International News

2012-02-01 | permalink

Japan receives first shipment of Hawaiian Rainbow GE papayas

After 13 years of negotiations, Japan has approved its first shipment of genetically-modified Rainbow papayas from Hawaii. ”The fact that the Japanese have tested it to the nth degree and evaluated its food and environmental safety proves it’s a good product,” said Rod Yonemura, consultant to the 160-member Hawaii Papaya Industry Association based in Hilo, capital of Hawaii’s Big Island. The Dec. 5 shipment consisted of 1,248 5-pound cases for sale and 32 cases for sampling at Coastco Japan, Yonemura said.

2012-01-26 | permalink

Monsanto says won’t sell GMO maize in France in 2012

U.S. biotech firm Monsanto said on Tuesday it does not plan to sell its genetically modified maize MON810 in France this year, nor after, even though the country’s highest court overturned a 3-year ban in November. “Monsanto considers that favorable conditions for the sale of the MON810 in France in 2012 and beyond are not in place,” the company said in a statement, adding that it had told the French authorities about its intentions.

2012-01-24 | permalink

Golden lies: The seed industry’s questionable Golden Rice project

Golden Rice, a prestigious agrobiotech industry project, may soon be placed on the markets after more than ten years of development. But it is still highly questionable if this rice really can help defeat vitamin A deficiency. This has been shown by a new Testbiotech report prepared for the consumer organisation foodwatch. The rice is called ’Golden’ because of the yellow colour of its kernels. It is supposed to demonstrate that genetically engineered plants can substantially help fight hunger and malnutrition – so far without success.

2012-01-16 | permalink

France upholds ban on Monsanto GM maize in 2012

The French government said on Friday it would uphold its ban on a strain of genetically modified maize developed by U.S. biotech firm Monsanto in 2012, even though France’s highest court overturned the moratorium last year. The ecology and agriculture ministers said in a statement they would maintain the ban on MON810, an insect-resistant strain of maize which is sold in several European countries, after meeting with farming groups.

2012-01-12 | permalink

GM maizes threaten EU water - Another reason to ban glyphosate

Spanish researchers have confirmed that the weedkiller glyphosate applied to GM crops can leach into groundwater. EU Member States are due to meet with the Commission this week to discuss approving two more controversial GM crops designed to use more of the chemical routinely.

2012-01-12 | permalink

Glyphosate-resistant Kochia weed spreads to Canada crop belt

A weed resistant to a widely used chemical to protect crops has spread for the first time to Western Canada, the country’s grain and canola belt. Kochia weed turned up in three fields in Southern Alberta last August, despite the use of glyphosate, and Canadian government scientists have now confirmed that it is resistant to the farm chemical, seed company Monsanto Canada said on Wednesday. [...] The southern Alberta case is unique because it does not appear to have developed in a field where farmers regularly grew Roundup Ready crops

2012-01-11 | permalink

Minister of Agriculture of Zimbabwe defends GE crop ban

ZIMBABWE will not allow the production of Genetically Modified Organisms even if they could help ensure food sufficiency, agriculture mechanisation minister, Dr Joseph Made has insisted. Made said the government would, instead, concentrate on making available fertilizer, seeds, irrigation and other essential farm inputs to boost food production rather than use cheaper but unsustainable means which have a detrimental impact on the environment. “Scientific research shows that GMOs contain toxic substances, are less nutritious than non-GMOs and have negative effects on humans and the environment,” he said here Thursday.

2012-01-11 | permalink

Nepal’s Monsanto debate spotlights seed sovereignty

An effort by US donors and multinational agribusiness Monsanto to partner with Nepal to boost local maize production with imported hybrid seeds has met civil society opposition calling - instead - for home-grown solutions. ”If an organization like USAID [US Agency for International Development] wants to help us with a company like Monsanto, we would hope that they would help us to actually develop our own hybrids instead, not to import their foreign seeds,” said Hari Dahal, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives

2012-01-09 | permalink

Latvia on the brink of complete ban of GE crop cultivation

More than 100 of the 110 municipalities (novads) of Latvia have decided that their land will be GMO-free by the end of 2012. Cultivation of GM crops will be prohibited on municipal land, according to Eric Leitis, senior consultant of the protection of species and habitats at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of Latvia. The 101 novads have adopted mandatory rules on the cultivation of genetically modified plants on their territory, including the five districts that already made this policy-move last year.

2011-12-30 | permalink

Rootworms may be resisting Monsanto’s GE corn toxins

One of the nation’s most widely planted crops - genetically engineered corn that makes its own insecticide - may be losing its effectiveness because a major pest appears to be developing resistance more quickly than scientists expected. [...] The hybrid was such a swift success that it and similar varieties now account for 65 percent of all U.S. corn acres - grain that ends up in thousands of everyday foods such as cereal, sweeteners and cooking oil.
But over the past few summers, rootworms have feasted on the roots of Bt corn in parts of four Midwestern states, suggesting that some of the insects are becoming resistant to the crop’s pest-fighting powers.

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