Planet Diversity World Congress on the Future of Food and Agriculture

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24.11.2008

Monsanto beets down opposition to GE sugar beets

Kevin Golden, staff attorney for the Center for Food Safety, says the unknown long-term environmental risks of genetically modified crops outweigh short-term benefits. ”We admit Roundup is a less toxic alternative than a lot of the herbicides, but weed resistance is developing really fast,” Golden says. ”Eventually, Roundup becomes obsolete and farmers have to use these really nasty herbicides. It’s a self-defeating prophecy to use this as a silver bullet.”

24.11.2008

Indian Bt cotton farmers pip US counterparts in farm income

Indian cotton farmers have earned more income per hectare than their US counterparts, thanks to the adoption of genetically modified technology developed by companies like Monsanto, says a UK-based agri-economist. ”Farmers in developing countries like India are having better farm income benefits compared to the US, Australia and Argentina,” agri-economist Graham Brookes told PTI. After paying for GM technology, cotton farmers in India have earned an additional average income of 225 dollars (Rs 9,956) per hectare between 2002 and 2006 against 94 dollars per hectare in the US and 133 dollars per hectare in Argentina, he said.

21.11.2008

Who owns nature?

In a world where market research is becoming increasingly proprietary and pricey, ETC Group’s report names names, discloses market share and provides top 10 industry rankings up and down the corporate food chain. Not all the corporations identified in ETC Group’s new report are household names, but collectively they control a staggering share of the commercial products found on industrial farms, in our refrigerators and medicine cabinets.

21.11.2008

DEFRA (UK) responds to secret GM crop trial claims

DEFRA has said it cannot confirm reports suggesting that the government intends to conduct future genetically modified crop trials in secret. [...] a DEFRA official told Farmers Weekly that it was taking stock of the situation and that no announcements had been made on the measures. However, the official added: ”Sensible and credible decisions on GM organisms cannot be taken without solid scientific evidence.

21.11.2008

Coffee breeders select non-GE low-caffeine varieties

Mr. Illy assembled a team of nine agronomists and technicians, who spent the next five years identifying Laurina plants in the collection on which to build a low-caffeine bean. [...] By the time Illy began conducting more successful field tests of the plant in the rich volcanic soil of El Salvador in 2000, several companies had already begun assembling low-caf teams of their own, and others were soon to follow.

21.11.2008

Urgency eases for GM wheat as prices fall

The push to promote genetically modified (GM) wheat to combat global food shortages could slow as global commodity prices ease, a top industry executive said on Sunday. ”Now that prices have fallen off their peak, I don’t think it will be a priority,” said Vijay Iyengar, managing director of the Singapore-based grains trader Agrocorp International Pte Ltd.
”Because of the record high prices we saw the push for increasing supplies, and so the call for genetically modified grain seeds received a lot of attention.”

21.11.2008

Lake County Board (California, USA) focuses on forming GE advisory committee

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed that an advisory committee be formed to find a middle ground on the issue of genetically engineered (GE) in Lake County. During the hearing, which ran about a half hour, the board once more heard input both from those who favored a ban and those who oppose it, but the focus of the discussion was on the committee and how it could be formed to ensure that the different sides hear each other.

21.11.2008

Monsanto’s non-GE drought-resistant cotton only available with other GE traits

He says a variety with more efficient water use will perform better under irrigation and will exhibit a better yield response under stress. ”This will be a huge benefit to growers. We will have a broader base of tests across various environments and regions. Utilizing this testing platform and advances in our molecular breeding program we hope to identify lines that handle tough environmental conditions better.” [...] Conventional breeding remains an integral part of the process. ”That’s the basis of a stronger platform,” he says. But he does not expect conventional varieties to move the market.

20.11.2008

EU on track to grant quick approval for Monsanto soybean

European Union governments late Wednesday couldn’t agree on whether to allow Monsanto Co. to import a new genetically modified soybean, sending the decision back to the European Commission, the E.U.’s executive arm, where it is likely to be approved. [...] That is encouraging for some in the industry who have long complained that the E.U.’s system is unnecessarily slow. ”It’s moved faster than is usual in our industry,” said Nathalie Moll of EuropaBio, the lobbying group for the biotech industry in the E.U., ”but that’s the speed it should move at.”

20.11.2008

Poland to remain free of GMOs

Poland will remain free of GMOs but scientific institutions will be able to conduct research on genetically modified organisms – is today’s declaration of the Polish government. The cabinet has decided to allow specialized laboratories to continue work with GMOs, for instance testing new drugs or investigating genetic diseases, but the organisms must be kept separate from the natural environment and human beings.

20.11.2008

GE ’Enviropig’ may go to market in the USA

It’s been called ”Frankenfood.” But backers of genetically engineered meat say it’s just as tasty and safe for consumers as regular cuts from the butcher. We’re not talking about mad scientists holed up in castles. Some of the biggest links in the food chain are expecting farm animals with altered DNA to end up on the dinner plate -- unless the Food and Drug Administration says no. The creators of ”Frankenfood” push health and costs benefits, but diners also could be doing their part for the environment by gorging on modified pork chops in the not-too-distant future.

20.11.2008

GM canarypox vaccine gets green light in New Zealand

A live, genetically modified, canarypox virus vaccine has been given the green light to protect horses in New Zealand if there is a outbreak of equine influenza. If used, it will be the first time a genetically modified organism has been released into the environment. The Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) has approved an application by the Racing Board and Equine Health Association to use the vaccine under certain conditions.

20.11.2008

New Zealand’s authority amends AgResearch approvals for GE animal trials

The Environmental Risk Management Authority has made a minor amendment to the AgResearch field test approvals granted in November 1999 and May 2001 respectively, that allowed AgResearch to conduct contained field tests involving GM cattle. [...]
* No new GM cattle can be produced or bred from 18 November 2008.
* The existing GM animals can be kept in outdoor containment to allow for decisions to be made on new applications from AgResearch.
* If the new applications are declined, the GM animals must be euthanized within one year.

20.11.2008

Uganda GM banana fails to defeat diseases

A field trial of a Genetically-Modified (GM) banana variety in Uganda has failed to defeat the occurrence of banana diseases. The variety was attacked by Black Sigatoka disease, which can cut a banana tree’s fruit production by half. [...] ”Depending on where the gene was inserted, it expressed itself inside the crop in a different manner. Our next target will be to see which crop exhibits stronger resistance when the gene is inserted and then we can conduct more experiments,” Kiggundu noted.

19.11.2008

GEAC clears limited field trials of GM corn in India

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has permitted Monsanto India Ltd to conduct limited field trials of corn hybrids that are genetically modified (GM) to confer resistance to the corn borer insect pest and application of its ’Roundup’ herbicide, according to highly placed sources. The sources said the clearance for ’bio-safety research level-1 field trials under confined conditions’ of the GM corn (maize) hybrids was granted at GEAC’s meeting last week.

19.11.2008

Bee learning behaviour affected by consumption of Bt Cry1Ab toxin

One of the speculated contributors to [the bee] decline is transgenic crops and specifically those containing Bt proteins since these are insect-active toxins to which bees are exposed through various routes. [...] Up to now however there has been no specific evidence that any Bt toxin has negative effects on bees, but equally such studies have been rare. Particularly lacking are studies on sub-lethal effects of Bt toxins on bees.

19.11.2008

Indian researchers develop non-GE ’TERI-DBT Bollcure’ bio-pesticide

With a vision to solve the cotton worm problem in India with environmentally benign solution, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), along with Department of Biotechnology facilitated the second technology transfer for Bollcure, a plant extract based bio-pesticide formulation developed by TERI, with PASURA Biotech Pvt. Ltd, Secunderabad. [...] Bollcure is a plant extract of Eucalyptus and it is 100% environment friendly, suitable for Conventional, Organic, Bt cotton and Integrated Pest Management crop practices

19.11.2008

Illegal Bt cotton cultivation serious threat to Orissa’s (India) agriculture

Orissa’s farmlands have become the battleground for several conflicting interests. There is the familiar battle over what should be grown — traditional food grains versus the more rewarding cash crops — but the more insidious battle is being waged over how the crops should be grown and what technology should be used. Cotton is the focus of this largely covert operation to wean farmers on a genetically modified (GM) regimen in a state which maintains that it intends to remain GM-free.

19.11.2008

GE crops to strengthen the existing practices to combat global food crisis

Talking about the international scenario, Dr Graham Brookes, Director of P G Economics, in his presentation said, ”Since 1996, biotech crop adoption has contributed to reducing the release of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, decreased pesticide spraying and significantly boosted farmers’ incomes. [...] World price levels of crops like corn and soybeans would also probably be higher than the current (record high) levels if this technology had not been widely adopted by farmers.”

19.11.2008

The return of Bt cotton in India

The little evidence available suggests it is not Bt cotton per se that is responsible for the worsening farmers’ livelihoods but the context in which it was introduced along with environmental factors. Of course, their conclusion remains to be verified by the groups opposed to introduction of GM crops. But till then, the evidence is mixed and there is very little information from credible sources on the extent of Bt cotton or its impact on farming.

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