News
2012-10-10 | permalink
Paraguay and Monsanto: The seeds of discord
On August 6, Paraguay's Health and Social Welfare Ministry's sanctioned the genetically modified (GM) corn VT Triple Pro, produced by the US-based transnational corporation Monsanto. Peasant organizations oppose the decision as ”a direct attack against peasant culture and food sovereignty.” The decision will most likely have a major impact on small farmers, who have already been hurt by the expansion of genetically modified soya plantations. Farmers have raised concerns about possible genetic contamination of national corn and health effects deriving from the consumption of transgenic corn, said Tomás Zayas, leader of the Alto Paraná Farmers Association, speaking to the non-governmental organization Base Investigaciones Sociales.
Upside Down World, USA: Paraguay and Monsanto: The seeds of discord2012-10-10 | permalink
Spanish farmers in Catalonia keener on GM corn than US peers
Acceptance of genetically modified food in Spain reached such an extent that growers in Catalonia planted a higher proportion of their corn crop with biotech seed than peers in the US. Spanish growers raised sowings of genetically modified corn by 19.5% this year to a record 116,000 hectares, analysis of Spanish farm ministry data shows. The sowings, with Monsanto's MON 810 variety, the only biotech seed commercially grown in the European Union, accounted for some 30% of the Spanish corn crop. And it was particularly popular in Catalonia, where it accounted for 90% of seedings – a higher rate than the 88% of US corn planted with genetically modified varieties, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
2012-10-10 | permalink
Vilmorin drops GM field tests as debate rages in France
French seed maker Vilmorin & Cie SA has dropped plans to conduct field tests of genetically modified crops next year in its home market because debate over the technology remains too highly charged, the company said on Wednesday. Vilmorin, the world's fourth-largest seed group, had envisaged conducting field tests in France next spring, its finance director said, but had opted to suspend those plans. ”The political climate led us to put the question on hold for now,” Daniel Jacquemond said. ”We don't want to be provocative.”
2012-10-09 | permalink
GM food labelling initiative launched in Washington state (USA)
Another campaign against foods made with genetically modified organisms has materialized now that a Washington couple that consumes only an organic, vegan diet has filed an initiative that asks the state's legislature to require GMO labels on such foods. The couple, Chris and Leah McManus in Tacoma, Wash., filed the initiative, I-522, after state lawmakers let GMO labeling legislation die earlier this year. They need to collect about 250,000 signatures from Washington voters by mid-January to force the legislature to reconsider the matter, and should the legislature not enact some sort of GMO labeling law, the initiative then would go to voters in November next year.
2012-10-05 | permalink
Genetic engineering fails to deliver says study of U.S. Union of Concerned Scientists
Genetic engineering has been hailed as a panacea for the problem of global hunger and population explosion, but research studies reveal that it has failed to deliver the goods. At the same time, it has created more problems than it could solve. The Union of Concerned Scientists, an international research group based in the US, said none of the genetically engineered crops under cultivation so far has boosted farm yield or overcome the problem of drought conditions. ”Genetic engineering has actually done very little to increase the yield of food and feed crops. It appears unlikely that this technology will play a leading role in helping the world feed itself in the foreseeable future,” said the Union of Concerned Scientists. In a document — Failure to Yield — released at the CoP-11, the research group reviewed the data on soybeans and corn, the main GE food/feed crops in the USA.
