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2007-02-09 |

NGO works to make Indian villages free of GM crops

Amid agrarian unrest over special economic zones and crop losses, some NGOs are mobilising support to fight genetically modified crops. In Chitrakoot district in the backward and parched Bundelkhand area in Uttar Pradesh, where villages routinely empty due to migration, an NGO has persuaded 64 villages to pledge against growing GM crops. Villagers of Chitrakoot and Banda districts gathered in Ganivan in Chitrakoot on February 8 and took the pledge administered by Forum for Biotechnology & Food Security.

2007-02-09 |

Negros (Philippine) officials eye total ban on GMOs

Negros officials and representatives from the private sector believe that in a few years, a shared goal of making the island “the organic food bowl of Asia” can be achieved. But, amidst efforts to go totally organic, there is at least one serious hitch that needs to be addressed immediately – the use of genetically-engineered (GE) farm produce such as the Bt corn. If stringent measures are adopted right away against the Bt corn, officials may have to think twice about the consequences and the impact it will have on the farmers using the GE variety, said Oriental Negros Board Member Pryde Henry Teves.

2007-02-09 |

Skagit Valley (USA) farmers want to create a canola-free zone

There’s growing interest in raising canola seeds for the biodiesel industry, but not in Skagit County. Seed growers would like the state Department of Agriculture to create a canola-free zone. It would cover all of Skagit County, along with parts of Island, Whatcom, Snohomish and Clallam counties. The growers worry that canola could cross-pollinate with certain vegetable seeds, particularly cabbage, and hurt the area’s $20 million seed industry.

2007-02-09 |

Brazil to invest 10 billion reais in biotechnology

Brazil plans to invest 10 billion reais ($4.77 billion) in biotechnology over the next decade to fuel growth in agriculture, pharmaceuticals and other industries. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree today creating the program to invest 1 billion reais annually for 10 years. Lula also called on companies to match the government"s investments.

2007-02-08 |

U.S. sugar beet industry to take Roundup Ready leap

Lee Sanders, senior vice president for the American Bakers Association, said she found out only a month ago that the U.S. sugar beet industry was set to begin planting Roundup Ready sugar beets. The lack of attention paid to the industry"s action is in stark contrast to what has occurred with wheat, despite the fact both commodities are used as ingredients in making bread. Sanders was speaking at the Joint Biotech Committee of U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers, where she went over a survey indicating higher-income males from the South were least resistant to genetically modified wheat while lower-income females from the West were most concerned. As for sugar, there was no usage information.

2007-02-08 |

‘Food contaminated with GE organisms found in Kuwait’; Effects will be irreversible: Greenpeace activists

Greenpeace activists Arnaud Apoteker and Andi Freimueller, speaking at a conference Wednesday at Kuwait Journalists Association (KJA), said food contaminated with genetically engineered (GE) organisms is found in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. They opined that awareness on GE food is low in the region “and is a new topic here.” Explaining about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), Apoteker, who is the coordinator of the GMO campaign in Europe, said “they are living organisms created in the laboratories through the transfer of genes from one species to another. There are new varieties of plants created through controlled mutations with animal or human genes.” A particular variety of maize used by pharmaceutical companies has human genes in it, he added. “This variety, fortunately, has not been commercialized.”

2007-02-08 |

The ethics debate over animal cloning

Not surprisingly, the Food and Drug Administration"s determination that meat and dairy products from cloned animals are safe to eat has sparked no small controversy. Critics were quick to level a number of charges against the practice, including claims that animals involved in the process are harmed. In its 678-page draft risk assessment, the FDA sought to allay concerns about the welfare of cloned animals, stating: "(Somatic cell nuclear transfer) can pose an increased frequency of health risks to animals involved in the cloning process, but these do not differ qualitatively from those observed in other (assisted reproductive technologies) or natural breeding."

2007-02-08 |

Agrochemicals company Syngenta posts record profit despite drop in sales

Swiss agrochemicals company Syngenta increased its net profit by 12 per cent last year to a record $872 million (SFr1.08 billion). The Basel-based company said the result was due to good sales of crop protection products where it is the world leader.

2007-02-08 |

New attack on GM food safety testing standards in New Zealand

Australian and New Zealand regulators are failing to resist an audacious bid by GM plant developers to have them abandon a fundamental principle of food safety testing. The internationally accepted baseline for assessing the safety of a GM food is to conduct studies that consistently compare it with the closest non-GM relative. Such a ‘comparator’ is considered the standard because of its long history of safe use as a food for people.

2007-02-08 |

IDRC (Canada) to conduct study on GM crops in India

The Canada-based International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in collaboration with the Gene Campaign has launched a research study on the attitudes and perceptions towards genetically modified (GM) crops and foods in India. The study, launched on Wednesday, is slated to be completed within 30 months. IDRC has undertaken a similar study in China relating to the agri-biotechnology policy.

2007-02-08 |

Monsanto merger raises concerns about antitrust issues

A pair of biotech agribusinesses wants to go head to head with Monsanto Co. in creating a better cotton seed, but they may never get there. At issue is Monsanto"s proposed $1.5 billion purchase of Delta & Pine Land Co. Swiss firm Syngenta AG and Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a DuPont company, had planned to partner with Delta, combining their genetic traits with D&PL"s seed. The Monsanto deal is pending an antitrust review by the Justice Department. If it goes through, Syngenta and Pioneer will have to turn to rival Monsanto as their cotton seed partner.

2007-02-07 |

Growing pains of India’s GM revolution

"Indian farmers are clamouring for genetically-modified seeds"; so said India"s agriculture minister Agit Singh five years ago. If that indeed was the case then - which is open to dispute - much has changed since. [...] The only GM crop now being grown commercially might put a shirt on your back but is absolutely guaranteed not to alleviate hunger - it is cotton.

2007-02-07 |

U.S. Federal court orders for the first time a halt to new field trials of genetically engineered crops

In a decision broadly affecting field trials of genetically engineered crops a federal district judge ruled yesterday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must halt approval of all new field trials until more rigorous environmental reviews are conducted. Citing potential threats to the environment, Judge Harold Kennedy found in favor of the Center for Food Safety that USDA"s past approvals of field trials of herbicide tolerant, genetically engineered bentgrass were illegal.

2007-02-07 |

News Analysis: UC’s biotech benefactors: The power of big finance and bad ideas

With royal fanfare, British Petroleum just donated $500 million in research funds for UC Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories and the University of Illinois to develop new sources of energy—primarily biotechnology to produce biofuel crops. This comes on the anniversary of Berkeley’s hapless research deal with seed giant Novartis ten years ago. However, at half a billion dollars, the BP grant dwarfs Novartis’ investment by a factor of 10. The graphics of the announcement were unmistakable: BP’s corporate logo is perfectly aligned with the flags of the Nation, the State, and the University. [...] The potential consequences for the environment and society of BP’s funding are deeply disturbing. In the wake of the report of the external review of the UCB-Novartis agreement that recommended that the university not enter into such agreements in the future, how could such a major deal be announced without wide consultation of the UC faculty? The university has been recruited into a corporate partnership that may irreversibly transform the plant’s food and fuel systems and concentrating tremendous power in the hands of a few corporate partners.

2007-02-07 |

South Dakota (USA) afalfa regulation bill fails

South Dakota legislators rejected a bill Tuesday that would have made it illegal to raise or sell Roundup Ready Alfalfa in the state. Those who want to prohibit the genetically altered, herbicide-resistant crop from being grown throughout South Dakota said it threatens to cross pollinate and ruin the purity of common strains of alfalfa.

2007-02-07 |

U.S. Federal court orders for the first time a halt to new field trials of genetically engineered crops

In a decision broadly affecting field trials of genetically engineered crops a federal district judge ruled yesterday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must halt approval of all new field trials until more rigorous environmental reviews are conducted. Citing potential threats to the environment, Judge Harold Kennedy found in favor of the Center for Food Safety that USDA"s past approvals of field trials of herbicide tolerant, genetically engineered bentgrass were illegal.

2007-02-07 |

Agri sector benefits most from biotech advancement in Malaysia

The agriculture sector is the biggest beneficiary of biotechnology advancement efforts in Malaysia, according to Plantation Industries and Commodities parlimentary secretary Datuk Dr Vijayaratnam S.Seevaratnam. [...] By 2020, the biotechnology sector will create 28,000 new jobs and contribute to about 5% of Malaysia"s gross domestic product.

2007-02-07 |

Bayer, global pusher of GE rice must admit defeat, says Greenpeace

The global rejection of genetically engineered rice is revealed today as 41 of the world"s biggest exporters, processors and retailers issued written commitments to stay GE free. The worldwide tide of opposition is reflected in the new Greenpeace report, "Rice Industry in Crisis." The report carries extracts of company statements covering Asia, Europe, Australia, and North and South America and includes a commitment from the world"s largest rice processor, Ebro Puleva, to stop buying US rice. This follows a major contamination incident in 2006, when the world"s rice supply was contaminated with an experimental and illegal variety of GE rice produced by biotech company Bayer.

2007-02-07 |

Growing pains of India"s GM revolution

"Indian farmers are clamouring for genetically-modified seeds"; so said India"s agriculture minister Agit Singh five years ago. If that indeed was the case then - which is open to dispute - much has changed since. [...] The only GM crop now being grown commercially might put a shirt on your back but is absolutely guaranteed not to alleviate hunger - it is cotton.

2007-02-06 |

Hungary hopeful it can keep its GMO ban

Hungary’s government sees a good chance that an upcoming meeting of European Union environment ministers will allow it to maintain its ban on genetically modified crops, the Environment Ministry said on Monday. Hungary, one of the bloc’s biggest grain producers, became the first country in eastern Europe to ban GMO crops or foods when it outlawed the planting of MON 810 maize seeds, marketed by U.S. biotech giant Monsanto, in January 2005.

2007-02-06 |

Synthetic hormones banned in Sinton Dairy’s (USA) milk cows

Sinton Dairy Foods, responding to consumer demand, today launches its new product line, which uses milk only from cows not treated with synthetic hormones. It’s an across-the-board makeover, with the 127-year-old Colorado Springs dairy making sure every milk product, culture product and ice cream mix it sells — all 1,700 items — is naturally produced, free of rBST, recombinant Bovine Somatotropin.

2007-02-06 |

GMOs: EU problem child

GMOs are still dividing the EU, both in Brussels and across member states, according to activists and MEPs writing in the latest issue of the Parliament Magazine. Simon Barber, the director of biotech lobby Europabio, argues that “Europe’s slow adoption rate to cultivate biotech crops simply hurts EU farmers and consumers". Barber says that in their first nine years, GM crops increased global net farm income by €23bn and reduced the environmental footprint of farming by 14 per cent. He adds that GMOs drastically reduce pesticide use.

2007-02-06 |

Hawaii bill to ban GMO taro gains

State lawmakers this week advanced a bill that would ban testing and growing of genetically modified taro for a period of 10 years. Senate Bill 958 was passed Monday by the Water, Land, Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs Committee by a 3-1 vote. State lawmakers debated similar legislation last year but failed to pass any law banning such research.

2007-02-06 |

Organic firms slam GM label plan

Rules for labelling food"s genetically modified (GM) content do not go far enough, say organic producers. The government wants labels to show all produce with more than a 0.9% GM element, but green groups say the threshold should be nearer 0.1%.
The Conservatives back that call, saying customers need to have "clear information" to ensure trust in food.

2007-02-06 |

One million people waiting for labelling products from animals raised with GE feed

European citizens have long rejected genetically engineered (GE) food in their supermarkets but under the current EU labelling laws, animal products such as milk, meat and eggs coming from animals fed with GE feed can be sold without any labels warning of their GE content. One million people across the Europe Union (EU) want that to change.

2007-02-05 |

MPs’ demands for Premier of Kuwait to quit linked to self-interests: Saadoun; ‘Protect citizens from genetically modified foods’

Some MPs want the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah to discontinue the reform process and resign from his position as they are not able to achieve their own interests, says MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun. [...] Meanwhile, MPs Ali Al-Omair and Saad Al-Shuraie have demanded the government intervene and protect citizens and residents from genetically modified foods, reports Al-Rai daily.

2007-02-05 |

Chinese biotech hamstrung by production issues

s fast-developing biopharmaceutical industry is encountering a production bottleneck, challenging efforts to copy its success in other industries such as textiles and electronics. ”The production issue is quite important,” says Qihong Sun, a scientist at the Beijing-based Academy of Military Medical Sciences. ”If it is not properly handled, [China’s] progress in biotech research could be discounted.” Sun was referring specifically to delays in getting several biotech drugs made in China onto the market, long after their approval by regulators.

2007-02-05 |

DuPont to set up Rs 100 crore R&D centre in India

DuPont India, subsidiary of the US-based $29 billion EI du Pont de Nemours, is setting up a research and development centre in Hyderabad at an investment of over Rs 100 crore. The DuPont Knowledge centre will focus on basic research, application development and other knowledge services including IP management. Hyderabad, emerging as a favourite research destination, houses R&D divisions of Motorola and Novartis. ”The centre will be the sixth major R&D centre of the company outside the US. We are looking at employing about 300 scientists at the centre and it will be fully operational in the second quarter of 2008,” said Balvinder Singh Kalsi, president, DuPont India.

2007-02-05 |

Bt cotton delivers, awareness issues remain in India

The usage of Bt cotton has resulted in higher productivity and satisfaction levels, farmers in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka continue to show poor awareness about it and thus resulting in lower cotton yield nationally, a survey has revealed. According to an IMRB survey, farmers using certified Bt cotton seeds showed higher levels of satisfaction with increased productivity expectations as opposed to those who used non-Bt seeds. Also, there is enough awareness on Bt cotton seeds in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

2007-02-05 |

Syngenta under fire in Brazil GMO dispute

The Swiss multinational seed and crop science corporation, Syngenta AG (SYT), is in the crosshairs of an anti-transgenic seed dispute it might not win in Brazil. On Nov. 9, for the first time ever in a Latin America nation, Syngenta had one of its genetically modified crop research facilities shut down and expropriated by the Parana state government in southern Brazil. No financial figure has been given, but some estimate losses in the millions of dollars for Syngenta.

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