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2009-11-18 |

GTC Biotherapeutics producing GE pharma goats announces layoffs

GTC Biotherapeutics of Framingham said it will reduce its work force from 154 to 109 people as part of an effort to improve its financial position and meet Nasdaq compliance requirements. The company saw its loss from operations rise to $9.5 million in the third quarter of the year, compared with a $5.8 million loss for the same quarter last year. Its total loss fell from $6.1 million to $5.1 million, thanks to extra income that the company attributed to a mark-to-market adjustment of its stock.

2009-11-18 |

AgResearch wants GE cows in New Zealand

AgResearch plans to alter the make-up of cows, sheep and goats to produce a medicinal super-milk by mixing human and animal DNA. The Crown research institute is pushing ahead with the plans, despite being embroiled in a court battle with GE-Free New Zealand over similar proposals that the lobby group says show ”callous disregard” for the environment and economy.

2009-11-18 |

Welcome to the Clone Farm

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2008 approved the sale of food from clones and their offspring, stating the products are indistinguishable from that of their non-clone counterparts. Japan, the European Union, and others have followed suit. The moves have stirred controversy about whether tinkering with nature is safe, or even ethical, prompting major food companies to swear off food products from cloned animals.

2009-11-18 |

U.S. court upholds right of scientists and patients to challenge gene patents: PubPat/ACLU

A federal district court ruled today that patients and scientists can challenge patents on human genes in court, allowing a lawsuit challenging patents on two human genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer to move forward. [...] The groups charge that the patents are illegal and restrict both scientific research and patients’ access to medical care, and that patents on human genes violate the First Amendment and patent law because genes are ”products of nature.”

2009-11-18 |

Icelandic gene saga ends in bankruptcy

A pioneering Icelandic company set up 13 years ago to discover links between genes and disease by analysing the health records and DNA of Icelanders this week filed for bankruptcy. Reykjavik-based deCODE Genetics discovered genes linked to diseases including osteoporosis, but its personalised DNA testing services failed to generate enough revenue to keep the company afloat.

2009-11-18 |

South African cardinal tells Food Summit: ’Africa needs water, not GM crops’

Farm Afrika Photo: Lothar Henke/pixelio.de

At the Rome Food Summit which opened yesterday, Cardinal Napier, Archbishop of Durban, said: ”I have the impression that this organization does not know what the real problems of nutrition in Africa are. Africans do not need GMOs (genetically modified organisms), but water. We have our crops that grow well without genetic modifications, as long as you give them enough water. Well help us to build wells, dams and aqueducts; GMOs do not need it.”

2009-11-17 |

New U.S. non-GE soybean breeding program seeks improvement to crop

Growing demand for soybeans that have not been altered genetically has led to a fork in the road for the bean-breeding program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. ”The improvement of non-genetically modified soybean varieties has become one of our major projects,” said Stella K. Kantartzi, who replaced longtime SIUC breeder Michael E. Schmidt after his retirement last year.

2009-11-17 |

Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (Canada) asks Monsanto for remedy against escaped GE canola

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) mid-term convention in Regina this week passed a resolution calling on agricultural chemical giant Monsanto to develop a chemical that can control volunteer Roundup Ready Canola in its later stages.

2009-11-17 |

Biotech crops cause big jump in pesticide use: report

The rapid adoption by U.S. farmers of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and cotton has promoted increased use of pesticides, an epidemic of herbicide-resistant weeds and more chemical residues in foods, according to a report issued Tuesday by health and environmental protection groups. The groups said research showed that herbicide use grew by 383 million pounds from 1996 to 2008, with 46 percent of the total increase occurring in 2007 and 2008.

2009-11-17 |

Can GM rice fill the world’s shortfall?

Genetically modified (GM) crops are not the only answer to Asia’s looming food deficit, but multinational crop technology company Syngenta argues that they must be part of the mix. Syngenta made the case for GM technology to journalists in Bangkok two weeks ago, as part of a broader effort to open Asian government doors that have so far remained closed to genetically modified food crops.

2009-11-17 |

Plant breeding industry to develop GMO alternatives

The Rapid Trait Development System, a genetic plant breeding technology developed by Cibus Genetics L.L.C. of San Diego, holds out hope of being a quicker, less politically charged answer to traditional genetically modified organisms, according to Peter Beetham, the company’s vice president of research. ”I think the time frame for the technology will get faster,” he says.

2009-11-17 |

Enough non-GE beet seed available in the USA

Farmers still hope to plant Roundup Ready sugar beets next year, but if a federal judge bans their use there might be enough conventional beet seed stockpiled in the United States to get by for a year. ”As I understand it, there is likely to be enough seed to plant all or nearly all of the sugar beet acres in the U.S. next year,” said Jeff Stachler, a North Dakota State University Extension agronomist who specializes in sugar beets.

2009-11-16 |

Experts urge for GM-free Karnataka (India)

”We do not want GM (genetically modified) crops which can prove apocalyptic for mankind. Let us say never to Bt-brinjal”. The declaration, along with the demand that state government declare Karnataka GM-free, was made at a state-level conference on genetic engineering, farming and food in Mysore on Saturday. The conference, jointly held by the Institution of Engineers, Mysore Local Centre, Mysore Grahaka Parishat and Deccan Development Society, Hyderabad, wherein experts placed views for and against genetic engineering (GE).

2009-11-16 |

India’s food dilemma: high prices or shortages

For a man who will inherit vast tracts of fertile farmland in Punjab, India’s grain bowl, Jaswinder Singh made what seemed to him a logical career move -- he took a job with a telecoms company in New Delhi. [...] Singh’s choice reflects a growing and worrisome trend in the nation’s agriculture sector: Indian farms are failing to attract capital or talent, either from rich landlords like Singh, or the 21,000 students who graduate from India’s 50 agricultural and veterinary universities.

2009-11-16 |

Viet Nam’s lawmakers move to restrict genetically modified food

A newly-proposed food safety law should restrict the amount of genetically modified elements in food, National Assembly representatives said. Most representatives agreed with proposals in the draft law that would require stricter management of genetically modified (GM) food, but they also criticized the law for not stipulating the maximum limits of these elements permissible in food.

2009-11-16 |

Different views on GE crops and food in Malaysia

Contrary to widespread belief, the United States, which is the world’s largest producer of GM crops, does not require any safety testing for GM foods. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) merely encourages the developers of GM foods to undergo a voluntary consultation process and to submit a summary of its assessment of the GM food. The FDA does not conduct a comprehensive review of data generated by the developer, despite the fact that it is highly unlikely that a GM food developer is going to highlight any adverse effects of its product.

2009-11-16 |

Is Africa selling out its farmers?

Xenophobia aside, a number of organizations -- including the foundation started by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates -- argue that Africa should support its own farmers. ”Instead of African countries giving away their best lands, they should invest in their own farmers,” said Akin Adesina, vice president of the Nairobi-based Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). ”What’s needed is a small-holder, farmer-based revolution. African land should not be up for garage sale.”

2009-11-16 |

Monsanto Canada excludes patent violators from any future access to technology

One of the first lessons toddlers learn in the sandbox is when you want to play with someone else’s toys, you play by their rules. It’s a lesson a few farmers in Ontario are learning the hard way after being found guilty of infringing on Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready technology. [...] As well, these four farmers are among the first to be confronted with Monsanto’s new Violator Exclusion Policy. They will be denied all access to Monsanto’s current and future technologies -- forever. The same will apply to any future violators who refuse to settle out of court.

2009-11-13 |

Food security challenge ’cannot be met without GM’, says UK Agricultural Biotechnology Council

WORLD leaders will have ’no chance’ of dealing with the long-term food security problem if they ignore science, including GM technology, a spokesman for the biotech industry has warned. Julian Little, chairman of the Agricultural Biotechnology Council (ABC), told the British Crop Protection Council (BCBC) conference in Glasgow that GM technology can provide some of the answers.

2009-11-13 |

Finnish chefs urge ban on GM-foods

A group of Finnish chefs, including television celebrities, have signed a petition urging the government to ban the import and sale of genetically-manipulated foods. They feel that allowing GM-foods into the natural food chain destroys the safe and natural production of food. Chefs Hans Välimäki, Kai Kallio, and Jaakko Nuutila delivered the petition to Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen on Wednesday.

2009-11-13 |

Foods containing GMOs stopped at Turkish border

The Agricultural Ministry has blocked the import of a number of food products after analyses revealed that they are genetically modified or contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). [...] Thirteen of the first 20 samples came back negative for GMOs, which means they can be sold in Turkey because less than 0.9 percent of their ingredients are GMOs, whereas the other seven products sampled will not be allowed to enter the country because they were found to contain a higher level of GMOs than allowed under the regulation.

2009-11-13 |

France prepares voluntary ’GMO-free’ labels

France is set to create a set of voluntary ’GMO-free’ labelling schemes to help conventional agricultural producers to distinguish their produce in the market, it emerged this week. An opinion was submitted to the French government this week by the country’s new High Council for Biotechnology, arguing for labelling standards which go beyond the EU framework and allow crop and livestock producers to cover the high costs of remaining ’GMO-free’.

2009-11-13 |

Greenpeace offers ’safe alternative’ to IRRI’s GMO rice program

Greenpeace on Friday called on the International Rice Research Institute to abandon its genetic engineering program as the environmental activist group offers marker assisted breeding as a safe alternative to bioengineering. [...] ”Genetic-engineering (GE) has been widely publicized in recent years by agro-chemical companies as the ’future’ of agriculture. But MAS has already gone through many silent successes that have in fact overtaken the promises of GE.”

2009-11-13 |

Debate over genetic modification continues to rage - Frankenstein Lives!

THERE MAY be fewer headlines in the media about ”Frankenstein foods” or ”superweeds” than a few years ago, but the debate surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) remains as heated as ever. [...] One of the key questions under debate is whether scientists can create and bring to market GMOs with enhanced nutritional profiles compared with their traditional counterparts and whether such products can help cure various health problems around the world.

2009-11-12 |

Furious farmers say MNCs are imposing Bt brinjal on India

A number of farmer groups met in Delhi recently to plan a stir against opening the country to genetically-modified (GM) foods like Bt brinjal.
Under the ’Jan Jagaran Abhiyan’, the protesters are also hoping to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as the Union agriculture and health ministers. Farmers claimed Bt brinjal would contaminate traditional varieties of brinjal, and the cultivators would suffer the consequences. They also alleged that the decision to allow the sale of Bt brinjal - which still awaits the government’s nod - was linked with commercial interests.

2009-11-12 |

Bt brinjal in India: A lost cause?

In March 2002, when Bt cotton was approved for commercial cultivation, there was scant opposition to the Government’s decision. The few murmurs of protest from assorted NGOs and self-proclaimed farmers’ bodies were drowned by the actions of the ryots themselves. Their clamouring for the transgenic cotton seeds was indeed reminiscent of the early Green Revolution days, when the country’s premier agricultural universities reported frequent thefts and raids by farmers jostling for the new ’magic’ wheat varieties.

2009-11-12 |

Action demanded against Indian Bt seed manufacturers

With the state cotton federation now officially acknowledging a big loss to cotton crop, farmers’ pressure group Vidarbha Jan Andolan
Samiti has demanded that the government should seek compensation to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore from Bt cotton seed manufacturers and insecticide, pesticide makers for the losses suffered by farmers.

2009-11-12 |

Europe rejects Monsanto’s high lysin GE corn but Australia has ’no concerns’

Monsanto has pulled its commercial development application for high lysine LY038 corn, originally intended only as feed for animals, after the European Food Safety Authority questioned the safety studies already conducted by the company and used by Food Standards Australia New Zealand to approve the GE corn in 2006. Rather than conduct additional research as the European authority requested, Monsanto decided to abandon its bid to introduce the corn to the European market.

2009-11-11 |

Dow AgroSciences and the Holy Grail of perennial corn

Dow AgroSciences is crowing about its recent deal with seed giant Monsanto to introduce corn with eight genetically modified traits—more than any other on the market. Talk about anti-insect. [...] The notion of a perennial corn is still largely a pipe dream, but someone is bound to figure it out. So why shouldn’t Dow AgroSciences get there first and make the killing? The reason, believes one of the world’s leaders in perennial corn research, is that the company has little incentive to try.

2009-11-11 |

After India, Monsanto and Cornell University go to China

Biotech seed giant Monsanto announced Thursday the opening of a new research facility in China, its latest venture into the world’s largest potential consumer market. The facility in Beijing will serve as a base for Monsanto collaborations with Chinese scientists and is the first of its kind in that country. ”Monsanto has made a commitment to develop advanced biotech and breeding technology in China,” said Steve Padgette, vice president of biotechnology for the company

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GENET-news is providing a daily news service on a range of topics regarding genetic engineering. We are screening the worldwide English news, press releases and other publications to provide you with a strategic selection of information. GENET-news enables you to stay informed about all aspects of the global controversy around GE technologies and GE organisms. You can subscribe by  email.

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