GENET-news

04.11.2008

World’s first blue GE roses after 20 years of research

The world’s first blue roses have been unveiled following nearly two decades of scientific research. The blooms are genetically modified and have been implanted with a gene that simulates the synthesis of blue pigment in pansies. The flowers, which were displayed at the International Flower Expo Tokyo, will go on sale commercially next Autumn.

04.11.2008

Oregon (USA) organic farmer plans legal challenge against GE beets

An organic farmer from Philomath, Ore., says he plans a legal challenge to genetically modified crops because he fears contamination. Frank Morton says he is concerned about modified sugar beet seeds that scientists with agricultural giant Monsanto have tweaked to resist Roundup, the company’s most popular weed killer. Oregon doesn’t grow many sugar beets, which supply half of the nation’s sugar. But it turns out Oregon’s Willamette Valley is nearly the sole supplier of U.S. sugar beet seeds.

04.11.2008

Mayor tries to stop Hawaii County Council ban on GE taro and coffee

Big Island Mayor Harry Kim vetoed a bill yesterday that would make it a criminal violation punishable by a $1,000 fine to research or grow genetically engineered coffee or taro on the Big Island. The bill was passed 9-0 by the Hawaii County Council on Oct. 8, meaning there are more than enough votes to override the veto. Kim cited two general concerns: that police cannot enforce such a law and that the world needs research on genetically modified crops to ensure food supplies.

03.11.2008

Fears hay-cutting will lead to escape of GM canola in Australia

There are worries that the hay from genetically modified canola may contain seeds that will escape and grow. A lack of rain has forced some farmers to cut their crops, instead of harvesting for oilseeds. Fodder dealers may purchase the hay and then sell it to farmers who are unaware where the product came from. Alex Schaap, general manager of biosecurity at the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, says he didn’t expect segregation issues in the first year of GM canola in NSW and Victoria.

03.11.2008

Strong support for rally against GM crops in Western Australia surprises backers

A RALLY against the introduction of genetically modified crops drew nearly 1000 people to the steps of the WA Parliament today, organisers have claimed. Farmers attending brought along goats, chickens and even a prize-winning bull, the Conservation Council of WA said.
It said their message was that GM crops not only risked WA’s reputation as a clean, green state but might also have consequences for human health.

03.11.2008

Extra-nutritious bioengineered foods stilly away

For years, advocates of agricultural biotechnology have promised a future in which foods will be genetically engineered to give more nutrition and to prevent chronic diseases, in which crops will be modified to thrive in salty soil or hot or dry climates and in which consumers will benefit directly from science’s ability to tweak other characteristics of plants. So far, however, that has generally not happened, and the main beneficiaries of agricultural biotechnology remain farmers battling pests and weeds that threaten staple crops such as soybeans, corn and cotton, as well as the companies that develop and produce genetically modified seeds.

03.11.2008

Why Europe should rewrite the GE crop rule book

There are signs in Europe that we are beginning to realise that we can no longer take cheap food, or even food security, for granted, and that there may indeed be real potential benefits to be derived from the adoption of GM technology. So perhaps now is the time for us to catch up with the rest of the world where these crops are, with great benefit, being grown over substantial areas, and to reexamine critically the regulatory framework that we have erected.

03.11.2008

Europe’s animal feed is running dry, warn importers

The European livestock industry could run out of animal feed in less than 18 months owing to the EU’s ”unworkable” approach to genetically modified (GM) crops, feed importers have warned. The EU is now so out of kilter with the rest of the world with its zero tolerance stance on imports of feedstocks containing unauthorised GM materials that sourcing ’legal’ feed could become almost impossible by 2010, according to the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC).

03.11.2008

EU panel OKs 2 genetically modified corn products

The European Union’s food safety agency approved two genetically modified corns Friday, putting renewed pressure on EU nations to drop their objections to the use of biotech crops. Scientists at the Parma, Italy-based European Food Safety Authority, or EFSA gave clearance to a Bt-11 corn seed made by Switzerland’s Syngenta AG and the 1507 corn made by the U.S.-based Pioneer Hi-Bred and Dow Agrosciences. [...] The EU agency also said a French ban on another GM corn product, produced by U.S. biotech giant Monsanto Co., was unjustified.

31.10.2008

Castlegar city (British Colombia, Canada) urged to go GE Free

The Genetically Engineered Free Kootenays Society proposed to Castlegar city council to pass a resolution to make Castlegar a genetically engineered-food free zone. The presenters, Kim Charlesworth and Jon Steinman, explained to council a vast majority of genetically engineered (G.E) crops currently commercialized are designed to be resistant to an herbicide which is also developed by the same company who developed the seed.

31.10.2008

Zambia does not change position on GMO ban

Govt Zambia’s position on Genetically Modified Products has not changed. Lusaka Province Minister, Lameck Mangani, says government will not allow Genetically Modified (GMO) products into the country. Mr. Mangani says there is need to continue protecting the country from the danger posed by GMO products.

31.10.2008

Zimbabwe to screen seed imports on GMOs

The Ministry of Agriculture will inspect seed and fertilizers coming into the country to detect genetically-modified organisms, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. The ministry recently announced that it would start issuing out temporal licences to individuals willing to import agricultural inputs such as maize seed and fertilizers. Agriculture Minister Mr Rugare Gumbo said there was a high possibility of modified seed coming into the country.

31.10.2008

Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency raids stores for unapproved GE food stuff

[Food and Drug Monitoring Agency] raided several imported-food stores in Jakarta, some of which had more than half their inventory seized and destroyed. [...] ”There are certain things acceptable in other countries that are not acceptable to us,” she went on. ”Genetically modified food, for instance, may be acceptable to the U.S. public but not to the Indonesian public. And we can only find out about that from the production flows.”

31.10.2008

Maize contaminated with transgenics in Chile

The Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA) at the University of Chile has detected genetically modified organisms in four samples of conventional maize grown near fields where transgenic maize seeds are being produced for export. ”These results are extremely serious. The question is, who will take responsibility? Who will pay for this contamination?” María Isabel Manzur of the non-governmental Sustainable Societies Foundation (FSS), which along with the Sustainable Chile Programme contracted INTA to analyse 30 maize samples, told IPS.

31.10.2008

Monsanto battles biopiracy claims over Indian Bt-gene

India is asking the local arm of multinational Monsanto Co. to pay a royalty for genetic information that forms the basis of a genetically modified seed sold by the firm here because it believes this information is that of a bacteria found in Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra Pradesh Biodiversity Board, a statutory body set up by the Union government under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, is seeking royalty payments from Monsanto India Ltd for genetic information it alleges was ”stolen” from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacteria found in the soils of Mahanandi village in Kurnool district.

29.10.2008

Arcadia Biosciences receives USD 15 mill to complete launch of GE safflower oil

Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company focused on developing technologies and products that benefit the environment and human health, said today that it has raised $15 million in financing from its current investors. The transaction was led by Exeter Life Sciences, with full participation of other key shareholders including CMEA Ventures, BASF Venture Capital America Inc., and Saints Capital. The company will use proceeds from the financing to fund and complete the launch of Arcadia’s GLA Safflower Oil – the company’s first commercial product – and to accelerate development of new technologies with enhanced agricultural traits.

29.10.2008

Broader financial turmoil threatens biotech’s innovation and cash

So many biotechnology companies talk about ”extending the runway” these days, you might think they had entered the airline business. But for them, runway refers to the time before a company runs out of money. And with financial markets in turmoil, the runways are looking dangerously short for many small biotechnology companies. A biotech crash, if it comes, could threaten an industry that plays a vital role in turning scientific advances into usable medicines. [...] SemBioSys, which hopes to use genetically engineered safflowers as a low-cost way to produce insulin and other drugs, said last week it would cut about 30 workers, or more than 40 percent of its work force. Even so, the company’s cash might last only until the middle of next year, Mr. Baum said.

29.10.2008

European Nordic Council urges governments to allow GMO-free zones

Setting up GMO-free zones in the Nordic countries could give the region a competitive advantage by producing organic GMO-free products. Moreover it will give the Nordic consumers the opportunity to make conscious consumer choices, as long as the products they buy are properly labelled. Therefore, the Nordic Council at its Session in Helsinki on Wednesday 29 October agreed that the Nordic governments should report on the opportunities for tightening current norms and regulations for the labelling of GMO products.

29.10.2008

Nebraska Univeristy (USA) may have role in convincing EU to embrace GE crops

Europeans may be on the verge of reassessing their long-held resistance to genetically modified crops, and Nebraska could play a role in that shift, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln plant geneticist said. Sally MacKenzie, who directs UNL’s Center for Plant Science Innovation, recently returned from trip to Brussels, Belgium, as part of a delegation led by Gov. Dave Heineman. The trip came at the invitation of Neil Parish, chairman of the European Union’s agriculture committee, who visited Nebraska last spring.

29.10.2008

EFSA overcharged and undervalued - Science Director resigned

Herman Koëter recently resigned as Science Director with the European Food Safety Authority passing fierce criticism on the organisation. According to Koëter EFSA is seriously overcharged, while political preferences of the European Commission more and more are reflected in research questions. Koëter says that the head of EFSA, Frenchwoman Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, is too much influenced by politicians and industry.

29.10.2008

Italian researchers breed non-GE high-anthocyanin tomato

Italian researches from School of advanced studies Sant’Anna, University of Pisa, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and University of Tuscia have launched a brand new tomato, being part of the ”Tom – Anto” research project. [...] This new tomato has been called ”Sun Black”. Its pulp is still of red color and it tastes just like a traditional tomato. Sun Black is not a GM product and it is very healthy, thanks to the anti-oxidant properties of anthocyanins.

28.10.2008

Australian Banana Growers Council oppose GE bananas

”We don’t believe the Australian consumer is ready to take onboard and buy and be satisfied with a GM-based banana,” [Tony Heidrich from the Australian Banana Growers Council] said. ”Until such time where we believe there is market acceptance out there, then we would not support its commercialisation.”

28.10.2008

Australian-first GM grass trial to start

Genetically modified pasture grass that is more nutritious and easier for stock to digest is set to be trialled in Victoria in an Australian first. Field trials of up to 500 lines of grasses will start in Hamilton, in western Victoria, following approval from the Federal Gene Technology Regulator. The trials will be undertaken by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the grasses will not be commercially released.

28.10.2008

Kenyan Bt maize project to audit performance, set for regional trials

The Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA), project that began in 1999 is to table their results on Bt maize experimental findings [...]. The meeting will then give the way forward particularly on expanding the experiment to other countries. The crucial issue for discussion would be how to avoid repeating the same procedures should the Bt maize tried in Kenya be taken across the borders to other countries in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, COMESA.

28.10.2008

Drought resistance is the goal, but methods differ

Monsanto will not say exactly what genes it is using, or in which species they originated. But one approach involves transcription factors, which are like master regulators, able to turn on dozens of other genes to orchestrate a plant’s response to lack of water. But with so many downstream genes activated, there could be other effects on the plants besides less need for water. At a recent biotechnology conference, a university researcher showed a photograph of a cotton plant with an inserted gene for a transcription factor. The plant was missing most of its leaves. No single approach is likely to suffice for all types of dry conditions. ”Probably no one has found the magic gene yet,” said Jian-Kang Zhu, a professor of plant biology at the University of California, Riverside. ”Probably there is no magic gene.”

28.10.2008

Restrict Indian GM food import without examination

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to restrict the import of genetically-modified food stuffs containing living modified organisms without examining their contents. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), a regulatory body under the ministry of environment and forests, would scientifically examine the genetically-modified food stuffs and crops before allowing their sale in the country.

28.10.2008

Protests sprout ahead of new field trials of India’s first GM foodcrop

A vegetable is at the centre of a row in Orissa as it is likely to become the first genetically-modified (GM) foodcrop to be permitted for commercial production in the country. While anti-GM activists in the state and elsewhere are furious at the insufficient data on the safety aspects of the crop, Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) brinjal seeds are likely to be sown in Orissa sometime next month as part of the countrywide field trials of Varanasi-based Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR).

27.10.2008

Australian company challenges universities using patented breast cancer gene for testing

The Federal Government says it’s extremely worried about the threat by a private company to restrict the use of a genetic test for breast cancer. The Melbourne-based company Genetic Technologies owns the patent to test for two breast cancer genes and it has told public hospitals that it will take legal action if they don’t stop conducting the test. But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating whether this contravenes the law.

27.10.2008

Food labelling review on its way in Australia

The Food Regulation Ministerial Council meeting in Adelaide today vowed to commission a sweeping review of food labelling after being urged by scientists to crack down on unlabelled genetically modified food. West Australian Minister for Agriculture Terry Redman said consumers should be able to make informed decisions when purchasing food ”with the ability to choose GM or non GM food based on clear and unambiguous labelling”. [...] Fifteen Australian and international scientists wrote an open letter to the ministers putting the case for further independent testing of GM food in Australia and an expansion of the labelling laws.

27.10.2008

UK National Farmers Union calls for more scientific research including GM

The report launched before 70 MPs at the House of Commons called on government ”to recognise the need of productive and efficient agriculture as an important goal for scientific research and development and not focus on environmental mitigation as its sole objective.” Dr Helen Ferrier, the author of the report, said this included research into genetically modified crops. She said it was one of ”the weapons in the armoury” in boosting output particularly given the challenges of climage change and increased demand for food.

27.10.2008

French Development Agency supports GE and organic cotton project in West Africa

The French Development Agency has granted US$ 4.5 million to the African Cotton Producers Association (APROCA) to support the development of the genetically-modified (GM) and organic cotton in West and Central Africa, a French diplomatic source has said. [...] It will further help devise a regional strategy in an attempt to strengthen and expand GM and organic cotton sub-industries according to the demand and ensure their leverage effect in promoting the Africa cotton and its competitiveness and professionalise farmers’ organisations.

27.10.2008

GM tomatoes may ward off cancer – shame they’re purple

Scientists have created tomatoes genetically modified to produce antioxidants that could help people to improve their diet and health. The tomatoes are being heralded as the first GM product to offer health benefits to consumers. [...] The research, to be published in Nature Biotechnology, was part-funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, funded by the British government. ”This is one of the first examples of a GM organism with a trait that really offers a potential benefit for all consumers,” said Martin, who now plans to test the tomatoes on humans.

27.10.2008

Europe’s secret plan to boost GM crop production

Gordon Brown and other European leaders are secretly preparing an unprecedented campaign to spread GM crops and foods in Britain and throughout the continent, confidential documents obtained by The Independent on Sunday reveal. The documents – minutes of a series of private meetings of representatives of 27 governments – disclose plans to ”speed up” the introduction of the modified crops and foods and to ”deal with” public resistance to them. And they show that the leaders want ”agricultural representatives” and ”industry” – presumably including giant biotech firms such as Monsanto – to be more vocal to counteract the ”vested interests” of environmentalists.

25.10.2008

Critics warn of corporate grab on plant life

A new 12-page report from ETC Group, ”Commodifying Nature’s Last Straw? Extreme Genetic Engineering and the Post-Petroleum Sugar Economy,” warns that corporate biorefineries fueled by plant sugars will create a massive demand for agricultural feedstocks, which threatens to devastate marginalized farming communities, deplete soil and water, and destroy biodiversity. ETC Group is an international advocacy group based in Canada that monitors the social impacts of new technologies

25.10.2008

Yo! No GMOs!

Like the 600 or so other co-ops that flourish across Japan -- providing food to more than 22 million people nationwide -- SCCC is dedicated to offering wholesome, non-GM foods at reasonable prices. Unfortunately, as my visitors explained, it is becoming increasingly difficult to purchase non-GM feed corn, so they traveled to the U.S. to meet with Midwestern farmers in hopes of securing feed contracts. Although supplies of non-GM feed corn have decreased in recent years, there is renewed hope for those not wanting to consume foods from GM-fed livestock and poultry. Research suggests that the trend among U.S. farmers to grow GM livestock feed is decreasing.

25.10.2008

U.S. Biotechnology Industry Organization questions proposed GE pharmacrop rules in Orgeon (USA)

Oregon’s proposed biopharm crop regulations overstep the state’s authority and are unnecessary, according to a biotech industry executive. At a hearing on the proposed rules Tuesday, Oct. 14, Michael Wach, a director for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, said: ”As drafted, the proposal appears to exceed the state’s authority to act in several important ways.” Federal law prohibits states from implementing laws or regulations that exceed USDA regulations, he said.

25.10.2008

Snowstorm slows GE beet harvest in Idaho (USA)

A snowstorm over the weekend of Oct. 10 through 12 slowed the sugar beet harvest in Idaho just as it was getting under way, said an official of Amalgamated Sugar Co. in Boise. [...] He said the new Roundup Ready beets, which the co-op is using commercially for the first time this year, should help. The genetically enhanced beet, whose sugar is identical to sugar from conventional beets, allows the use of the herbicide Roundup. It’s more effective and less costly overall than existing weed-control chemicals for conventional beets.

25.10.2008

U.S. students develop GE yeast for anti-cancer beer

College students often spend their free time thinking about beer, but some Rice University students are taking it to the next level. They’re using genetic engineering to create beer that contains resveratrol, a chemical in wine that’s been shown to reduce cancer and heart disease in lab animals. Rice’s ”BioBeer” will be entered in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition Nov. 8-9 in Cambridge, Mass. It’s the world’s largest synthetic biology competition, a contest where teams use a standard toolkit of DNA building blocks -- think genetic LEGO blocks -- to create living organisms that do odd things.

25.10.2008

Genetically engineered animals in the U.S. food supply

”This is a cutting-edge technology that has significant implications, including real benefits, not just for human health, but also for animal health, such as developing disease-resistant animals,” said Dr. Bernadette M. Dunham, director of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. The AVMA responded to the FDA guidance with a statement that noted potential benefits of GE animals while urging stakeholders to keep animal welfare in mind. ”The development and appropriate regulation of this technology has widespread applications in advancing our knowledge of diseases, food safety, environmental conservation, and efficient food and fiber production,” wrote Dr. W. Ron DeHaven, AVMA chief executive officer, in the AVMA response.

24.10.2008

Delay hits South Africa’s Consumer Protection Bill

The Consumer Protection Bill hit a hurdle in the national council of provinces last week when an opposition MP pointed out that thorough consultation about an amendment regarding genetically modified organisms (GMO) appeared not to have been carried out. Economics and foreign affairs select committee chairman Mbhazima Sibiya, of the ANC, agreed that the committee should not hasten the passage of the legislation at the cost of not abiding by the rules.

Go to page: ← 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 →

Overview

News

Page: ← 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 →

Home: GENET

GENET-news & GENET-forum

GENET-news is providing a daily news service on a range of topics regarding genetic engineering: Proteins, plants, food, patents, animals, regulation, business, humans and miscellanous.

You can subscribe by email.

news-*-genet-info.org

The GENET-forum list with additional news is only open GENET members. Please contact coordination-*-genet-info.org.