|
Media
Articles on Plant
Biotechnology
French media and the
current debate on GMOs
in France
Michel Setbon:"Le rejet
des OGM est risqué"
"Le vrai debat sur les
OGM n'as pas eu lieu",
estime Michel Setbon,
Directeur de Recherche
au CNRS. For the full
article
click here
Source: Le Figaro,
12th April 2008
Barnier défend les
avancées de la loi sur
les OGM
Le
ministre del
'Agriculture, Michel
Barnier, plaide pour
"davantage de raison et
moins de passion" dans
le débat sur les OGM.
Forthe full article
click here.
Source: Le Figaro,
14th April 2008
OGM : le fantasme de la
simplicité
Quand la hausse des
prix alimentaires
soulève tant
d'inquiétudes dans
les pays pauvres, nos
débats précautionneux
sur les OGM ne sont ils
pas très egoïstes? For
the full article
click here.
Source: Les Echos,
14th April 2008
GM technology and food
prices
Italian media coverage
La
guerra dei cereali ora
il mundo ha fame
Gli esperti rilanciano
la soluzione Ogm
Positive
article on potential
benefits coming from
adoption of GMOs’ to
limit the increase of
food price in the World.
For the
full Italian article
click here.
Source: Corriere
della sera, 14th April
2008
E
le piante tecnologiche
no sono più tabù
This is an interesting
signal of the fact that
it is no more a taboo to
write on GMOs’ in Italy
from a neutral
perspective also for (probably)
the most important
newspaper in Italy, that
traditionally avoids
being involved in
ideological
debates.Forthe full
Italian article
click here.
Source: Corriere della
sera, 14th April 2008
Danish media coverage
Executive call to break
taboo about genetic
engineering
“In the
interest of avoiding
even higher food prices
when grocery shopping in
Netto or Brugsen, Danish
consumers must embrace
genetically modified
foods.
Such is the
controversial message
from Danish businessman
Steen Riisgaard, top
executive for the
world’s biggest provider
of enzymes, Novozymes,
and chair of Europa Bio,
trade organisation and
political mouthpiece for
the European
bio-industry.” For the
full translated article
click here.
Source: Bjørn Lombek,
DR Nyheder Penge, 10th
April 2008
EU-Commissioner and
Minister agree about
GMOs
“The Commissioner
sees eye to eye with
Minister for Food, Eva
Kjer Hansen, who wants
to open Denmark and the
EU to genetically
modified foods.
– I wish to say first
off, that I completely
agree with Eva Kjer
Hansen; the European
risk assessment
procedures are slower
than those of the
countries we import
from, said the EU-Commissioner
for Farming on radio
P1.” For the full
translated article
click here.
Source: Signe Fuglsang
Midtgaard, DR Nyheder
Indland, 9th April 2008
Minister wants to open
doors for GMOs
“Denmark’s Minister for
Food, Eva Kjer Hansen
(V), wants Denmark and
the EU open for
genetically modified
foods. Initially it will
concern feed – for
example corn and soy.
The Minister’s selling
point is that
introducing GMO-feed
will strengthen the
competitive position of
Danish farmers when
competing with e.g. USA.
– We will be facing
grave financial problems
if we do not accept a
larger import of feed
for agri-industry, says
the Minister to Børsen.”
Forthe full transmated
article
click here.
Source: Andreas
Lindquist, Politiken,
9th April 2008
British media coverage
Bacon gets leaner as
farming costs soar
High feed
costs will either push
up the price of pork and
bacon or reduce supply,
the pig industry has
warned as it joins dairy
farmers and millers in
complaining about
soaring raw material
costs. “Either prices
will increase or pig
meat will become very
scarce,” said Andrew
Knowles, strategy
co-ordinator at the
British Pig Executive.
For the full article
click here
Source: Financial
Times, 15th April 2008
Britain's Brown Calls
for Food Aid Boost
In a
letter to world leaders
ahead of a July summit
of the Group of Eight
industrialized nations,
Brown cautioned that "rising
food prices threaten to
roll back progress we
have made in recent
years on development."
For the full article
click here
Source:
Associated Press, 12th
April 2008
GM food wins backing
from Country Life
Gm food
maybe part of the answer
to several problems that
our society is already
facing today: climate
change, huge food costs
increase and a
worldwide population
explosion. For the full
article please
click here
Source: The Daily
Telegraph, 19th March,
2008
Expensive
tastes: Rising costs
force food up the
political agenda
Rising food costs have
also called into
question government
support for biofuels
projects that divert
needed arable land from
food production, while
putting pressure on many
sceptical governments to
review their opposition
to genetically modified
crops, which increase
yields and drive down
food prices. For
the full article please
click here
Source: Financial
Times, 17th March, 2008
Dueling visions for a
hungry world
The first
Interntional Assessment
of Agricultural Science
and Technoogy for
Development-(IAASTD)
broaded far beyond food
pruduction and therefore
made conflict inevitable.
It is very difficult to
reach a consensus on how
best agricultural
knowledge, science and
technology can be used
to reduce hunger,
poverty and improve
rural livelihoods when
activists, are part of
the discussions. In the
end neither environment
nor the poor are
getting the agricultural
research they deserve.
For the full article
click here.
Source:
Science
Magazine-American
Association for the
Advancement of Science,
14th March, 2008
Genetically modified
plants and bees
A
Meta-Analysis of Effects
of Bt Crops on Honey
Bees
Honey
bees ( Apis melliferaL.)
are the most important
pollinators of many
agricultural crops
worldwide and are a key
test species used in the
tiered safety assessment
of genetically
engineered
insect-resistant crops.
There is concern that
widespread planting of
these transgenic crops
could harm honey bee
populations.
Methodology/Principal
Findings. We conducted a
meta-analysis of 25
studies that
independently assessed
potential effects of Bt
Cry proteins on honey
bee survival (or
mortality). Our results
show that Bt Cry
proteins used in
genetically modified
crops commercialized for
control of lepidopteran
and coleopteran pests do
not negatively affect
the survival of either
honey bee larvae or
adults in laboratory
settings.
Conclusions/Significance.
Although the additional
stresses that honey bees
face in the field could,
in principle, modify
their susceptibility to
Cry proteins or lead to
indirect effects, our
findings support safety
assessments that have
not detected any direct
negative effects of Bt
crops for this vital
insect pollinator.
Citation: Duan JJ,
Marvier M, Huesing J,
Dively G, Huang ZY
(2008) A
Meta-Analysis of Effects
of Bt Crops on Honey
Bees (Hymenoptera:
Apidae).
Europe’s anti-GM stance
to presage animal feed
shortage?
Source:
Nature Biotechnology (USA -
October, 2007)
Bt
corn cleared in Colony
Collapse Disorder
(USA -1st
May, 2007)
Genetically modified
plants and bees
by Prof.
Dr. Klaus-Dieter Jany,
WGG from the
Wissenschaftlerkreis
Grüne Gentechnik (Germany)
Spain
solves the bee death
mystery
Honey producing bees are
disappearing all over
the world, millions of
them. Many hypotheses
have been considered,
including viruses, fungi
or pesticides, even some
of them which lacked all
scientific evidence,
like transgenic crops,
mobile phone masts or
high tension electricity
lines. The answer to the
Colony Collapse Disorder
has been found in Spain,
in a specialized centre
in Marchamalo
(Guadalajara), which has
received samples from
many countries, and is
now waiting for samples
from the USA. Mariano
Higes, expert of the
centre, has not yet seen
the US samples, but is
pretty sure that the
cause of the deaths will
be the same: the "Nosema
ceranae", a parasitic
micro-organism of
Asiatic origin. This is
the result of seven
years of research. The
experiments with
pesticides ruled out
them as the cause. Thus,
the new pathogen was
discovered. The corpses
are not found because
they are eaten by other
animals. A treatment
with an antibiotic
product has proved
effective. Climatic
factors have been the
most likely cause of the
action of this parasitic
micro-organism.
Source: ABC (Spain -
29th
April , 2007)
Spain
losses 9.000 million
bees in only one year
The death of million
bees all over the world
is worrying scientists
and there is still no
solution available. In
Spain, 9.000 million
bees have disappeared.
According to Francisco
Puerta, of the
University of Cordoba,
it must be a series of
reasons and not only
one: environmental
degradation,
insecticides, loss in
biodiversity,
monocultivation,
protozoos,
self-pollinating plants,
stress. The biologist
Antonio Gómez Pajuelo
speaks of the draught.
The specialised centre
of Marchamalo
(Guadalajara) speaks of
a plague: Nosema
ceranae. Some
pesticides have also
been found guilty.
According to the
Agriculture Ministry,
there is no evidence of
any relationship with
pesticides or transgenic
corn, and defend that
the origin is a group of
different factors.
Source:
EL PERIÓDICO DE
CATALUNYA (Spain -
22nd April,
2007)
Respuesta a la petición
de crear zonas libres de
OMG
Juan Sánchez Brunete,
secretario general de
ASAJA: "Los
agricultores españoles
tienen derecho a elegir
las mejores variedades"
El
secretario general de la
Asociación de Jóvenes
Agricultores (Asaja),
Juan Sánchez Brunete,
alerta de que las
iniciativas para crear
regiones libres de
organismos modificados
genéticamente son "ilegales".
A su juicio, se trata de
una "perversión del
lenguaje", ya que "utilizar
la palabra
libertad
o
libre
para lanzar
prohibiciones resulta
cómico". Sánchez Brunete
recuerda que España ha
sembrado en los últimos
9 años más de 300.000
hectáreas de maíz
modificado genéticamente
(MG) y que "respecto a
posibles problemas, nada
de nada".
Source: Cultura
biotech (Spain -
19th April, 2007)
Are GM Crops Killing
Bees?
Source:Der Spiegel
(Germany
- 22nd March, 2007)
Bt
Maize Compatible with
Bees
Swiss
researchers have
conducted three
experiments designed to
assess the impact of Bt
maize on the health of
wild bees. In the first
experiment, the
researchers measured the
exposure of honey-bee
larvae to Bt toxin
contained in maize
pollen, which is
harvested and consumed
by bees. The researchers
found that levels of
exposure are lower than
previously estimated. In
a second experiment, the
researchers examined the
effect of consumption of
pollen from MON 810 Bt
maize on the development
of the "brood food
gland" in bee larvae.
They found that the
pollen had no effects,
and neither did
consumption of a pure
form of the Bt toxin.
The researchers' third
experiment examined the
effect of the Bt toxin
Cry1Ab, from MON 810
maize, on the bacterial
community in bees'
intestine. This factor
was identified as a
possible important
indicator of the health
of the bees. The
researchers found that
neither Bt pollen nor
high concentrations of
the Bt protein affected
the microbial
communities in the bee
intestine to any
significant extent. The
article can be viewed
online at the link below.
Source: GMO Safety (Switzerland
- 24th November, 2006)
Farmers
and Agrifood technology
La surface ensemencée
en maïs OGM multipliée
par 4 en 2007
La surface ensemencée en
maïs OGM (organismes
génétiquement
multipliés) a été
multipliée par quatre en
France en 2007 par
rapport à 2006, a
indiqué jeudi le
directeur général de
l'association générale
des producteurs de maïs
(AGPM), Luc Esprit.
"A l'heure actuelle nous
avons recensés 21.200
hectares ensemencés en
maïs OGM en 2007 contre
seulement 5.420 hectares
en 2006", a précisé M.
Esprit au cours d'une
conférence de presse.
La culture commerciale
du maïs OGM ne
représente que 0,75% des
surfaces cultivées en
maïs en France, soit 2,9
millions d'hectares au
total. Sur ce total,
près de la moitié (soit
1,4 million d'hectares)
est destiné à
l'alimentation animale.
L'AGPM prévoit une
explosion de la culture
commerciale du maïs OGM
dans les prochaines
années, principalement
en raison de la demande
espagnole et des
attaques de plus en plus
fréquentes des insectes
ravageurs sur les
cultures traditionelles
de maïs, a expliqué M.
Esprit.
"Les agriculteurs
français sont très
intéressés. Un nouveau
quadruplement des
surfaces en 2008 n'est
pas à exclure", a ajouté
le président de l'AGPM
Christophe Terrain.
Source: AFP
(France- 19th July,
2007)
This newsflash is
mirrored by the official
figures in the national
register that you can
see on
http://www.ogm.gouv.fr/mise_marche/registre_cultures/registre_cultures.htm
and
http://www.ogm.gouv.fr/mise_marche/registre_cultures/070710_REGISTRE_PUBLIC.xls
Assobiotec:
«No a geni animali in
alimenti»
Le industrie lo hanno
comunicano al ministero
delle Politiche agricole
e alimentari. De Castro:
«Grande soddisfazione»
Source: Corriere
della Sera (Italy-
13th May, 2007)
Futuragra si appella all
Ue contro il blocco OGM
in Italia
Source: Tecnica
Molitoria
(Italy-
30th April, 2007)
Half of UK farmers
prepared to grow
genetically modified
forage crops
The survey of society
members found that 47
per cent would grow GM
crops, 37 per cent ‘were
not convinced but could
be persuaded’ and 16 per
cent were vehemently
against the idea.“We
were surprised that only
one-in-eight grassland
farmers responding said
they would never grow GM
forage crops,” said
Jessica Buss, society
director of the
society.“More than half
of these declared they
were organic producers,
and perhaps this
indicates why they would
be against such new
technology.”
Three-quarters of the
farmers said they would
only use GM varieties if
consumers accept the
technology.“So it is
obvious that more
positive messages about
GM crops would need to
be forthcoming for most
farmers to feel
comfortable about sowing
crops,” she said.
“Farmers’ priorities for
benefits of GM crops
they would favour also
proved different to the
expected order –
increased crop yield was
close to the bottom
rather than the top of
preferences.” Top of the
benefits favoured was
reduced disease,
followed closely by pest
resistance and better
nutritive value for
stock. The bottom two
rated benefits were
increased yields and the
ability to spray weeds
with less selective
products. Source:Checkbiotech
(UK- 17th April,
2007)
Explosion of the corn
GMO cultures envisaged
in 2007
This year France will
cultivate from 30.000 to
50.000 hectares of
genetically modified
corn (GMO) versus 5.000
hectares of the plants
in 2006, the general
manager of the
Association General of
the Corn Producers (AGPM),
Luc Esprit, observed on
Tuesday. Two years ago
it cultivated only 500
hectares, the person in
charge for them
stressed. In his eyes,
Tuesday's incorporation
into the national law,
after five years of
delay, of a European
directive on the tests
of GMO and their growth
as well as their
dissemination will
contribute to start
again this cultivation
in France. "It is very
positive. We will have
an important increase in
corn GMO area", he told
Reuters.
This first estimate of
the AGPM for the year
2007 is, according to
him, "a good fork". "It
is realistic". Corn
sowings begin in April.
Until now the
Association has been
reluctant to publish
estimates. The
identification of
transgenic corn areas
were not obligatory in
the absence of the
ratification of the
European directive. The
farmers thus carried out
their sowings in the
greatest secrecy for
fear of destruction of
their fields by the
antis.
This legal blur
contributed to a certain
opacity around the
cultivation in France.
That it has been raised
by the ratification of
the directive pleased
Luc Esprit. Corn is the
only commercial GMO in
France: "MY 810",
produced by the American
seed-producer Monsanto.
II resists the attacks
of certain devastating
insects and was
authorized in 1998 by a
Community decision.
Source: REUTERS
(France- 16th April ,
2007)
Basta veti sull OGM
Source:
24ore Agricoltura
(Italy-
21st March, 2007)
Quelle agriculture après
2007? Quelle place pour
les biotechnologies
végétales?
Source: Plantes Biotech
(France -
March 2007)
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Briefs
and Policy Reports |
