GENET-news

07.11.2006

Legal challenge on GM rice

Friends of the Earth have filed a legal challenge against the Food Standards Agency over its handling of the contamination of American long grain rice with unauthorised GM material. The Agency is defending the claims made by the environmental campaign group as it believes its actions on this issue have been appropriate and proportionate.

07.11.2006

Western Cape Agriculture on Wine Council vote against Genetically Modified Organisms

The Western Cape Department of Agriculture has decided to side with the South African Wine Council in their opposition against a request to the Registrar Genetically Modified Organisms for permission to use genetically modified malolactic yeast (ML01) for the commercial production of wine in South Africa.

07.11.2006

As Bt trial fields sprout, regulators say ensure monitoring mechanism runs deep

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 5: After three years of Bt cotton, the first genetically modified crop in India, a whole range of crops are being tested in contained fields. As the numbers grow — there are 85 trial sites already in the country (see map) — activists and apex regulators are cautioning that the regulatory mechanism needs to run deep, down to the village-level, to keep pace with new trial sites. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), whose activists torched a Bt rice trial field in Karnal last week, today alleged that seeds had been left unattended after harvesting at a Bt rice trial field in Gorakhpur and grains removed for storage in a rented room in a village. The field, the BKU claimed, was leased to Mahyco by an absentee landowner.

07.11.2006

National Starch raises US ingredients prices

he news comes amid a stream of similar announcements from other ingredients firms, as the industry is increasingly squeezed by higher raw material and energy costs. The latest increases from National starch, effective December 4 2006, will range from 7 to 10 percent on specialty products, depending on the product complexity and processing required. According to the firm, price increases for unmodified corn starch products will be "considerably larger", reflecting the higher base cost of corn in these products

07.11.2006

U.S. experiment uses AIDS to fight AIDS

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - An AIDS virus genetically engineered to fight other AIDS viruses worked better than expected, suppressing the virus and renewing the immune systems of a few patients, researchers reported on Monday. The study involved just five people, and such an approach needs years more study, they cautioned -- but the surprising results offer new hope both for the field of gene therapy and for treating the fatal and incurable AIDS virus.

07.11.2006

Scientists seek permission for human-cow embryos

Scientists in Britain have asked for permission to create "hybrid" embryos from animal eggs and human cells for medical research into some of the most intractable diseases. The aim is to create a cloned embryo by fusing a nucleus from a human skin cell with a cow's egg that has had its own cell nucleus removed.

06.11.2006

Got milk without hormones? It's headed toward St. Louis shelves

A new category of milk soon will join the old favorites on local store shelves, much to the chagrin of Monsanto Co. Dairies and producers in the St. Louis region are preparing to meet retailers' demand for milk made without the use of Posilac, a synthetic bovine growth hormone sold by Creve Coeur-based Monsanto to boost a cow's production.

06.11.2006

Rice farmers biggest losers over altered rice, exec says

Roughly 40 percent of U. S. rice exports have been negatively affected by what many experts consider to be their industry's worst crisis, a USA Rice Federation official said Friday. Speaking in Little Rock to the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board, federation Vice President Bob Cummings discussed the damage caused to the $ 1. 3 billion U. S. rice export market after the U. S. Department of Agriculture's August revelation that traces of an unapproved, genetically engineered rice had been discovered in U. S. longgrain rice supplies.

06.11.2006

Monsanto acquisition could lock up cotton market

In a move somewhere between brilliantly audacious and unbelievably outrageous, Monsanto’s Aug. 15 offer to buy Delta & Pine Land Co. will create a titan with a hammer lock on every corner of the cottonseed market—seed genetics, seed distribution and seed price. The $1.5 billion deal marries Delta, with an estimated 50 percent of the U.S. cottonseed market, to Monsanto, whose biotech traits are found over 80 percent of all American cotton acres.

06.11.2006

Activists leave occupied Syngenta GMO farm in Brazil

SAO PAULO (MarketWatch) -- Activists from the international anti-transgenic farming and agrarian reform group, Via Campesina, left a Syngenta Seeds (SYT) experimental farm in Parana state on Friday that some 300 people had occupied since March, the company said. Syngenta is one of Brazil's largest researchers of genetically modified organisms. The company sells agrochemicals.

06.11.2006

Taiwan looks to capitalize on its flora, fauna and build biotech industry

Algae and fish scales are turned into skin-care products. Herbs are made into health foods. Evergreen trees are cultivated to make anticancer drugs. Though Taiwan has had some success in turning the island's great variety of flora and fauna into commercial products, experts say it has a long way to go before it emerges as a biotechnology powerhouse. With limited government support for research and a poor record of cashing in on laboratory breakthroughs, it is still struggling to create a name for itself in an increasingly competitive field, they say.

06.11.2006

WA GM cotton research continues despite focus shifting to Qld

A group behind trials of genetically modified (GM) crops in the Kimberley for over a decade says the cotton industry is shifting its focus to north Queensland. The Cotton Cooperative Research Centre was commenting after the Gene Technology Regulator's decision to approve GM strains for commercial growing in northern Australia.

03.11.2006

Hypocrisy claim as tests on animals increase by 4.5%

ANIMAL testing in Scotland has grown sharply despite government assurances that the controversial practice will be reduced, new figures have revealed. The Scotsman has obtained detailed figures on scientific experiments conducted on living creatures in Scotland.

03.11.2006

Kuwait lacks laws to regulate GM foods

KUWAIT: Kuwait has no laws or regulations against importing Genetically Modified (GM) foods, Controller of Standards Control at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Department of Standards, Khaled Al-Fahad, said.
The issue remains unclear on the international level, therefore, countries have been reluctant to join one of the two camps, he added. Al-Fahad said this issue remains a hot topic internationally; once there is some global consensus on GM foods, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will follow agreements.

03.11.2006

Health warning by the Department of Public Health over GMO rice

The Public Health Department yesterday warned the public against consuming Blue Ribbon Golden Parboiled Long Grain Enriched Rice and Uncle Ben’s Enriched Parboiled Long Grain Rice, due to the presence of Genetically Modified Organisms which is unauthorised in the EU.

For more information, contact the Department of Public Health on 2133-2225 or 2132-4093 between 8am and 1pm.

03.11.2006

Genetically modified food discovered in Bulgaria

There are foods in Bulgaria's market that are genetically modified according to a several-month research carried out by the public environment and stable development centre and by For the Earth Association.

Soya sauce and waffles that contain genetically modified organisms were found in the market of Bulgaria's seaside city of Varna.

03.11.2006

Czechs profit by allowing GM crops and conventional crops to co-exist

They go together like chalk and cheese. Like orange and green, they should never be seen together. Genetically modified crops just can't be permitted to contaminate conventional or organic ones.
But judging by farmer experience in the Czech Republic, where 1290ha of GM maize was grown commercially this year, there is no reason why co-existence can't succeed.

03.11.2006

Experts in science, medicine, law and ethics declare that Missouri's Amendment 2 endorses human cloning

Today over two dozen experts in science, medicine, law and ethics released an open letter to news media and the people of Missouri on the state's proposed ballot initiative known as Amendment 2. They conclude that "the people of Missouri should know what they are actually voting on. Amendment 2 creates a constitutional right for researchers to engage in human cloning. Efforts to deny this are misleading and deceptive."

The signers include experts in embryology, microbiology and maternal/fetal medicine, as well as past and present members of the President's Council on Bioethics and several founding members of Do No Harm: the Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics.

03.11.2006

Limagrain, GRDC to bring GM healthy wheat to market

A genetically modified wheat variety that has significantly more resistant starch than regular wheat could reach the market in five years, say Australian scientists who have won financial backing to commercialise the crop.
A new joint venture involving French cereals group Limagrain and Australia's Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will invest $12.5 million in the project run by the Australian research body CSIRO.

02.11.2006

Change in IRRI’s copyright policy to facilitate the free exchange of vital information

Los Baños, Philippines – After being given an important new role by the rice-producing nations of Asia to support the free flow of rice research and knowledge, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has announced an important change in its copyright policy.
Taking a leaf out of the software industry’s book, the Philippines-based Institute has announced that it will change its information copyright policy from the original «all rights reserved.” Effectively echoing the software industry’s open-source movement, others will now be able to use IRRI’s intellectual property provided they do not place restrictions on its use by anyone else.

02.11.2006

Premier announces new tax incentives aimed to bolster growth of bioscience industry in Prince Edward Island

On October 12, 2006, in Charlottetown, PEI Premier Pat Binns announced a comprehensive tax incentive package for the bioscience industry in Prince Edward Island that will encourage existing companies to expand and focus on commercial opportunities in the industry as well as help attract new companies to the province. Under this new tax incentive program, bioscience companies of more than 10 employees and a $750,000 annual payroll are eligible to receive a full rebate on their provincial corporate income taxes for up to 10 years. Premier Binns said money rebated to bioscience companies will be reinvested, helping to create more jobs and opportunities in the sector.

02.11.2006

Kuwait, Mideast nations urged to block import of GM rice from US

KUWAIT (KUNA): Kuwait has no laws or regulations against importing Gene-tically Modified (GM) foods, Controller of Standards Control at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Department of Standards, Khaled Al-Fahad, told KUNA. The issue remains unclear on the international level, therefore, countries have been reluctant to join one of the two camps, he added. Al-Fahad continued this issue remains a hot topic internationally; once there is some global consensus on GM foods, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will follow agreements.

02.11.2006

Exporters flash GM rice alert

New Delhi, Nov. 1: Rice exporters have called for a freeze on field trials of genetically modified (GM) rice in India, warning that any leakage into harvested rice could wreak economic havoc.

The exporters said GM rice field trials should be deferred until seed companies and regulatory agencies can guarantee that the rice will not contaminate harvested crop and until national health authorities can certify that GM rice is safe for long-term consumption by humans.

01.11.2006

Biopharming panel sees way to protect health, advance work

A state committee on biopharming made final recommendations Monday on how to regulate crops designed to make drugs.

The committee's report suggests ways Oregon can protect public health while leaving the door open to new technology.

The 10-member group's meeting in Portland ended a year of work. Its report to Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the Legislature is designed to provide guidance on a bill expected to be introduced during the next several months.

01.11.2006

Biotechnology opportunities in Nigeria

A workshop on «Appropriating biotechnology for investment opportunities in Nigeria” was held in Sokoto on Thursday, 20 July. The Sokoto State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Saddiq Garba Abubakar, on behalf of the Executive Governor, Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, declared the workshop open.

01.11.2006

ANALYSIS - GMO traces pressure Spain's organic maize farmers

MADRID - Organic farmers in Spain are abandoning maize after finding traces of genetically modified (GMO) strains in their crops, figures show.

The amount of contamination is small, less than one percent, but environmental groups and organic farmers say they fear bigger problems ahead.

01.11.2006

Tight security for GM-crop tests

The Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) yesterday received its first application in three years to field-test a GM crop at Lincoln.

In 2002, protesters trashed three years of research on GM potatoes by the Lincoln-based company Crop and Food Research.

The attack followed an incident in 1999 when the Wild Greens group destroyed a GM potato trial at Lincoln.

31.10.2006

New rice farming system promises wonders

NEW DELHI, OCT 29: Several efforts are on for increasing production of world’s major staple crop, rice, in a cost-effective manner. Conservation of natural resources and improvement in soil health are vital for boosting crop production on a sustainable basis.
One such model developed is the system for rice intensification (SRI), developed by Fr Henri de Laulanie in 1980s in Madagascar. «SRI offers unprecedented opportunities for improving rice production in a variety of situations around the world, not just by increments but even by multiples”, says Norman Uphoff of the Cornell International Institute for Food Agriculture and Development.

31.10.2006

Thailand reaffirms that all rice is GM-free

Thai authorities have assured importing countries that Thai rice is free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), in light of growing concerns, especially in Europe.

The European Union (EU), has urged Thai exporters to obtain GMO-free certification, at 1,800 baht per test, to improve confidence among European consumers, who are especially sensitive about genetically modified foods.

Concern rose earlier this year when genetically modified grains were detected in some rice shipped from the United States and China to the EU.

31.10.2006

Hog-wild for pig organs: Hub doc’s pet project: animal-to-people transplants

Harvesting pig organs and transplanting them in humans may not be that far off, says one doctor, whose Boston-area lab is genetically engineering swine, putting their organs in baboons and waiting to see if it works well enough to try in people.

«I see the possibility in the future of having pigs available that would be tailored to have the best possible kidneys or best possible liver or lungs to transplant into a human being,” said Dr. David Sachs, director of the Transplantation Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

31.10.2006

DoE resists transgenic rice growing authorization in Iran

TEHRAN – The director of the country’s Department of Environment (DoE) Fatemeh Javadi on Friday announced that an official go-ahead for cultivation of genetically modified rice would not be issued due to lack of compelling documents that could support the move.
Speaking to the reporters, she added that DoE has yet to receive any report from a group of experts in charge of providing sufficient documentation to prove that transgenic rice would be healthy and the project would be economical altogether.
However, he admitted that the scientific basis for the move is convincing. «A sample of the DNA of the main rice pest, called stem borer, is used in the process which makes the plant resistant against the pest during its growth period.”

31.10.2006

New seed bill: A grave mistake

In the name of harmonizing with the European Union, the government has been submitting some bills to the Parliament that are loosely based on the EU acquis. This was the basis for the laws on sugar, tobacco and growers’ unions. The seed bill currently being discussed in Parliament is a similar half-thought-out piece of legislation. The EU stamp gives these bills some immunity from criticism and prevents the opposition from voicing their concerns. Especially when the bill is about an often-ignored group like farmers, the whole debate is crowded out.

31.10.2006

Consumer groups attack move to milk cloned cows

24/10/2006 - Consumer groups in the US have united against government plans to allow milk and meat from cloned animals into the food chain, highlighting a potential dilemma for dairy firms interested in the technology.

One consumer lobby, the Center for Food Safety, has filed a legal petition asking the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to launch a moratorium on food from cloned animals.
Debate was re-ignited last week after the FDA said a draft of plans to regulate food from cloned animals could get government backing by the end of the year.

31.10.2006

Glyphosate-resistant marestail confirmed in Nebraska

UNL researchers have confirmed the first glyphosate-resistant weed species in Nebraska — marestail, also know as horseweed. While Nebraska researchers first suspected resistance had developed almost a year ago, it took tests and growing plants from last year's seeds to confirm it.

31.10.2006

Kenya approves a national policy on biotechnology

[NAIROBI] The Kenyan government has approved its policy on how biotechnology is handled in research, development, and in its application.

The National Biotechnology Development Policy 2006 approved by the cabinet last month (28 September) marks the go-ahead for the use of biotechnology in the country.

It outlines the safety procedures for biotechnology in the context of research and development, technology transfer and commercialisation of products that would result from research undertaken in Kenya.

31.10.2006

Biowatch won't be cowed into submission

The environmental group Biowatch South Africa will be going to court again to fight a legal ruling that has the potential to cow other watchdog groups from taking on big corporations. Biowatch Director Leslie Liddell confirmed at the weekend that it would go to the Pretoria High Court on April 23 2007, to contest the contentious legal costs ruling handed down early in 2006 by Judge Eric Dunn. The case follows Biowatch's successful high court case to gain access to information about the procedures used by the government to permit the release of genetically modified (GM) crops into the environment. Dunn ruled in favour of Biowatch and ordered the Registrar of Genetic Resources to hand over most of the information.

31.10.2006

Uganda 'needs biotech law' to save banana sector

[KAMPALA] An official in Uganda's agriculture ministry has expressed concern that policymakers are not keeping pace with scientific efforts to control a disease threatening the country's main cash crop.

Opolot Okasai, commissioner for crop production and marketing, told SciDev.Net yesterday (10 October) that banana bacterial wilt could cost Uganda US$6-8 billion in the next 5-10 years.

Uganda's National Agricultural Research Organisation and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture are working together to develop a transgenic banana that can resist the disease.

31.10.2006

GM grains versus proof of safety

Zambia has since 2002 refused to accept GM foods aid from USA on grounds that health risks to human are unknown. But the author highlights the issues of human and environmental health as regards GM foods.
GM Grains Versus Proof of Safety By Justin Mupundu The debate on Genetically Modified (GM) Foods in Zambia is around the issues of human and environmental safety? the potential risks: Unintentional introduction of the GM maize variety into the country as a result of the planting, or the spillage of the whole kernel maize produced as food.

The first government organized GMOs debate was in 2001,at Mulungushi international Conference Center. President Levy Mwanawasa, during the debate refused to accept GM foods from United States of America on grounds of that the health risks to human were unknown. Mark Mallock Brown, UNDP Administrator, agreed with the Zambian government: «They may well be food risks inherent in the GM crops, but are as yet unproved.”

31.10.2006

Malawi formulate national legislation to reject GM maize!

Malawi must formulate a national legislation to reject Genetic Modification (GM) maize, until it undertakes a scientific assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) on human health and biodiversity.

Presenting the food aid analysis and its effects at the Southern Africa Social Forum (SASF), Edson Musopole from Action Aid said the decision with regard to the acceptance of GM commodities as part of food aid transactions rests with recipient’s country.

Musopole noted that alternative source of non GM food are usually available in local or non GM maize neighbouring countries.

31.10.2006

DuPont and CIMMYT Announce $1.3 Million Maize Collaboration For Africa

DES MOINES, IA, Oct. 19, 2006 — DuPont and the global wheat and maize improvement center, CIMMYT, today announced a $1.3 million research, product development and technical support collaboration for Africa.
Over the next three years researchers at DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., and CIMMYT will work together to develop novel traits to improve production agriculture and address food challenges in developing countries globally.

Africa, where an estimated 200 million people are undernourished and 33 million children suffer from famine, is a primary target for this work. The initial research projects will focus on maize nitrogen utilization to increase and stabilize maize yields with subsequent research projects on drought tolerance, Striga tolerance and protein enhancement.

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