GENET-news

2010-02-05 | permalink

Prime Minister Borisov: 5-year GM crop ban ensures calmness in Bulgaria

Bulgaria PM Boyko Borisov has stated that the proposed 5-year ban on GM crop trials will ”guarantee calmness” in Bulgarian society. ”I think that what the GERB MPs and the cabinet are proposing for Genetically Modified Organisms: firstly a moratorium for 5 years on everything to reassure the public and then what Brussels wants – to vote on the changes, I think this is a 100% guarantee for all fear GMOs,” Borisov said Friday.

2010-02-05 | permalink

EU weighs proposals to break GMO deadlock

Plans to let national governments decide whether to allow genetically modified (GMO) crop cultivation on their land could unblock a paralysis in EU GMO approvals, but risk igniting internal-market disputes. Proposals from the Dutch and Austrian governments, under consideration by the executive European Commission, have won the backing of several countries and interested parties, and will be at the top of the new Commission’s agenda.

2010-02-05 | permalink

Rise in GM crops raises ethical alarms in Brazil

AS-PTA has challenged the impartiality of Brazil’s National Technical Commission for Bio-safety, which monitors the effects of GM crops on human health, the environment and agriculture. The Commission’s independence came under scrutiny recently when Dr Lia Giraldo resigned from the Commission in protest at its members’ links with multinational corporations.

2010-02-05 | permalink

Negative public attitudes to GM agriculture unchanged in Australia

Public attitudes to genetically modified (GM) agriculture in Australia are not changing, with the majority of Australians still uncomfortable with GM foods. An article published in the latest edition of People and Place reports findings about attitudes to GM foods from Swinburne University’s National Science and Technology Monitor (SNSTM). According to this data, public attitudes in Australia to GM foods have remained constant since 2003.

2010-02-05 | permalink

Greenpeace report exposes high costs of genetic engineering of crops

Greenpeace called on the Philippine government to promote and invest in ecological farming practices as a solution to the challenges facing the country’s agriculture sector. The call was made at the launch of a new report, ”Counting the Costs of Genetic Engineering”, which documents the agronomic and economic failures of genetically engineered (GE) crops from around the world.

2010-02-05 | permalink

Bayer to pay $1.5 mln in 2nd of 500 lawsuits over GM rice

Germany’s Bayer was ordered by a jury in the United States to pay $1.5 million in damages to three farmers for losses they incurred because of contaminations of Bayer’s genetically modified rice, the second in about 500 similar cases pending. [...] ”Bayer CropScience is standing by its view that the company has handled its biotech rice responsibly and appropriately at all times,” he added.

2010-02-04 | permalink

Australian researchers created artificial honey bee silk in GE bacteria

Australian researchers for the first time created artificially produced honey bee silk using genetically modified bacteria. Australian entomologist Tara D. Sutherland [...] says, ”The silks would be good for tough, lightweight textiles, and high-strength applications like advanced aviation and marine composites”.

2010-02-04 | permalink

Chinese experts debate GE rice aproval

Huang Dafang, a member of the Biosafety Committee at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the nation -- which faces shrinking farmland and an increasing population -- will turn to genetically modified organism technology to ensure grain security. [...] The announcement has aroused debate on the Internet with several forums soliciting signatures against commercialization of GM rice with the call ”Saving our posterity”. The strains need registration and production trials before commercial output can begin, which may take three to five years, Huang told China Daily.

2010-02-04 | permalink

For farmers’ sake give BT Brinjal a fair chance

BT Brinjal must be promoted in India because it promises to reduce wastage due to pests. As it minimises the need for chemical pesticide, Bt Brinjal is also environment friendly. For farmers’ sake, BT Brinjal must be given a fair chance. FIRST OF all, it is important to realise that as the world’s population grows and the extent of arable land decreases, the only way of ensuring food for all is by increasing productivity.

2010-02-04 | permalink

Greenpeace India launches campaign to protest against Bt Brinjal

Hoping to persuade Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh against allowing the production of genetically modified (GM) Bt Brinjal in India, climate NGO Greenpeace has launched an online campaign, ’World’s Biggest Baingan Bhartha’ and are collecting people’s signatures against the government’s plan. Demanding that the government reverse its decision, farmers, scientists and NGOs have staged angry demonstrations and disrupted public hearings organised by the environment ministry on the issue in the past few days.

2010-02-04 | permalink

Indian Environment Minister snubs Agriculture Minister on Bt brinjal

Ramesh seems to have given a new twist to this debate by saying that GEAC itself had suggested government intervention. ”Since this decision of GEAC has important policy implications at the national level, GEAC has decided the recommendation for environmental release may be put up before the government for taking a final view on the matter,” Ramesh told Business Standard as he read from a letter dated September 15, 2009. GEAC Chairman M Farooqui, who is also special secretary in the environment ministry, confirmed such a letter had been sent before he took over in December. In a more direct attack on his ministerial colleagues, Ramesh said: ”Bt brinjal is not just a farmer issue. We cannot ignore larger consumer groups.”

2010-02-04 | permalink

Ten Indian state governments say no to Monsanto’s Bt brinjal

Ten state governments have decided not to wait for the end of the controversy over whether genetically modified (GM) brinjal, popularly termed Bt brinjal, should be approved or not. They have decided not to allow it in their states anyway. Their representatives joined hands today at a conference called in Kerala by the state government and called their united stand the second war of Indian independence. They were from political parties of different hues but united by the common cause of opposing Bt brinjal, the genetically modified version of the vegetable, the technology for which is owned by US company Monsanto.

2010-02-02 | permalink

Western Australian locals lash out at GM canola decision

LOCAL anti-GM food campaigners have voiced their outrage over Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman’s decision last Monday on GM canola. [...] Local Ian Parmenter called it ”absolutely outrageous”. ”It ignores all the warnings and a lot of good science,” he said.

2010-02-02 | permalink

Almost all Bulgarians stand against GM food

Over 300 environmentalists and consumers gathered at a protest rally against GMO in the last days of January. About 91% of the readers of the Standart declared against genetically modified plants being grown in Bulgaria, a survey in the Standart Internet edition showed. People insist that the state should not allow the use of foods containing modified genes in Bulgaria.

2010-02-02 | permalink

Glyphosate resistance warning by Australian researcher

A NEW form of glyphosate resistance has prompted a warning that the herbicide has ”become as important for reliable global food production as penicillin is for battling disease”.

A vigorous weed of cotton fields in the south-east United States, Palmer amaranth, has been found capable of resisting the effects of glyphosate through ”gene amplification”, the third type of resistance mechanism now discovered, and one that has rung alarm bells with researchers.

2010-02-02 | permalink

Lake County (USA) Supervisors votes to regulate commercial GE crops

The Lake County Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted the recommendation Tuesday to regulate commercial genetically engineered crops through a registration process. [...] GE crop growers would have to obtain registration from the county agricultural commissioner or the California Crop Improvement Association before planting. The agricultural commissioner with a GE crop advisory committee would set guidelines for registration with the same or more stringent requirements as the state or federal governments.

2010-02-02 | permalink

Caution needed over GMO foods in Zimbabwe

It is not the first time that the Grain Millers Association has urged the Government to allow them to import genetically-modified grain. The Government has responded that it cannot allow unprocessed grain into the country because when it germinates, it contaminates the environment. Millers have been told that they are free to import genetically modified maize-meal though they would likely lose business as most Zimbabweans shun these products.

2010-02-02 | permalink

Ugandan MPs applaud scientists on GE cotton

MEMBERS of Parliament (MPs) have commended scientists who are carrying out the Genetically Modified (GM) cotton trial, in Kasese district. ”This cotton is really good. The height is superb. Scientists have done a great job on this,” Lastus Serunjogi, the vice-chair of the agricultural committee, said. Charles Ngabirano, the chairperson of the science and technology committee, was also full of praises. ”Uganda has capable scientists who are doing a commendable job.

2010-02-01 | permalink

EU farmers face genetic contamination of seeds

Biodiversity, already decaying fast as a result of climate change and intensive farming, is under further threat by genetic modification (GM) of seeds, says a leading German ecological activist. Genetic modification of seeds is dangerous, ”since it is at the beginning of the agricultural chain, and can spread all over,” says Benedikt Haerlin, former campaign manager at the environmental organisation Greenpeace and former member of the European Parliament. Haerlin now leads the global ’Save our Seeds’ campaign in cooperation with some 300 environmental organisations across Europe.

2010-02-01 | permalink

USDA weighs plan to bring GM eucalyptus to Southeast Pinelands

While the practice of splicing foreign DNA into food crops has become common in corn and soy, few companies or researchers have dared to apply genetic engineering to plants that provide an essential strut of the U.S. economy, trees. But that will soon change. Two industry giants, International Paper Co. and MeadWestvaco Corp., are planning to transform plantation forests of the southeastern United States by replacing native pine with genetically engineered eucalyptus, a rapidly growing Australian tree that in its conventional strains now dominates the tropical timber industry.

2010-02-01 | permalink

Bulgarians rise in protest against genetically modified crops

Several hundred Bulgarians protested against the allowing of genetically modified organisms by the country’s legislation. [...] ”I am not sure whether the decision to adopt the GMO Act is the result of incompetence on part of the Environment Ministry who might have decided to harmonize Bulgaria’s legislation with that of the EU by liberalizing everything,” said lawyer Svilen Ovcharov from the ”Green Advocates” association. He pointed out that the decision to back GMO in Bulgaria would affect the popularity of all political parties which support it.

2010-02-01 | permalink

Wide and vociferous protests against this genetically modified Bt brinjal

Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests, on Sunday had to face angry protests of farmers in Hyderabad over a move to produce the genetically modified Bt brinjal in the country. Protests and demonstrations were also held in New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday and Sunday. He had gone there as part of public consultations on Bt brinjal. Consultations are being held in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

2010-02-01 | permalink

Don’t hasten introduction of Bt brinjal: M.S. Swaminathan

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a consultation on ”Effective community management of biodiversity in an era of climate change,” Dr. Swaminathan said: ”Every technology has its benefits and risks. But it all depends on our capacity to analyse risks and benefits. We must analyse whether risks are more or benefits are more. There should be an authority to analyse the risks and benefits in a transparent way. Unfortunately, we don’t have an authority like that.”

2010-02-01 | permalink

Final decision on Bt Brinjal after 10th Feb says Indian Minister

Environment and Forests Minister, Jairam Ramesh has said that a final decision on introduction of BT Brinjal for commercial cultivation will be taken by the 10th of this month. [...] He appealed to all sections to express their opinions in a democratic and restrained manner. He also said majority of the Chief Ministers in the Country have opposed BT Brinjal.

2010-01-29 | permalink

Ukrainian Cabinet wants Parliament to cancel ’GMO free’ marking

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine wants the Verkhovna Rada to cancel marking of foodstuffs not containing genetically modified organisms with a label ”GMO Free.” Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn announced this to the press.

2010-01-29 | permalink

First victory in the public debate on the changes in the Bulgarian GMO law

Following the strong pressure by the public, the experts’ arguments and the numerous meetings the Ministry of Environment stepped back and accepted most of the suggestions of environmental organizations referring to the proposed changes in the GMO law. [...] The GMO law will be returned for re-consideration in a special working group in the Parliament with the participation of NGO experts, as well as in the consultative committee on GMO in the Ministry of Environment. The new suggestions of ”For the Nature Coalition” and other NGOs will be discussed.

2010-01-29 | permalink

Indian States against hasty decision on Bt brinjal

Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has said that several State Chief Ministers have asked him not to take hasty decision on the commercial cultivation of BT brinjal. Talking to reporters here on the sidelines of a National Consultation Meet on Bt brinjal, Ramesh said: ”Chief ministers of states such as Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka and Orissa have written to me that there is a need to conduct more experiments on Bt brinjal.”

2010-01-29 | permalink

Anti-GM movement hots up ahead of Jairam’s visit

In the run-up to a visit by Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh to the city on Friday, a series of protests as well as whirl of debates are being carried out by those opposing popularization of Bt brinjal among Indian buyers.

2010-01-29 | permalink

Indian academics critizise Bt approval

A veteran professor of genetics at both Johns Hopkins University and the University of Texas, Dr Dronamraju has been nominated for a Nobel Prize, authored more than seventeen books, and was an adviser to the Clinton Administration. He also heads the Foundation for Genetic Research in Houston, Texas. [...] Dr Dronamraju will recommend a two-year moratorium on Bt Brinjal before further consideration.

2010-01-29 | permalink

’Bt brinjal will not cause any harm to biodiversity’ says former USDA biotech regulator

In Karnataka and many other states, organisations representing farmers are opposed to the cultivation of Bt brinjal. But Shanthu Shantharam, a molecular biologist and biotechnologist [...] who has served as the chief of the Washington DC branch of the USDA’s Biotechnology Regulatory Services for over 14 years, later told that Bt brinjal does not need human trials and that it will add to the genetic diversity.

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