23/June/21

 

An article has been published in the Financial Times, with the headline, "We must overcome the fear of genetic engineering in our food", and the subhead, "From countering climate change to saving bananas, new gene-editing technology could prove crucial". The author is Camilla Cavendish, a former Conservative Party (now non-affiliated) peer and "former head of the Number 10 Policy Unit". Cavendish's article appears to be a ham-fisted attempt to warm up the British public to accepting GM, in the wake of the government's so-called public consultation on gene editing. The article lists the usual talking points of the pro-GMO lobby that GMWatch readers will familiar with. The problem is, they are all lies or half-truths, and many were debunked or discredited decades ago. We respond to a small selection. GMWatch

 

 

The National Seed Association of India (NSAI) and the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) have urged the government to act against a sudden surge in illegal cultivation of dual trait herbicide-tolerant (HT)/Bt cotton in the country this year. If the sale of unapproved HT/Bt cotton seed is not stopped, it would spell disaster for the industry and farmers, the associations said in a statement. Regulators are only limiting checks to licensed dealers and seed companies while this illegal activity is carried out mostly by unorganised operators, and therefore, focus must shift to catching them and taking strong punitive action, the NSAI said. Fibre2Fashion

 

 

The executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, Lois Corbett, says there is overwhelming public support for an end to herbicide spraying in woods. New scientific evidence showing glyphosate’s effects on plants and animals, its long-term presence in rivers and watersheds, and mounting lawsuits related to the human health impacts, must compel the committee members follow the lead of jurisdictions across the world in banning glyphosate-based herbicides. [GMW: If you're based in New Brunswick, you can send a letter to the relevant policymakers and committee members from the link above.] Conservation Council of New Brunswick