Actualité
10.10.2008
Far North District Council (New Zealand) joins regional survey on GMOs
The Far North District Council will take part in regional consultation to find out what people think about the outdoor use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Northland. [...] Far North Mayor Wayne Brown says there are too many unanswered questions regarding the use of GMOs and their release into the environment and the Government needs to take a lead role rather than leaving the burden with local authorities. ”We’ve got enough to think about attending to our core business like roads, water, sewerage and waste,” he said. ”We are not prepared to accept liability for GMO use and commit our ratepayers to accept financial responsibility for cleaning up environmental damage and compensating for economic loss that could result from their use.
10.10.2008
AgResearch health focus in GM pharma work
AgResearch scientists are working with commercial drug companies to develop genetically modified medicines, considering breast cancer drug Hercepton, Interferon, which slows the onset of multiple sclerosis, and human lactoferrin. The company’s applied biotechnologies manager, Jimmy Suttie, said AgResearch had been involved in genetic modification (GM) technology for eight years and viewed biopharming, or the production of pharmaceutical proteins in milk, as a suitable application given widely-used drugs were coming off patent in the next three years.
10.10.2008
Hawai’i County (USA) bans genetic modification of taro, coffee
The Hawai’i County Council has voted unanimously to ban the genetic modification of taro and coffee. The council on Wednesday voted 9-0 in favor of a bill making it illegal to ”test, propagate, cultivate, raise, plant, grow, introduce or release” genetically engineered taro and coffee. About 70 residents testified on the bill in Hilo, while about 30 spoke via teleconference from council offices in Waimea and Kona. A vast majority spoke in favor of the ban. The council has already passed a resolution asking state lawmakers to prohibit genetically modified taro and coffee. But two separate measures that would have done so failed in the Legislature this year.
- West Hawaii Today, USA (09.10.2008): Council bans GMO taro, coffee
- The Molokai Dispatch, USA (10.10.2008): GMO: A technology of agri-business
- Star Bulletin, USA (09.10.2008): Big Isle debates genetic crop bill
- The Honolulu Advertiser, USA (10.10.2008): Hawai’i County bans genetic modification of taro, coffee
10.10.2008
New GM regulations give greater assurances in New Zealand
New regulations for the conditional release of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) will provide greater assurance for industry and the public in regard to traceability and segregation, Environment Minister Trevor Mallard announced today. ”The regulations, gazetted today and effective from 7 November 2008 (28 days after gazettal), tighten up the regime around the ability to segregate and trace conditionally released GMOs,” Trevor Mallard said. ”The changes are the result of the cooperation agreement with the Green Party.
10.10.2008
Food Authority critic calls for regained control of regulation in New Zealand
The Sustainability Council is calling for New Zealand to regain control of its food safety regulation, by renegotiating a trans-Tasman agreement on food standards. The council says the national regulator, the Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), last year shopped for a more palatable assessment of the safety of a genetically-engineered maize after it received an unfavourable evaluation from state science company, Environmental Science and Research (ESR). ”New Zealand can, in theory, go its own way and decline approval for a particular new food,” said the council’s executive director, Simon Terry.
- The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand (10.10.2008): Food Authority critic calls for regained control of regulation
- The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand (10.10.2008): Lobbyist queries agency actions over GM corn
- Sustainability Council of New Zealand, New Zealand (10.10.2008): ESR questions safety of a GM food - NZFSA shops for ”updated” advice
- Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand (23.09.2008): Pharmac, GE free, ownership at risk in US trade deal
09.10.2008
Pharming (Netherlands) provides new data on Rhucin drug from GE rabbits
During the presentation of Dr. Pinto, which will be available on Pharming’s website, data will be shown that illustrate the marked progress made over the last few months in the development of its late stage product, Rhucin®. In particular, much focus was given on the analysis of patients receiving repeat treatments of Rhucin® and patients suffering from severe attacks which were of concern to regulatory authorities earlier this year.
09.10.2008
Dolly designer moves beyond cloning
South Koreans have touted their sophistication in cloning technology, but it remains to be seen whether recent innovations in science would render their skills irrelevant. Ian Wilmut, the Scottish gene scientist who created Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal, made headlines last year when he declared he was abandoning cloning and switching to a new method that involves genetically modifying adult cells to behave like stem cells. The alternative technology, pioneered by the likes of Kyoto University scientist Shinya Yamanaka, has allowed researchers to create stem cells from fragments of skin, thus removing the need to use human embryos.
09.10.2008
International civil society organisations write to Kenyan President over GM crops bill
International Civil Societies have appealed to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to oppose the adoption of the Bio-Safety Bill 2008. In an open letter, the 53 organisations cautioned the Bill would expose Kenyans to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). They said the Bill did not abide by the precautionary principles, relied on experience in other countries, had flawed regulatory structure and lacked public participation.
09.10.2008
Zambia’s molecular biology lab ’ fully functioning’ at last
Zambia’s first molecular biology laboratory is fully up and running, following three years of equipment delays and staff shortages. The National Biotechnology Laboratory, run by the National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR), was originally intended to be operational in December 2006 (see Zambia builds high-tech lab to detect GM food). But it only began functioning fully this year - despite officially opening on 27 April 2007, says NISIR research and development manager Ray Handema.
09.10.2008
Europeans reject animal cloning for food: survey
Most Europeans have reservations about cloning animals for food, while 67 percent see cloning as justified if used to preserve rare animal species, a survey that could help forge EU policy in the area showed on Thursday. The Eurobarometer poll said 84 percent of Europeans feel the long-term effects of cloning are unknown, 58 percent see animal cloning for food production as unjustified, and 28 percent would accept animal cloning for food production in some circumstances.
09.10.2008
Hawai’i County (USA) bans genetic modification of taro, coffee
The Hawai’i County Council has voted unanimously to ban the genetic modification of taro and coffee. The council on Wednesday voted 9-0 in favor of a bill making it illegal to ”test, propagate, cultivate, raise, plant, grow, introduce or release” genetically engineered taro and coffee. About 70 residents testified on the bill in Hilo, while about 30 spoke via teleconference from council offices in Waimea and Kona. A vast majority spoke in favor of the ban. The council has already passed a resolution asking state lawmakers to prohibit genetically modified taro and coffee. But two separate measures that would have done so failed in the Legislature this year.
08.10.2008
Bayer Innovation and Kentucky Bioprocessing cooperate to develop drugs from GE pharma tobacco
Bayer Innovation GmbH and Kentucky Bioprocessing, LLC (KBP) are collaborating to develop a facility at KBP’s Owensboro plant in the US state of Kentucky for the production service of biopharmaceuticals. Based on Bayer’s proprietary magnICON® technology, plant made pharmaceutical proteins and other high-value products will be produced in tobacco plants on commercial scale.
08.10.2008
U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks public comment on proposed GE plant rule
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposes to revise existing regulations regarding the importation, interstate movement and environmental release of certain genetically engineered (GE) organisms under the Plant Protection Act (PPA) of 2000. These proposed revisions to the regulations are in response to emerging trends in biotechnology. New regulations will address the current and future needs of the agency and provide a high level of environmental protection. ”This is the most comprehensive review and revision of our biotechnology regulations since they were first developed in 1987,” said Cindy Smith, administrator of APHIS.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, USA (06.10.2008): USDA seeks public comment on proposed rule for biotechnology regulation
- Biotechnology Industry Organization, USA (06.10.2008): BIO supports modernization of USDA plant biotech regs
- Union of Concerned Scientists, USA (06.10.2008): USDA’s new biotechnology regulations could allow drugs in food
- American Seed Trade Association, USA (06.10.2008): ASTA welcomes progress in updating USDA biotechnology regulations
08.10.2008
New German safety research projects on GM crops
From 2008 to 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research will once again be funding a large number of biosafety research projects. The funding amounts to around eight million euros. The main focus of the 23 projects is to develop methods to prevent a spread of genetically modified plants. Another focus of the projects is further research into the environmental impacts of genetically modified Bt maize. Limiting the dispersal ability of transgenic plants using biological systems is a focus of the funded programmes.
08.10.2008
Farming going down ’the wrong path’ on biotechnology says Monsanto
Speaking at the Farmers Guardian sponsored debate at the Healthy Foods European Summit in London this week, David Stark, vice president of Monsanto’s consumer traits division urged the industry to accept new technologies. He said he was ’outraged’ that 860 million people in the world go hungry when agriculture had the tools and the potential to rapidly boost food production. He said: ”In the next 50 years we have to produce as much food as we have produced in the history of mankind – how are we going to do that?
08.10.2008
Argentine beekeepers and biodiversity suffer from GE soy boom
Beekeepers had it easy when cattle roamed freely across the flower-filled meadows of Argentina’s Pampas plains. But a boom in soy farming has changed all that. [...] ”Soy, the soy-takeover as we call it, is the biggest problem but actually any crop that is planted uniformly across large areas with the use of herbicides deprives bees of the flowers they need,” said Alicia Basilio from the University of Buenos Aires’ School of Agronomy. ”The biodiversity that’s essential for bees is in decline due to the advance of this crop,” she said, sitting before the half-dozen white beehives that make up the university apiary.
08.10.2008
Ecuador declared free of GE crops by new constitution
Jaguars, spectacled bears, brown-headed spider monkeys, and plate-billed mountain toucans may all just breathe a little easier next week if Ecuadorians approve a new constitution in a referendum on Sunday that would grant these threatened animals’ habitats with inalienable rights. The new constitution gives nature the ”right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution” and mandates that the government take ”precaution and restriction measures in all the activities that can lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of the ecosystems or the permanent alteration of the natural cycles.”
- OpEdNews, USA (26.09.2008): Ecuador’s constitution gives rights to nature
- Los Angeles Times, USA (29.09.2008): Ecuador voters approve constitution, exit polls show
- Los Angeles Times, USA (02.09.2008): Putting nature in Ecuador’s constitution
- Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, USA (28.09.2008): Ecuador approves new constitution: Voters approve rights of nature
07.10.2008
Charles: ’I blame GM crops for farmers’ suicides’
GM crop failures have helped to cause a ”truly appalling and tragic” number of suicides among poor farmers in India, Prince Charles has alleged in his most outspoken attack on the technology to date. He called cultivating the modified crops ”a global moral question” and ”a wrong turning on the route to feeding the world”. He associated the technology with ”commerce without morality” and ”science without humanity”.
07.10.2008
UK certifier launches new sourcing standards for non-GE soy
UK food manufacturers can now source soy that is certified as Non-GM and Responsibly Produced, as two new standards have been developed in response to retailer demands. PAI Group, the certifier behind the new standards, has previously assessed soy for use in animal feed for its genetically-modified origins. This has allowed for processors of meat products to make declarations like ’from animals not fed on GMOs’ on the labels.
07.10.2008
The war over GM is back. Is the truth any clearer?
Last week’s big food story was one of haves and have nots. The haves include Tesco, which announced half-year profits of £1.5bn on the back of rising global food prices and booming sales of organics. The shelves are full and business is brisk. The have nots were the benighted populations of Ethiopia and Somalia in the Horn of Africa, which, the UN warns, is heading into the worst famine in generations. The one thing these two stories share is a negative: British supermarkets and large slabs of Africa are both entirely free of genetically modified foods.
