News
2012-12-19 | permalink
China quarantines Argentine corn because of unapproved genetically modified strains
Chinese authorities quarantined two containers holding corn from Argentina, after detecting genetically modified strains that had not been approved beforehand, alleged the Chinese buyer. China imported 4.56 million tons of corn in first 10 months of 2012, with 99% coming from the US, the largest corn exporter in the world. An unidentified Chinese government official said they had bought the small volume as a test, and as of yet imports coming from Argentina have not been successful. Chinese corn imports are expected fall by more than half next year due to high US prices, and a rise in overall consumption will put domestic supplies under more pressure despite another record harvest, according to an official forecast on Wednesday.
2012-12-18 | permalink
GM labeling campaign in Washington State (USA) seeks funding
Washington could become the first U.S. state to require labeling of genetically modified foods. The People's Right to Know campaign last week announced it has gathered 300,000 signatures in order to approve a petition for consideration by the Washington State Legislature. The campaign is seeking $50,000 in seed money to meet a deadline by the end of the year to secure 320,000 signatures in support of The People's Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act (I-522). ”As recommended by the Secretary of State, our goal is to turn in at least 320,000 signatures to ensure we have the 241,153 valid signatures required,” the campaign explains on its website.
2012-12-18 | permalink
European Commission and EFSA agree need for two-year GMO feeding studies
The European Commission is trying to find a budget to fund two year long-term GMO feeding studies in rodents, Ladislav Miko, deputy director general of DG SANCO (food) said last week. Speaking at the EFSA managment board meeting, which heard of EFSA's assessment of the Seralini study, which was a long term study, Mr Miko made clear that he is looking for a research budget to test the method of two year studies. He said that one EU project, known as Grace, would focus on 90 day GMO feeding studies, which the Commission has long said it would fund. But this project did not have the budget to fund the two year studies. Catherine Geslain-Laneelle, executive director of EFSA said the Authority said the Grace study would be on MON810, not NK 603, the GM maize used by Eric Gilles Seralini.
2012-12-17 | permalink
Parents of children in Hunan (China) GM Golden Rice trial were lied to
Parents of children who unwittingly took part in a controversial testing of genetically modified rice on children in Hunan five years ago - which resulted in the sacking of three scientists on Thursday - were only shown the last page of the endorsement paper, state media reported yesterday. Professor Yin Shian, director of the Hunan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention's department of female and child nutrition, was sacked for violating academic ethics. Wang Yin, science and technology director of the Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, and Hu Yuming, assistant director of the Hunan CDC, were also sacked.
South China Morning Post, China: Parents of children in Hunan GM rice trial were lied to- China Daily, China: Parents of students in GM rice test win payout
- Shanghai Daily, China: Tufts University says probe under way on GM rice test in China
- China Daily, China: Better supervision of research urged
- Nature, UK: China sacks officials over Golden Rice controversy
2012-11-29 | permalink
Proposition 37 - gone, but probably not forgotten
After the defeat of Proposition 37, Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CropLife America, said the ballot measure “would have required most, but not all, foods made with genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled in the state, and would likely have caused unnecessary, increased food costs for California consumers and frivolous lawsuits against farmers, grocers and food companies.” [...] The Cornucopia Institute had a different view of the defeat, writing in a blog, “After a deluge of allegedly misleading advertisements paid for in large part by pesticide and biotechnology corporations, California voters defeated Proposition 37.” [...] “This is a story about money,” fumed Stacy Malkan, media director of the Proposition 37 campaign. “Our loss had to do with being outspent. We didn’t have the funds to compete on the air in the central regions of the states.”
