GENET news: Protein

11.12.2008

IAEA says irradiated crops could ease food crisis

The UN atomic agency called on Tuesday for greater trust and investment in using radiation to bolster crops against climate change and disease as a way to save millions from hunger. The technique has been around since the 1920s and proven effective but its spread has been limited by phobias over the words ”radiation” and ”mutation”, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. But unlike bio-engineered genetic modification of crops (GM), irradiating plant species -- known as ”induced mutation” -- does not introduce any foreign genetic material.

10.12.2008

Different views on the GMO decision of the EU Council

Long-term environmental risk assessment of GMOs should be improved and member states allowed to establish GMO-free zones, EU ministers agreed last week. On 4 December, the bloc’s environment ministers a six-month process launched by the French EU Presidency aimed at overcoming the Council’s inability to take authorisation decisions on new GM products for cultivation in the EU. It is not yet clear whether the conclusions of the exercise will actually help to break the current deadlock.

10.12.2008

Indian farmers can breathe easy as salt-tolerant GE crops arrive soon

Faced with the enigma of rising salinity ingress on their farmlands, farmers can now look forward to transgenic crops. A central research institute is developing ”salt-tolerant” varieties of crops like groundnut, tobacco, cumin and banana that aim at revolutionising the food-basket in 6.7 million hectares of ”salinity-affected” farmland in the country, most of which is in Gujarat. The Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) is in the advanced stages of developing salt-tolerant varieties of groundnut and tobacco.

10.12.2008

Indian Minister for Health to oppose entry of GM food

Union Minister for Health Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday said that he would oppose any move to introduce genetically modified food or seeds in the agriculture sector. Addressing a State-level farmer’s conference, organised by the Thamizhnadu Uzhavar Periyakkam, here, he said, ”As a Central Minister I will oppose any move to introduce GM food or seeds in India.” The Pattali Makkal Katchi had taken a policy decision to oppose introduction of genetically modified seeds.

09.12.2008

IP and genetically modified organisms: A fateful combination, activists say

IP rights are at the core of the expansion of GMOs, although agriculture was not always covered by those rights. Prior to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), countries could exclude some industrial and technological sectors from IP protection and most countries excluded the pharmaceutical, food and beverage sectors, according to Sangeeta Shashikant from the Third World Network.

09.12.2008

European starch industry demands swift approval of GE potatoes

The leading European potato starch companies AVEBE, Emsland-Stärke, and Lyckeby Industrial demand the use of innovative technologies in agriculture. According to the starch producers, genetically optimized starch potatoes like Amflora from BASF Plant Science are good examples for such innovations. Their request has been prompted by the recent EU Commission decision from November 20, 2008 to cut the subsidies for the production of starch potatoes

09.12.2008

Debate on Biosafety Bill hots up in Kenya’s Parliament

Kenya’s Members of Parliament last week overwhelmingly passed a crucial vote that could pave way for a biosafety law that is eagerly waited for by scientists in the country. Contributing to the debate in Parliament when debate on the Bill resumed after interruption on November 29, Dr Kilemi Mwiria, an Assistant Minister for Higher education, Science and Technology said the Boisafety Bill provides safety to safeguard Kenyans against the very fears that lots of Kenyans are currently expressing through various forum with regard to issues of biotechnology and hence the Bill is protect against unintended use of genetically modified Organisms, GMOs.

09.12.2008

EU’s top court fines France for incomplete GMO law

The European Union’s highest court fined France 10 million euros ($12.9 million) on Tuesday for failing to update the country’s laws on genetically modified (GM) crops and foods. In a statement, the European Court of Justice said the ”unlawful conduct repeatedly engaged in by France in the GMOs sector is of such a nature as to require the adoption of a dissuasive measure, such as a lump sum payment”.

08.12.2008

Super-foods or super-frauds?

”Super-foods, however, have high nutritional content per calorie and therefore give added benefits to the body to help it keep healthy, while potentially guarding off diseases such as diabetes and cancer.” With the hype surrounding these foods, and the further development and creation of GM super-foods, the question remains of whether there is any truth in the health claims, or whether the excitement is based purely on the glorification of the consumers’ wishful thinking.

08.12.2008

Increased oversight of GMO crops needed-US GAO

More oversight and coordination is needed among federal agencies to prevent unapproved releases of genetically modified crops into the environment and food and feed supply, the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress said on Friday. Since 2000, there have been six known unauthorized releases of GMO crops into the food supply involving GMO corn and rice. Earlier this week, Monsanto Co, the leading developer of biotech crops, said some unapproved GMO cotton was harvested. The resulting cottonseed meal may have entered the livestock feed supply.

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