GENET-news

 Below you find the postings of the last seven days.

 

2013-04-10 |

Tunis 2013: If we rely on corporate seed, we lose food sovereignty

It has become crucial to defend seeds. In the past 20 or 30 years, what was once seen as normal – peasant farmers growing, selecting, saving and exchanging seeds – has come under attack from corporations seeking to control and commodify the very basis of agriculture. This was the subject of the session at the World Social Forum in Tunis on Peasant Seeds jointly organized on March 28, 2013 by La Vía Campesina, GRAIN and the ETC Group. There are four pillars of agriculture, says Nandini Jairam, a member of La Vía Campesina and a peasant farmer from Karnataka, India, “these are soil, water, seeds, and peasants.”

2013-04-10 |

New seed legislation spells disaster for small farmers in Africa

Civil society organisations from the SADC region, and around the world have condemned the SADC draft Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (Plant Breeders’ Rights) as spelling disaster for small farmers and food security in the region. These groups, representing millions of farmers in Africa and around the world have submitted their concerns to the SADC Secretariat. They are calling for the rejection of the Protocol and urgent consultations with farmers, farmer movements and civil society before it’s too late.

2013-04-10 |

Gates Foundation supports ’man on the moon’ project to put sustainable food on African tables

Research into the self-fertilising maize is being carried out under the auspices of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has granted almost USD 10 million to the international research team working to create symbiosis between cereal crops such as maize and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The project is called Engineering Nitrogen Symbiosis for Africa (abbreviated to ENSA). The symbiosis will make it possible for the maize to obtain nitrogen from the air. A ‘natural fertilisation package’ will get the maize to provide greater yields, and thereby put more food on the table for small-scale African farmers who grow crops to feed their own families and the local community.

2013-04-10 |

Nigerian Institute for Agricultural Research announces Maruca-resistant Bt cowpea for 2017

The Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria, has developed Maruca-resistant cowpea to reduce farm loss, Mrs Rose Gidado, a bio-technologist, said. [...] NAN reports that the Maruca-resistant cowpea project is a public-private partnership coordinated by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) to develop improved varieties of cowpea that can withstand the pod borer (Maruca vitrata), and enhance farmers’ grains and fodder produce.
Maruca vitrata is a major pest that inflicts severe damage to cowpea. In severe infestations, yield losses of between 70 per cent and 80 per cent have been reported.

2013-04-10 |

Pakistan sows Bt cotton to fight virus and bring higher yields

The sowing of BT cotton in Thatta, Badin and other coastal areas of lower Sindh has started as these areas are best suited for the crop, sources in the Agriculture Department said on Friday. The BT cotton variety is sown on 85 per cent areas of the province for being resistant to virus and higher yield. The Crop Protection Department has convened a meeting of officials and researchers on April 2, to discuss measures for protecting Kharif crop — rice and cotton — from a possible virus attack.

2013-04-10 |

U.S. expert predicts more soil insecticide used with Bt hybrids

Gray also said that in 2013, he anticipates a sharp increase in the use of planting-time soil insecticides with corn rootworm Bt hybrids. On average, nearly half the producers indicated they intend to use both a soil applied (at-planting) insecticide with their corn rootworm Bt hybrid this spring. “From my perspective, the escalation of soil insecticide use along with corn rootworm Bt hybrids has been fueled primarily by concerns about Bt resistance and high commodity prices,” he said. [...] more than a quarter of the producers acknowledged that they view the use of a soil insecticide with a corn rootworm Bt hybrid as “cheap insurance.”

2013-04-09 |

Australia transfers technology for genetically modified bananas to India

Australian scientists have genetically modified bananas to stack them with extra vitamins and iron. They are now sharing this technology with Indian scientists. What makes this development really significant is that India is the world’s largest producer of bananas by a mammoth margin and consumes most of these domestically. So it is elementary that if Indian bananas could be fortified with more nutrients, this would have a wholesome impact on the citizenry’s diet and counteract their penchant for malnutrition.

2013-04-09 |

Multi-toxin GE crops not silver bullets, U.S. scientists warn

The popular new strategy of planting genetically engineered crops that make two or more toxins to fend off insect pests rests on assumptions that don’t always apply, UA researchers have discovered. Their study helps explain why one major pest is evolving resistance much faster than predicted and offers ideas for more sustainable pest control. A strategy widely used to prevent pests from quickly adapting to crop-protecting toxins may fail in some cases unless better preventive actions are taken, suggests new research by University of Arizona entomologists published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

2013-04-09 |

New pests begin to suck Bt cotton yields in Punjab

According to Kiran Kranthi, Director of the Nagpur-based Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), insecticide usage for bollworm control decreased after 2004, while the usage for sucking pest control increased after 2006. [...] According to the statistics compiled by Kranthi, the use of insecticide to control bollworm has dropped by 6,599 tonnes in 2003 to 222 tonnes in 2011. Similarly, the use of insecticides to control sucking pests has more than doubled from 2,909 tonnes in 2003 to 6,372 tonnes in 2011.

2013-04-09 |

We do not need GMOs - Ugandan farmers

Small scale farmers want Uganda parliament to throw out the National Biotechnology and Bio Safety Bill of 2013. They argue that it will promote wide faming of Genetically Modified Organism, common referred to as GMO farming. Farmers believe that the introduction of GMOs cannot solve food security but do the oppositet. Those that spoke to East African Business Week say, although government is convincing the public that the bill aims at coming up with security interventions, they are aware that government is on the move to support the farming of Genetically Modified Organism.

2013-04-09 |

Consumer Rights Association claims Turkey imports illegal GMO products

The Consumer Rights Association (TDH) claimed yesterday that several different genetically modified organism products that jeopardize people’s health are being imported as the companies involved in 21 tons of seized GMO rice still deny the allegations. Turkey imported officially and legally goods like soya bean, soya oil, corn, cotton and rice worth more than $12 billion from producer countries between 2008 and 2012, said THD in a statement. Turkey imported $6 billion of these goods from the United States, one of the biggest GMO producers in the world.

2013-04-09 |

Genetically modified alfalfa protested by Canadian farmers

The National Farmers Union and the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network are set to rally today against the possible introduction of genetically modified alfalfa in Canada. Genetically modified alfalfa was approved for health and environmental release in Canada in 2005, but any variety must be registered before it can be commercially released. To date, no genetically modified alfalfa varieties are registered with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The NFU says Roundup-ready alfalfa will become another weed.

2013-04-08 |

”There is no Monsanto Protection Act”

There is no Monsanto Protection Act. As a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), we were pleased to join major grower groups in supporting the Farmer Assurance Provision, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Seed Trade Association, the American Soybean Association, the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Cotton Council, and several others. Additional supporters included former Secretaries of Agriculture.

2013-04-08 |

Sen. Blunt from Missouri (USA) crafts ”Monsanto Protection Act” provision to aid Monsanto, a big donor

When the U.S. Senate last month approved an Agricultural Appropriations Bill to fund the government in the face of looming sequestration cuts, included within the bill was a rider which protects genetically modified seeds from lawsuits concerning health risks posed by the crops. The provision, tucked away in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, was passed without review by the Agricultural or Judiciary Committees and quickly termed the “Monsanto Protection Act” by detractors. [...] Politico has cited Blunt (R-MO), the ranking Republican on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, as the rider’s chief advocate. Blunt told the online publication he even worked with Monsanto to craft the bill.

2013-04-08 |

”Monsanto Protection Act” - U.S. Big Agriculture flexes its muscle

In no uncertain terms, the amendment tells the secretary how he must respond the next time a court order challenges one of Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds for which the St. Louis-based giant is a pioneer in commercializing. The real life impact is unclear as the underlying spending bill expires Sept. 30. But Monsanto gets a foot in the door toward mandating some type of stewardship program under which farmers can continue to plant its seeds as the court fight continues. The language is unusually strong: the secretary “shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law… immediately grant” temporary permits to continue using the seed at the request of a farmer or producer wanting such a stewardship program.

2013-04-08 |

Hawaii Senate committees hear then kill GMO labeling bill

Three committees of the Hawaii Senate Thursday heard the House proposal to require labels on genetically modified food produced outside the state, and then they voted to table the bill for the current legislative session, effectively killing the bill. Once again. Just two days earlier, House Bill (HB) 174 was considered dead after the Senate Agriculture Committee opted not to hear the proposal even though it passed the Hawaiian House by a 50 to 1 margin.

2013-04-08 |

U.S. Center for Science in the Public Interest calls for farmer protection from GE crops

The Center for Science in the Public Interest announced today in a press release that the U.S. Department of Agriculture should require that biotechnology companies, like Monsanto, mandate that farmers who purchase genetically engineered seeds take steps to limit GE crops’ unintended impact on neighboring farms. The nonprofit group says the USDA needs to do that and more to ensure that conventional and organic crops successfully coexist with their genetically engineered cousins. Organic farmers and conventional farmers that don’t plant GE seeds are concerned about keeping biotech products out of their fields. If pollen flows from a GE to a non-GE crop, it may not pose a food safety hazard, but it can create financial losses for farmers, who often sell their crops at a premium price.

2013-04-08 |

Bayer and Syngenta submit triple herbicide-tolerance soybean trait for approval

Bayer CropScience and Syngenta have submitted applications for the approval of a new herbicide-tolerance soybean trait in various countries. It is now under review by regulatory authorities in the United States and Canada as well as key soybean-importing countries, including the European Union. [...] The new trait confers tolerance to three herbicide active ingredients: Mesotrione, Glufosinate-ammonium and Isoxaflutole (MGI). This MGI herbicide tolerance trait offers an important new tool for soybean growers faced with challenging weeds such as waterhemp, Palmer pigweed and lambsquarters. 



2013-04-02 |

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service discussed herbicide tolerant GE crop ban in wildlife refuges

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold five public meetings around the South in June to hear what people think about using genetically modified crops on refuges to provide food for ducks, geese and other migrating waterfowl. [...] Until this year, the agency let farmers use seeds modified for resistance to the herbicide in Roundup or to include insect-killing bacteria. It stopped after the Center for Food Safety and two other environmental groups sued in Washington, contending that the crops encourage overuse of herbicides and the growth of herbicide-resistant weeds, hurt beneficial insects and change soil ecology. Similar lawsuits filed by the groups in Delaware ended use of GM seeds in the agency’s 12-state Northeast Region.

2013-03-22 |

A new wave of European patents on conventional plants

The European Patent Office has restarted to rush for patents on plants derived from conventional breeding, although a precedent case is pending in front the Enlarged Board of Appeal concerning a patent on tomatoes (G2/12). This new development is evident from a report of the coalition of No Patents on Seeds that is published today. Within a few weeks, around a Dozen new patents will be granted, covering species such as broccoli, onions, lettuce, cucumber and melons. Just today two patents, one on salad and one on cucumber, are granted. This new practise of patenting is very likely influenced by the opinion of the President of the EPO, Mr. Benoît Battistelli, which very recently gave a clear statement in favor of these patents.

2013-03-22 |

Bill’s excellent African adventure: A tale of technocratic agroindustrial philanthrocapitalism

From 2009 to 2011, Bill Gates’ foundation spent $478,302,627 to influence African agricultural development. Adding in the value of agricultural grants going to multiple regions and those for 2012, the Foundation’s outlay to influence African agriculture is around $1 billion. Of course, Gates is not an African, not a scholar of Africa, not a farmer, and not a development expert. But he is a very rich man, and he knows how he wants to remake the world. Gates’ support for ag development strategies favors industrial, high-tech, capitalist market approaches. In particular, his support for genetically engineered crops as a solution for world hunger is of concern to those of us - in Africa and the U.S. - involved in promoting sustainable, equitable agricultural policies.

2013-03-22 |

Mexican farmers protest the entrance of GMO corn

Since its introduction of genetically modified crops, Monsanto has generated a sea of controversy among small farmers across the U.S., and the company is now trying to expand south into Mexico. After years of trying to penetrate the Mexican market, Monsanto, Dupont, and Dow had a breakthrough when outgoing Mexican president Felipe Calderón granted them the right to cultivate GMO corn in various northern Mexican states. Protesting the influx of genetically modified crops in their country, activists, farmers, and academics all across Mexico have been mobilizing to urge the new Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto to reject these permissions.

2013-03-22 |

GE crops to help Viet Nam with food security

Crop biotechnology could help Vietnam ensure food security, experts have said at a recent workshop on global outlook for genetically modified crops in Hanoi. According to Nguyen Van Tuat, Deputy Director of Vietnam Academy for Agricultural Sciences, the country has the potential to develop crop biotechnology. [...] Dr Clive James, founder and chairman of the International Services for the Acquisition on Agriculture Application, said Vietnam had the potential to plant about 1 million hectares in biotech crops. But if it did not start soon it might lag behind African countries, he said.

2013-03-22 |

Question Hour adjourned after BJP-Cong war of words over Bt Cotton

The Rajya Sabha on Friday witnessed heated exchange between the BJP and the Congress members over Bt Cotton issue forcing the adjournment of the Question Hour. The House was adjourned as some BJP members became agitated when the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Charan Das Mahant hesitated in answering the question on the ground that a PIL on Bt Cotton is pending before the Supreme Court.

2013-03-22 |

President of Tanzania wants GE crops taken aboard

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete has called for change of negative mindset on the adoption of Genetically Modified Organisms technology in the country. The president, however, challenged scientists in the country to conduct research to establish the practicality of the technology to enable the government to act accordingly. He said as long as there are no proven major negative impacts, he saw no logic in opposing the application of the technology as the government embarks on various plans to modernize agriculture and farming methods.

2013-03-20 |

Lawsuit filed against EU authorisation of genetically engineered soybeans

The European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility, the Society for Ecological Research, the foundation Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung for Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection, the Foundation on Future Farming, the non-profit organisation Sambucus and Testbiotech are challenging a decision made by the EU Commission to authorise a new genetically engineered Monsanto soybean at the European Court of Justice. The soybeans will be mostly sold and grown in Brazil under the brand name Intacta, the harvest will be imported to the EU for use in food and feed.

2013-03-20 |

U.S. Agricultural Retailers Association urges opposition to proposed Hawaii GMO-labeling bill

ARA is urging members with operations in Hawaii to contact their state representatives to voice opposition to the proposed GMO-labeling bill H.B. 174. Agricultural Retailers Association has recently been made aware of a very poorly written and ill-conceived bill to mandate labeling of genetically modified foods in Hawaii. This last minute proposal is the result of some of the most extensive, aggressive and intimidating activist tactics the industry has ever encountered.

2013-03-20 |

U.S. Natural Products Association calls for national standard on GMO labeling

The Natural Products Association (Board of Directors calls for all foods containing genetically-modified organisms to be accurately labeled under a national uniform standard so consumers can make educated decisions about foods they purchase. NPA is the nation’s largest association for natural products, representing over 1,900 members accounting for more than 10,000 locations of retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of natural products. “This is really very simple – people have a right to know what’s in their food. A national standard is the best, most cost-effective and least-confusing way to deliver on this commitment for American consumers.

2013-03-20 |

Alaska’s senators ask for clear labeling for frankenfish as the salmon continues towards approval

An amendment to the continuing Resolution being debated in the Senate was filed yesterday by Alaska’s senators, Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich. The amendment called for clear and unquestionable labeling being placed on salmon products that have been genetically modified. This is the latest obstacle placed in the path of Aquabounty as that company moves to place their GM salmon on storeshelves for human consumption. There is concern in many corners that the genetically engineered salmon that has genes spliced from eel pout and a growth hormone from Chinook salmon will elevate the potential for allergies and that the elevated levels IGF-1 growth hormone will increase the risk of colon, prostate, and breast cancer.

2013-03-20 |

Oregon (USA) could ban GE fish, require labeling of GM foods

Oregon could become the first state in the nation to require the labeling of foods with genetically modified ingredients under several bills in the Legislature. State lawmakers are considering at least eight bills on genetically modified food labeling, fish and crops. Several bills would require foods produced with genetically engineered materials to be labeled. Others bills would prohibit importing or cultivating genetically engineered fish. Three other bills would place restrictions on the planting of genetically modified crops and require manufacturers of genetically engineered seeds to be held liable for damages to neighboring crops.

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