appeals Centre not to permit Bt Brinjal
- Press Trust of India, India (09.02.2010): AP committee suggests more studies on Bt Brinjal
- Hindustan Times, India (08.02.2010): Karnataka to impose ban on Bt Brinjal
- HimVani, India (09.02.2010): Himachal puts embargo on introducing Bt Brinjal
08.02.2010
All-Indian farmer organisation BKS supports GE crops
Jairam Ramesh Bharat Krishak Samaj (BKS), a leading all-India organisation of farmers, has come out in support of genetically modified crops, saying their use will help cut down expenses on pesticides for better returns on yields. BKS urged the government to also promote research on crop biotechnology to evolve varieties that could withstand drought and erratic weather.
