International News
2011-07-11 | permalink
Illegal GM maize ploughed under throughout Hungary
Some 400 hectares of maize have been destroyed throughout Hungary after the crops were found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds, the deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development in charge of supervision of the food supply chain and agricultural administration told MTI on Friday. [...] Authorities have been checking for GMO crops since the beginning of this year as a new regulation came in force this March which stipulates GMO checks before seeds are introduced to the market. The checks will continue despite the fact that seed traders are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said.
2011-07-11 | permalink
BASF Said to Mull Genetically Modified Crop Exit in Germany
Dangerous crops (Photo:SaveOurSeeds)
BASF SE (BAS), the world’s biggest chemical maker, may withdraw genetically modified crop research from Germany in response to growing political opposition, three people familiar with discussions said. The maker of the Amflora scientific potato is considering the future of its research facility in rural Limburgerhof in southwestern Germany, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. A move to the U.S. is possible for the plant biotechnology operations, which employ 700, said one of the people.
2011-07-06 | permalink
European Parliament strengthens draft law to ban GM crops
Greenpeace EU agriculture policy adviser Stefanie Hundsdorfer said: “The European Parliament today added real punch to draft laws to protect our farms and food. But let’s not forget that GM contamination doesn’t respect borders. National bans are no substitute for thorough safety testing at a European level, something the EU is failing to do so far. We and a growing majority of the public remain seriously concerned about unanswered health and environmental questions around GM crops. Ecological farming is the correct response to the challenges of food security, climate change and long-term productivity.”
Greenpeace International European Unit, Belgium: European Parliament strengthens draft law to ban GM crops- Friends of the Earth Europe, Belgium (FoEE): European Parliament votes on climate and GMOs
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements – EU Regional Group (IFOAM): Freedom of choice on GMOs finds broad support in EU Parliament
2011-07-06 | permalink
Consumer rights victory as US ends opposition to GM labelling guidelines
Consumers International and its member organisations celebrated victory today as regulators from more than 100 countries agreed on long overdue guidance on the labelling of genetically modified food. The Codex Alimentarius Commission, made up of the world’s food safety regulatory agencies, has been labouring for two decades to come up with consensus guidance on this topic. In a striking reversal of their previous position, on Tuesday, during the annual Codex summit in Geneva, the US delegation dropped its opposition to the GM labelling guidance document, allowing it to move forward and become an official Codex text.
2011-07-02 | permalink
Bayer to pay $750M in genetic rice settlement
Bayer CropScience agreed Friday to pay up to $750 million to settle several lawsuits with U.S. farmers who claimed a strain of the company's unapproved genetically modified rice contaminated the food supply and hurt their crop prices.
2011-06-15 | permalink
Illegal GM rice spreads and prompts debate in China
Genetically modified rice has been spreading illegally for years in China, officials have admitted, triggering a debate on a sensitive aspect of the food security plan in the world’s most populous nation. [...] In January, the agriculture ministry said ”no genetically modified cereals are being grown in China” outside the test sites. But in April, an environment ministry official told the weekly Nanfang Zhoumo that a joint investigation by four government departments had found that ”illegal GM seeds are present in several provinces because of weak management”.
2011-06-14 | permalink
BASF baut Genkartoffel Amflora in Schweden an
Gentechnikfreie Kartoffeln (Photo Simone Knorr)
Seit dem 19. Mai haben Greenpeace-Aktivisten im nordschwedischen Haparanda gegen die Auspflanzung der Genkartoffel Amflora protestiert. Doch am Donnerstagmorgen lies der Konzern BASF die Risikoknolle ausbringen. Geschützt von einem Polizeiaufgebot wurde die Amflora auf den Acker gebracht.
2011-05-12 | permalink
Monsanto’s drought-tolerant GE corn does not perform better than comparable conventional varieties
The Obama administration will seek to allow the unlimited sale of a corn variety genetically engineered by Monsanto Co. to resist drought [...] While the agency’s draft environmental assessment of the modified corn found the crop unlikely to pose a plant pest risk [...] the agency also noted that many corn varieties on the market match Monsanto’s strain in their water use. ”The reduced yield [trait] does not exceed the natural variation observed in regionally-adapted varieties of conventional corn,” the report says, adding that ”Equally comparable varieties produced through conventional breeding techniques are readily available in irrigated corn production regions.”
- The New York Times, USA: USDA looks to approve Monsanto’s drought-tolerant corn
- U.S. Department of Agriculture - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USA (USDA - APHIS): USDA prepares draft environmental assessment for drought tolerant corn
- GeneWatch UK, UK: Drought tolerant GM corn will not feed the world
- Scientific American, USA: Coming to a cornfield near you: Genetically induced drought-resistance
- Public Service Europe, UK: GM corn failure - a lesson for the future?
2011-04-20 | permalink
U.S. researcher finds GMO traits in non-GMO canola
former Oregon State University researcher Rich Affeldt [...] found that non-genetically modified canola purchased for the trial tested positive for the glyphosate-tolerant trait found in genetically modified canola. [...] Affeldt said he found just 0.01 percent of the glyphosate-tolerant trait in the non-GMO canola seed he tested. [...] ”Before canola is approved for commercial production in Central Oregon, I recommend that this potential for GM contamination be more thoroughly investigated,” Affeldt wrote.
2011-03-21 | permalink
Arkansas (USA) Circuit Court awards Riceland USD136.8 million in rice GE contamination case
A Circuit Court jury in Stuttgart awarded $136.8 million Friday to Riceland Foods Inc. in a lawsuit against Bayer CropScience LP over genetically modified rice. Riceland, a farmers cooperative based in Stuttgart, is the world’s biggest miller and marketer of rice. It sued Bayer over losses it suffered when Bayer’s experimental varietyof genetically modified rice made its way into the U.S. rice supply.
- Arkansas Democrat Gazette, USA: Jury awards Riceland $136.8 million
- Stuttgart Daily Leader, USA: Closing arguments heard in Riceland-Bayer case
- Thomson Reuters, USA: Bayer ordered to pay $136.8 mln in U.S. rice case
- Stuttgart Daily Leader, USA: Riceland Foods receives $136.9M verdict from jury Friday
- Dewitt Era Enterprise, USA: Jury finds Bayer negligent - Riceland awarded $136.8M in damages, fines
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