11/May/21

 

Today, the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) submitted its objections to proposals from Health Canada that would allow product developers to assess the safety of some genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) foods, particularly some produced through genome editing (also called gene editing) with no government oversight. CBAN, a network of 16 groups, argues that the changes proposed for regulating genetically modified organisms (GMOs) would jeopardize food safety, result in less transparency for the public and the agri-food industry, and further erode public trust in the food supply and government regulation. GMWatch

 

 

Brazilian environmental researchers, academics and officials appear to be coming under fire for their scientific work or views, sometimes from the Jair Bolsonaro government, but also from anonymous Bolsonaro supporters. Researchers and academics have come under attack for their scientific work on agrochemicals, deforestation and other topics, as well as for their socio-environmental views. Attacks have taken the form of anonymous insults and death threats, gag orders, equipment thefts, and attempted kidnapping. In March 2021, Larissa Mies Bombardi, a lecturer in geography at Brazil’s University of São Paulo (USP), was forced to seek exile in Belgium, after repeated abuse and threats, many carried out anonymously. The intimidation began shortly after Bombardi released her report, “Atlas of Agrochemicals and Connections between Brazil and EU,” in May 2019. With ample statistical back up, it shows that “one person dies every two and half days from direct intoxication from agricultural chemicals with alarming incidences among the youngest of the [Brazilian] population". Mongabay

 

 

The European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER), has published an open letter in support of Professor Dr Larissa Bombardi (see above). The letter says, "Attacks on science and scientists seem to be a growing modus operandi from different sectors of society, companies and even governments and are often very difficult to track as they consist also of intimidation from anonymous sources. The case of the eminent researcher Prof Larissa Bombardi is, alas, one case among many others." ENSSER

 

 

A new translation of a Chinese PhD thesis substantially strengthens the case for a lab origin of the pandemic and implies that scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) were not telling the truth about samples from miners who shovelled bat guano in a mine in Yunnan Province, China, according to Jonathan Latham, PhD and Allison Wilson, PhD. Independent Science News