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2007-06-15 |

Letter on the US-INDIA Agricultural Knowledge Initiative

I am sending a brief note on ”US-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative” agreement on agriculture for your kind perusal. The entire agreement is shroud in mystery and the farmers of the country have serious apprehensions about the real intent and motive of the joint agreement. Indian Agricultural Scientists have done a very splendid job through years of sustained research. Their scientific acumen and compatibility can match the best of faculty in the world. This agriculture agreement will oblige our scientist to became a tool in the hands of the multinationals for advancement & promotion of their interest in India. I would like to give a brief on the entire gamut of the US-India agreement as the matter concerns India’s sovereignty and the future of Indian agriculture.

2007-06-15 |

Andhra Pradesh' Environment Act to keep a tab on Bt cotton companies

Unfazed by the Centre’s decision to remove cotton from the Essential Commodities Act, the State Government has decided to invoke provisions of the Environment Protection Act to keep a check on Bt Cotton seed manufacturers and suppliers. As the efforts to convince the Centre yet to yield results so far, the Government made an in-depth study of other alternatives and it stumbled upon provisions under the Environment Protection Act that came handy. It decided to invoke the provisions under the EP Act that empowers seed inspectors of the Agriculture Department to inspect, search and seize the genetically modified seed varieties, including the Bt Boll Guard I and II versions.

2007-06-15 |

Green light for first field trials of GM wheat in Australia

An application to conduct the first Australian field trial of genetically modified (GM) wheat has been given the green light by the federal gene technology regulator. The trial of the new GM wheat lines, which have been modified for drought tolerance, will take place at two sites in the shires of Horsham and Mildura in Victoria.

2007-06-15 |

EU food processors nix proposal to charge fees for risk assessments

The EU’s processors have called on the bloc’s administrative arm to drop a proposal that would allow the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) to charge companies fees for assessments. In a letter to the European Commission, the Confederation of Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA) said any move to charge fees might disadvantage small companies. Charging fees would also not serve to meet the Commission’s aim of providing a stable income to the bloc’s food risk assessment agency.

2007-06-15 |

New biotech patent law gets green light in Switzerland

Biotechnology discoveries, such as genetic sequences, will enjoy more protection in Switzerland after parliament voted in favour of a revised patent law. Monday’s decision in the Senate was in line with that taken by the House of Representatives last year, leading critics to say that the new legislation was a victory for the pharmaceutical industry.

2007-06-15 |

Where’s the science? Assess Bt maize before approval in Brazil

The Brazilian constitution makes clear the need to evaluate the biosafety of proposed GM organisms under national conditions before they are commercialised. But, as yet, there has been no scientific assessment of Bt maize under Brazilian conditions, and this should be made a priority before the committee makes its decision. [...] The effect of imposing a GM monoculture model on local and indigenous cultivars would be particularly devastating in Brazil, where varieties have long contributed to agriculture and provide an irreplaceable pool of genes for conventional plant breeding.

2007-06-14 |

First patent sought for man-made organism

A leading U.S. scientist has applied to patent the world’s first man-made life form. Hailed as the biggest, most controversial genetics breakthrough since the cloning of Dolly the sheep, Dr. Craig Venter -- the scientist who led the private-sector race to map the human genome -- says his research team has figured out which genes provide the bare essentials for life. Now he wants the commercial rights to their use. Venter plans to cobble together synthetic versions of these genes to create the world’s first artificial living being.

2007-06-14 |

Genetically modified food: No more secrets in Canada

Alex Atamanenko (BC Southern Interior) tabled a private member’s bill today that will bring transparency to the use of genetically modified foods. His bill will require the mandatory labelling of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in food. ”Year after year the results of public opinion polls overwhelmingly demonstrate that over 80% of Canadians want products containing genetically modified organisms to be labelled,” said the NDP Agriculture Critic. ”People should have the right to make informed choices about the food they purchase to feed their families.”

2007-06-14 |

Protecting Canadian farms from GMOs

Monsanto’s Trish Jordan was quoted as saying all types of farming can coexist ”with reasonable tolerances and thresholds for adventitious presence ...”, and that Saskatchewan organic farmers should ”focus on something positive for your industry instead of trying to criticize what other farmers want to do”. This condescending and insulting advice ignores the fact organic farmers’ livelihoods depend on protecting the integrity of the food they produce in a way that meets the demand of their customers, many of whom believe contamination by transgenic material is potentially harmful.

2007-06-14 |

Is Organic standards under attack from GMOs?

The European Commission’s defense of the 0.9% level is that any lower would ”effectively wipeout” the organic sector by making it too expensive for organic farmers to keep contamination below this level. The real reason according to Jonathan Mathews of GMwatch.org is ”bureaucratic convenience, it suits their ideas about co-existence of GM crops alongside non-GMO crops, the threshold they have set for conventional farming is 0.9%, they don’t want organic farmers popping up with a much lower tolerance of GMO contamination.” Peter Melchett, Policy Director of the Soil Association, told naturalchoices, ”Organic farmers and producers must aim for zero GMO contamination, they must have the processes and procedures in place to protect the purity of organic produce. Any contamination over 0.1% should be clearly labeled.”

2007-06-14 |

Critics raising alarm over ’sons of Terminator’ seeds

Environmentalists are raising the alarm about the latest development in genetically modified foods -- so-called ”zombie seeds” that are programmed to be sterile until treated with a special chemical.
These and other ”sexually dysfunctional” seeds are being developed by the biotech industry as a solution to the potential problem of genetically modified plants contaminating conventional crops.

2007-06-14 |

Ireland aims to become a GMO-free zone

Following last night’s Green Party historic agreement to form a coalition government with Fianna Fail, the two parties revealed their agreed policy ”to negotiate for the whole island of Ireland to become a GMO-free zone.” The announcement was received with jubilation by farmers and food producers on both sides of the border who have spent the last nine years campaigning to achieve this goal.

2007-06-13 |

Use of GE wine yeast in US sets stage for Australian debate

THE first genetically modified wine yeast is now available to winemakers in North America, creating consequent implications for the industry in Australia, including public and political debate on the issue of GM food and beverages.
The first GM wine yeast, known as ML01, has been produced by Springer Oenologie, a division of Lesaffre Yeast Corporation, with the claim that it can complete alcoholic and malolactic fermentations in just five days. […..] ”For the time being, the release of ML01 to the North American market should make little or no difference to what is done in Australia, as this yeast has not been approved for use in this country,” he said.

2007-06-13 |

City Council of Casey (Australia) supports Victoria GE crop ban

CASEY council is set to hear the pros and cons of genetically modified crops. Councillor Rob Wilson raised a motion at Tuesday night’s council meeting calling on a briefing to be held involving experts in the genetically modified (GM) field. Cr Wilson also requested a letter be sent to Premier Steve Bracks and other state politicians supporting the State Government’s ban on planting or experimenting with GM food crops.

2007-06-13 |

The high cost of opening the door to GM crops

AN INTERNATIONAL coalition of independent scientists is gathered today in Brussels to present evidence for a worldwide ban on genetically manipulated crops. They will present ”damning evidence piling up against the safety of GM food and animal feed” to the European Parliament. While Europe considers new gene technologies that offer advanced alternatives to GM, Victoria is looking backwards. Government and industry powerbrokers want to lift the bans on commercial GM canola. If they allow GM food crops into Victoria, our clean, green, GM-free food bowl will end. All Australian canola-growing states banned GM crops in 2003. Victoria may be the first domino to fall if the Bracks Government decides to lift the ban next February.

2007-06-13 |

EU labels will tell it like it is if it’s organic

EU ministers ended 18 months of squabbling on Tuesday over new rules for organic farming and came up with a labelling system that will tell consumers exactly what they are buying on the supermarket shelves. Farmers who sell produce containing at least 95 percent organic ingredients will use a special EU logo, along with a label to indicate the product’s origin. Below that, there will be labelling of the organic ingredients present.

2007-06-13 |

EU split over approvals of two GMO maize types

EU biotech experts failed on Friday to agree on approving two genetically modified maize varieties, sending the applications to national ministers for further consideration, the European Commission said. The applications, both of which are for modified maize hybrids, do not relate to cultivation. The two maize types are designed to resist certain field pests - such as the European corn borer and corn rootworm - and also certain herbicides.

2007-06-13 |

EU organic farming doubles

Organic farming has more than doubled its share of European agricultural land since 1998, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday. Organic food producers on Tuesday got another boost when European Union ministers agreed to guidelines that determine what can and cannot be labeled as organic. Demand for food produced without artificial pesticides or fertilizers has been growing among Europeans following food scares and worries over new biotechnology.

2007-06-12 |

Simple switch turns cells embryonic

Research reported this week by three different groups shows that normal skin cells can be reprogrammed to an embryonic state in mice. The race is now on to apply the surprisingly straightforward procedure to human cells. If researchers succeed, it will make it relatively easy to produce cells that seem indistinguishable from embryonic stem cells, and that are genetically matched to individual patients. There are limits to how useful and safe these would be for therapeutic use in the near term, but they should quickly prove a boon in the lab.

2007-06-12 |

Reprogramming

Reprogramming Scientists have discovered a way to make ordinary cells from mature mice mimic embryopnic stem cells. If the process can be applied to human cells, it would remove ethical objections to stem cell reserach.

Scientists have discovered a way to make ordinary cells from mature mice mimic embryopnic stem cells. If the process can be applied to human cells, it would remove ethical objections to stem cell reserach.

2007-06-12 |

Malaysian Biosafety Bill: Sound reasons for the labelling of GE food

THE Consumers’ Association of Penang and Sahabat Alam Malaysia welcome the announcement by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid that the labelling of products containing genetically modified (GM) organisms will remain mandatory under the new Biosafety Bill, which is expected to be passed in parliament soon. We laud the assurance by the minister that the government will not compromise on the interests of Malaysia and its people. [...] In the light of the above, we urge the government to expedite the Biosafety Bill and not give in to pressure from the US biotechnology companies. The health and environmental safety of Malaysians should prevail over the profits of these biotechnology companies.

2007-06-12 |

Non-GE variety of low glycemic ’Moolgiri’ rice launched in India

India’s rich biodiversity and the developments in biotechnology could be used to develop sound businesses, Member of Parliament and agriculture visionary M.S. Swaminathan told students and researchers here on Monday. He congratulated S. Chellaiah, chairman of Tajmahal Agro Industries, and his team on adhering to the best agricultural practices while developing Moolgiri, a new variety of low glycemic rice, considered good for diabetics.

2007-06-12 |

Scientists dish up GE rice vaccine to fight cholera

The bacteria that cause cholera infect the gut and bloody the stool of victims. Roughly 200,000 cases occur each year in Africa, India and Russia, among other places. The microbe that causes it—Vibrio cholerae—travels from host to host in water and on washed food, where it can persist for almost a week. Vaccines exist but provide short-lived protection; some require refrigeration from when they are brewed in an industrial vat to the moment they are injected into a patient. Now Japanese researchers have created a strain of rice that can act as a vaccine and last for more than a year and a half at room temperature.

2007-06-12 |

Rights groups release report on child labor in cotton industry in India

The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) along with international partners including OECD Watch, India Committee of the Netherlands, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe and Eine Welt Netz NRW, released a report today focused on the impact of interventions by the multinational corporations Bayer and Monsanto on child labor on farms producing their cottonseeds in India. The report was released in advance of World Day Against Child Labor, which takes place on June 12.

2007-06-12 |

Scientists propose better profiling for GM crops

A new technique could result in better nutritional and safety profiles for the coming generation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Spanish scientists have reported. The invention, published in the American Chemical Society’s journal Analytical Chemistry, analyses the potential changes in the composition of amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) in transgenic crops. The new technique should be welcomed by both industry and consumers alike, particularly in the GM-sceptic European Union, since it has the potential to improve the nutritional and safety profiling of the crops and show how transgenic organisms may match or differ from their conventional counterparts.

2007-06-11 |

GE products skip labelling in New Zealand

A large number of common food products sold in supermarkets contain genetically engineered (GE) ingredients the consumer does not know about, food labelling critics say. Food products containing GE protein and DNA must be labelled under Food Standards Authority Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) rules.

2007-06-11 |

Guyana profits from EU ban on GE contaminated rice

Rice production recorded a growth of 12.4 percent when compared with a 14.1 percent contraction in 2005. Production in 2006 was recorded at 307,041 tonnes, an increase from 277,531 tonnes in 2005. [...] The robust export growth was supported by strong demand in the European market following the mid-year ban on European imports of genetically engineered rice products, which affected supplies from the US.

2007-06-11 |

Food and feed imports at risk from GM pharma crop contamination

GM Freeze published an assessment of which food and feed imports into the UK are at greatest risk of GM contamination. Their report concluded that maize from the USA and South Africa and rice from the USA, and the Far East are highest risk at present but warn that even limited GM testing sites can contaminate whole supply chains for some crops. There is a growing risk of contamination of food and feed with GM pharmaceutical genes which are being engineered into food crops such as maize.

2007-06-11 |

The GE debate in New Zealand: does it still matter?

Fitzsimons considers the Erma decision is a classic case of ”sending good money after bad”. ”The main stupidity is it is putting a heap of research and talent down a blind alley.” However, scientists engaged in the work say it is necessary for New Zealand to keep up with GE research, in case modified crops are shown to have definite advantages. Says Crop and Food’s Williams: ”The GE technology we use is a very important research tool worldwide. If New Zealand doesn’t (pursue this), we’ll fall behind. It (GE) gives us options for the future. We don’t know where the research is leading us. It’s important to take the science forward.

2007-06-11 |

News from GMO-free zones in Australia

Farmers have to dismantle laws banning the growing of GM canola in Australia, the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology says. Its national president, Claude Gauchat, made the call while commenting on the first articles of a nine-part series published in the latest issue of Agricultural Science, the institute’s journal. Australian agriculture was urged in the article to embrace the ”genomic age” as a vital tool for its future survival.

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