GENET news: Feed

02.10.2008

German diary Campina claims GM free breakthrough

Campina says it has committed to a new feed scheme for one of its leading German dairy brands as part of a wider commitment to removing genetically modified (GM) organisms from across its portfolio of products. The cooperative says that its latest commitment will ensure that only grains sourced from within Germany and the EU, which are guaranteed to be free from GM products, will be used to feed cattle supplying its Landliebe brand of milk.

02.10.2008

Indian GM panel wants Supreme-Court-appointed member out

The Genetic Engineering Approvals Committee, which regulates the testing and introduction of genetically-modified crops in the country, is doing its best to eject a troublesome court-appointed body from its midst. [...] Bhargava had pointed out lapses in its supervision of the regulatory process, questioned some of its claims on the safety of GM crops and spoken out in the media. In response, the GEAC, in its meetings on July 9 and August 13, said (in minutes that are on its website) ”that Dr Bhargava was responsible for the malicious and distorted views on the regulatory process being reported in the newspapers periodically”. Bhargava was not present on either occasion, nor was the matter listed on the agenda.

30.09.2008

Californian (USA) bill on GE crop liability signed

A bill introduced by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, that makes manufacturers of genetically engineered crops liable for contamination of surrounding fields, was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over the weekend. Huffman said the law will discourage the practice of biotech companies sampling crops without permission from farmers. He said it will also protect farmers who become the target of frivolous lawsuits from companies that intimidate and harass those who have not been able to prevent the drift of genetically engineered pollen or seed onto their property.

30.09.2008

EU fails to approve GM soybean, ministers to decide

European Union biotech experts clashed on Monday on whether to authorize imports of a genetically modified soybean made by Monsanto, leaving the final decision to EU farm ministers, the EU executive said. The soybean, a second-generation GM product known by its code number MON 89788, is designed to resist glyphosate Roundup Ready herbicides and also produce increased yields for farmers. Monsanto’s application for EU approval is for use in food and feed, not for cultivation in Europe’s fields.

25.09.2008

GE-free news from India and Brazil

India, the world’s biggest buyer of vegetable oil after China, may produce more monsoon-sown oilseeds as early rains increase planting of soybeans. Output may total 20.84 million metric tons, 5 percent more from a year earlier, Federal Agriculture Commissioner N.B. Singh said in an interview in New Delhi today. [...] India, which grows non-genetically modified soybeans, sells more than 70 percent of its animal feed output abroad.

24.09.2008

Study says GE crops would not threaten Africa’s exports

A study by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa has allayed fears within the continent that introducing genetic technology in agriculture may lead to loss of markets. It indicates that even should such products be rejected, the decline in exports from the three East African countries would be quite insignificant. The COMESA study says that there is little justification in the precautionary stance taken by countries, ostensibly in the conviction that they are preserving their trade interests and niche markets.

18.09.2008

Despite a ban, Bt cotton cultivation is widespread in Orissa (India)

THE recent death of 93 goats after grazing near a cotton field in Bolangir, a tribal-dominated district in Orissa, has put the authorities on alert. The field in Kuthurla village, Khaprakhol block, was reportedly under Bt cotton cultivation. The state government discourages cultivation of Bt cotton as a matter of policy. Following the incident, the police arrested one Shankar Deep from the village for allegedly poisoning the goats by sprinkling organophosphate pesticides, a potent neurotoxin, on the field.

08.09.2008

Q&A: African agriculture with Florence Wambugu

Wambugu was recognised for her work introducing tissue culture bananas in Kenya. Tissue culture exploits the regenerative properties of shoot tips, allowing up to 2,000 plantlets to be produced from a single shoot in six months. In addition to improving plant characteristics, the techniques also prevent the transmission of fungi, bacteria and pests from parent to child plants. The project, which started ten years ago, has improved crop yields and lifted Kenyan farmers out of poverty.

05.09.2008

EU and China approve new GE soybeans for food and feed

The European Union will next week approve imports of genetically modified (GM) soybeans made by Bayer CropScience, hoping to ease a shortage of animal feed, officials said on Wednesday. The rubber-stamp approval, permitted under EU law when ministers from the bloc’s 27 countries fail to agree after a certain time, will be valid for a standard 10 years and be granted by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, on September 8, they said. Bayer’s soybean, developed to resist glufosinate herbicides, is known by its codename A2704-12 and will be imported into EU markets either as whole soybeans, oil or meal, and then be processed by European companies for use in food and animal feed.

29.08.2008

Brazilian non-GM grain producers launch industry organization

Today it has been officially launched and founded, the Brazilian Association for the Producers of Non-GM Grains (ABRANGE), congregating grains and seeds producers, cooperatives, crushing industries, transport and warehousing companies, certification companies as well as research laboratories and others. ”The entity is launched aiming to encourage the planting, production, development and processing of non-GM grains in Brazil”, says the newly elected President César Borges de Sousa of Caramuru Alimentos.

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