News

2012-07-17 |

GM mosquitoes will soon be unleashed in India to fight dengue fever

Behind an unmarked door at the side of an anonymous second world war Nissen hut in the middle of Oxfordshire, a group of scientists are attending to the needs of hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes. They provide horse blood for the females to feed on, moist beds for them to lay their eggs, and add genes that transform the mosquitoes into what could be the most decisive tool yet invented to combat mosquito-borne disease. The mosquitoes developed and raised here at the laboratories of Oxitec, a British biotech company based near Didcot, have already infiltrated wild populations in Brazil, Malaysia and the Cayman Islands, and will soon be unleashed in Panama and India.

2012-07-16 |

Hawaiian (USA) protesters against Monsanto

More than 100 protestors, many in face masks and bearing signs that read, “Say No to GMOs,” lined Kunia Road outside Monsanto’s Oahu operation on Thursday, June 28. The goals, organizers said, are to spread awareness about the potentially toxic practices surrounding cultivation of crops containing genetically modified organisms, to let the multinational agrochemical company know that these risks are not acceptable in Hawaii, and to urge landowners to replace seed company tenants with local food producers. Monsanto released their employees early that day and set up a barricade and security station at the entrance to their compound.

2012-07-16 |

‘Frankenstein’ meat could get go-ahead in EU: Safety fears over the use of GM animals

The first step towards approving the use of genetically modified animals to make so-called ‘Frankenstein foods’ has been unveiled by European food watchdogs. They have produced guidance on how to examine the risk posed to the environment by genetically modified fish, insects and animals. Critics fear the new consultation document will ‘open the floodgates’ to the widespread farming of GM animals and crops across Europe. Details of the plans have been revealed by the European Food Safety Authority.

2012-07-12 |

MON810 maize on the rise in Portugal

The growing of genetically modified corn in Portugal increased by 59 percent last year, being planted in 7,724 hectares of fields, compared to the 4,900 hectares planted in 2010, a study by the Ministry of Agriculture has revealed. The Alentejo region has seen the greatest increase in GM crops, which rose by 90 percent compared to 2010. In the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, the increase in GM crop plantations was more than 51 percent. Last year also saw the first plantation of 2.5 hectares GM corn crops on the island of São Miguel in the Azores.

2012-07-11 |

California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act is up for voting on Nov 06

California’s Office of the Secretary of State announced on Monday that the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, also known as the GMO labeling initiative, will appear on voter ballots as Proposition 37 for the November 6 elections. If passed, Proposition 37 would make California the first state in the U.S. to require labeling of most foods made with genetically modified organisms -- those given specific changes to their DNA through genetic engineering techniques. Polls conducted by various organizations in recent years have found that roughly 90 percent of Californians support labeling for genetically engineered foods.

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