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2007-07-17 |

GMO label ‘very important‘ for Hawai'i consumers

Hawai’i consumers are fairly evenly divided over the safety of genetically modified foods such as locally grown papaya, according to a poll by University of Hawai’i researchers. However, consumers overwhelmingly support labeling of such foods, the survey found. [...] Genetic modification of foods is becoming more widespread: Up to 75 percent of processed food on store shelves contains genetically modified ingredients, according to some estimates. Government officials consider such crops safe and do not require labeling. As a result products such as transgenic papayas typically are indistinguishable from non-genetically modified foods on store shelves. However, the lack of labeling may run counter to consumer sentiments.

2007-07-17 |

Maine (USA) may finally let Bt corn be grown and sold

Over the past decade, a particular type of genetically modified corn has taken the farming world by storm with a built-in pesticide that wards off bugs from seed to harvest. The exception has been Maine, the only state where corn engineered to produce the Bt toxin cannot be sold or grown. But that may change soon. The biotechnology industry is trying to break into the Maine market again. And with science that protects against a wider array of pests and growing demand from Maine farmers, opponents of Bt corn are worried that the state won’t say no this time around.

2007-07-16 |

Cyprus House stands firm on GM law

PARLIAMENT yesterday refused to acknowledge a veto by President Tassos Papadopoulos on the stacking of products with Genetically Modified (GM) content on separate supermarket shelves, the Green Party said. A bill providing for separate display was passed by Parliament on June 14 but was vetoed by the President, who said it would have to be amended. The bill had been before Parliament for two years and when it was passed it made Cyprus the first EU country to create such a law.

2007-07-16 |

Ministers wary of hot GM potato

The European Union is expected to sidestep hostile public opinion by approving the cultivation of a genetically modified crop via the ”back door” of a bureaucratic Brussels procedure. Europe’s farm ministers meet in Brussels today to consider a European Commission proposal to allow a new antibiotic-resistant GM potato, the first biotech crop released for planting since 1998. EU officials predict that ministers, running scared of anti-GM public opinion across Europe, will fail to agree to either block or approve the potato. This will mean that the ”proposed act shall be adopted by the Commission” via the obscure process of ”comitology”, allowing governments to pass the buck to unelected officials.

2007-07-16 |

USDA seeks public comment on draft programmatic environmental impact statement on GE organisms

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced the availability of a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) that evaluates potential revisions to existing regulations regarding the importation, interstate movement and environmental release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms.

2007-07-16 |

The political saga of GM crops in India

This year the fifth anniversary of Bt cotton commercialization in India, and a look back at the road it has traversed; it can be best described as a success with serious public relations deficit. If one were to believe all the ghastly stories of how Bt cotton has brought doom to the lives of poor farmers in India, then one might as well blame all natural disasters in India on this ”dreadful” Bt cotton. Certainly, the anti-GM lobby in India does everything possible, on a daily basis to discredit and disparage agricultural biotechnology, and get lots of traction in the media that does not care to verify facts.

2007-07-16 |

Bt-ing the farmers!

When the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh visited Vidarbha last July, the Vidarbha farmers hoped bad days were coming to end, their destiny would change. Skeptics had warned the region’s agrarian economy, which has collapsed totally, could not be resurrected with piecemeal packages. They were right. The relief is turning out to be a mere band-aid, as it indeed was meant, with policies remaining unchanged on all fronts – credit, seeds, prices and imports, to name a few. But, as the fresh sowing season starts, worrying signs are already evident. Beleaguered cotton farmers, already steeped in debt, have little choice but to opt for the more-expensive Bt (genetically modified) cotton this season.

2007-07-16 |

Kerala (India) says no to GM rice seeds test

After Uttarakhand, Kerala has said a firm no to Genetically Modified (GM) seeds test in the state. Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran has conveyed the government stand in this regard in a letter to Federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. He has urged the federal minister to declare the state as ’GM-free zone’. He said that the government would not allow the current move to permit a Maharashtra-based firm to do experimental cultivation of GM seeds in the northern district of Palghat, which is known as the rice bowl of Kerala.

2007-07-12 |

Dr. Reddy’s is developing eight more biotech drugs in India

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd., India’s biggest drugmaker, is developing eight generic medicines using biotechnology and plans to release one for sale a year, challenging companies such as Roche Holding NV and Amgen Inc. Reddy’s may double the number of people in its biotech division to about 340 in the next two years and plans to spend about $20 million bolstering production capacity there, Chief Executive Officer G.V. Prasad said yesterday. [...] Reddy’s, which had sales of $1.42 billion in the year ended March 31, generates less than 5 percent of revenue from biotech drugs. Biotechnology, or the use of cellular material to make medicines, may contribute as much as 30 percent to revenue within a decade as the company starts selling Reditux outside India and patents on other biologics expire, allowing Reddy’s to copy them.

2007-07-12 |

GeneWatch (UK) welcomes MPs‘ call for strong ‘polluter pays‘ legislation

GeneWatch welcomes today’s publication of a report by a Parliamentary Select Committee that criticises the Government’s approach to implementing the Environmental Liability Directive. The MPs criticised the government’s approach of minimum implementation of EU Directives and said the Government must properly explain the reasons for its policy choices. They were particularly critical of DEFRA stating: ” It is surprising that DEFRA has not been more robust in its defence of the environment; it appears that the DTI ’business-friendly’ agenda has been predominant ”.

2007-07-12 |

Giant Tomato Tour in Romania - Say NO to GMOs

Romania’s GMO Information Centre (InfOMG), and Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) are pleased to announce that the ”Giant Tomato Tour in Romania” ended up today, in front of the Ministry of Environment. This informative event on genetically modified organisms (GMO) issue started at 29th June 2007 and visited 7 Romanian cities.

2007-07-12 |

China buys more Thai rice as GMO charge cleared

Exports of Thai rice to China are expected to increase this year after charges that rice shipped there were tainted by genetically modified (GMO) grain was proven to be unfounded, Thai Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thira Sutabutr said Tuesday. Chinese authorities in Guangdong province earlier complained that three lots of Thai rice shipped to the province in May were tainted with GMO but it was later determined that foreign substances were mixed with Thai rice apparently by unscrupulous Chinese importers, Mr. Thira said.

2007-07-12 |

China buys more Thai rice as GMO charge cleared

Exports of Thai rice to China are expected to increase this year after charges that rice shipped there were tainted by genetically modified (GMO) grain was proven to be unfounded, Thai Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thira Sutabutr said Tuesday. Chinese authorities in Guangdong province earlier complained that three lots of Thai rice shipped to the province in May were tainted with GMO but it was later determined that foreign substances were mixed with Thai rice apparently by unscrupulous Chinese importers, Mr. Thira said.

2007-07-11 |

Professor hunts for perfect strawberry

What makes the perfect strawberry? Is it the crimson skin, studded with small flecks of seeds, enveloping the juicy red and white core? Or is it the flavor, the balance between the sweet and sour, that make it a favorite for dunking in chocolate or soaking in pools of cream? [...] Swartz thinks he may have found it in a field in Huelva, Spain. He dubbed it ”monophylla” because it is characterized by single-bladed leaves, in contrast to the triple-bladed leaf fan of a normal strawberry plant.

2007-07-11 |

Uganda's Government refuses seed donations that may contain GMOs

Uganda will not accept donations of seeds from abroad for fear that they could be genetically modified, state minister for disaster preparedness and refugees said. Musa Ecweru yesterday said the prime minister’s office, which is responsible for the country’s disaster management, accepts only processed foods, clothing, medicines and agricultural implements for distribution to the internally displaced people and refugees.

2007-07-11 |

We should farm cloned animals says Dolly expert

The creator of Dolly the sheep has called for farmers to take up cloning as a way of producing cheap food. Professor Keith Campbell believes the country’s farms should be populated by superstrong, super-sized offspring of clones. The U.S. expects to be eating clone-farmed burgers, pork and bacon within two years, and supporters of the method say Europe must follow suit.

2007-07-11 |

West Africa risks massive introduction of GMO: UEMOA

West African region is likely to face increased risks of massive introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the next few years, West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)’s commissioner in charge of rural development, natural resources and environment Ismail Binguitcha-Fare has said.

2007-07-11 |

EU Parliament clears rules to label flavourings and enzymes produced by GMOs

The European Parliament said it has approved new regulations, with amendments, aimed at simplifying and updating the dozen or so current EU laws on food additives. The legislation now goes to the Council of Ministers, which is expected to carry out its first reading in the autumn. [...] Parliament said flavourings and enzymes should be used only if there is a benefit to the consumer and, if they are made from GMOs, the label must say so.

2007-07-11 |

BT cotton farmers earn extra money

Cotton farmers have earned an additional income of Rs 7,039 crore [1.27 bill EUR / 1.75 bill USD] in 2006 after a 50% increase in yield due to use of Bt cotton seed, a study conducted jointly by the Associated Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Assocham) and IMRB International has revealed. [...] Another study conducted by Assocham in collaboration with Indicus Analytics found are under Bt cotton increased to over 8 million acres with 2 million farmers cultivating it.

2007-07-10 |

Toxin of the Funnel-Web Spider to be used in GE cotton

Research on using funnel-web spider toxins in insecticides, which former University of Southern Queensland (USQ) staff member Ron Atkinson was involved in, is now being considered commercially in the USA for pest control in crops. The research, which began in 1989, involves adding the gene for a funnel-web toxin, which is potent against insects, to the genetic makeup of crop plants such as cotton. Dr Atkinson said this allows the plants to have an in-built defence against pests, and does not require chemical sprays.

2007-07-10 |

France puts GMO culture register in line

France announced Monday it was putting in line a national register of plots of land growing genetically modified organisms (GMO) food crops, which will henceforth be accessible to the general public, according to a statement issued by the French ministry of agriculture and fisheries. This register gives the exact number and surface areas of GMO plots of land cultivated per district, which is a little more than 19,800 hectares of land declared in 2007 across the entire country.

2007-07-10 |

UK activists ruin GM potatoes

PROTESTERS have destroyed genetically modified potatoes being grown as part of a scientific trial in Cambridgeshire. Campaigners scaled security fences in the early hours Saturday to get into the field between Girton and Histon, and pulled up the crop, which is being developed to be blight resistant by German-based company BASF. News of the action was posted on grass roots campaign website Indymedia UK by a correspondent known as ”Digger”, and it follows a protest march last week when two people were arrested.

2007-07-10 |

Kenya accused of ‘secrecy’ on GMO technology Bill

The process of preparing a Bill to regulate genetically modified technology in Kenya is shrouded in secrecy, a leading environmental Lawyer told The EastAfrican last week. ”There has been so much secrecy that most stakeholders do not even know where they should go to get a copy of the Bill,” said Maurice Makoloo. He explained that, under Kenya’s environmental law, any proposed law or policy is supposed to be subjected to an environmental impact assessment, which would give all concerned parties a chance to interrogate its contents.

2007-07-10 |

How new food crops are being forced down Kenya’s throat

An ongoing campaign to persuade Kenyan farmers to grow genetically modified maize, cotton and other crops has the blessings of key public bodies, national research organisations and politicians and is bankrolled by giant biotechnology multinationals from the United States and elsewhere, investigations by The EastAfrican have revealed. The low-profile campaign has seen millions of dollars from foreign sources being channelled into such national scientific bodies as the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) as well as several not-for profit pro-GM organisations and individual scientists.

2007-07-10 |

Mexico National Farmers Confederation demands protection against GE food imports

Mexico National Farmers Confederation (CNC) denounced Monday genetically modified food imports coming from the United States and demanded the government’s protection of biodiversity and human health. According to Cruz Lopez, CNC President, from over 11 million tons of corn purchased by Mexicans importers in US by 2006, 70 percent was genetically modified. The Farmers Union demanded federal government to strictly impose protection mechanisms on biodiversity and human health into Mexican law to face genetically modified food, especially corn, rice and wheat.

2007-07-09 |

Monsanto training tour for EU farmers

Twelve farmers from Sweden, Lithuania and Denmark traveled to the United States recently, courtesy of Monsanto, to see how biotech traits are used. [...] Jeff Coultas [Monsanto technology product manager of Northfield, Minn] told the European farmers that U.S. farmers appreciate the simplicity of using biotechnology products. Biotechnology also allows farmers to grow more acres of crops with less labor. ”There are a lot of benefits,” he said. ”The more you make the cropping system simple and effective, the better the acceptance of biotechnology.”

2007-07-09 |

Non-GE technology reduces aflatoxins in maize in Nigeria

Scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have developed a safe and effective method for biological control of aflatoxins. These are toxic chemicals of fungal origin, which contaminate maize and other major food crops, posing a chronic threat to human health in sub-Saharan Africa. With the new method, strains of the fungi that produce aflatoxin are overwhelmed through the introduction of related but entirely harmless strains.

2007-07-09 |

Non-GE cassava project impacts 850,000 people in East and Central Africa

Efforts by the Crop Crisis Control Project (C3P) to mitigate the effects of cassava mosaic virus disease and banana xanthomonas wilt (BXW) in six countries of East and Central Africa are impacting positively on the lives of thousands of farmers in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

2007-07-09 |

First all-African produced genetically engineered maize is resistant to maize streak virus

Now, scientists at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, along with colleagues at the South African seed company, PANNAR Pty Ltd, have developed a resistant variety of maize that they hope will help alleviate food shortages as well as promote the reputation of genetically engineered (GE) foods in Africa. [...] Virologist Edward Rybicki and microbiologist Jennifer Thomson are hopeful that this year’s field trials will demonstrate not only the effectiveness of this technology in producing resistance to a destructive pathogen but also the safety of GE foods. Part of the objective is to provide seed that will be sold at a minimal profit to subsistence farmers, thus removing the objection that GE technology is principally profit-driven.

2007-07-09 |

Farmers in Vidarbha (India) are moving away from cotton, prefer to grow food crops

I will not grow cotton anymore. I have two children to feed, and I just can’t risk losses on my farm,” says Manorama Santosh Ahir of Naygaon village, Buldhana district. ”I will plant jowar (the staple millet in the region) and tur. Cotton costs too much. One needs seeds, labour, pesticides and fertilisers, it’s an expensive proposition. And it requires so much attention.”

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