28/October/21

 

A new study published in the scientific journal Plants presents the specific risks of new genetic engineering techniques and gives an overview of possible gene editing applications, Testbiotech reports. The study shows that inducing supposedly small alterations in the genome of crop plants can nevertheless generate complex changes. The results of the study highlight the need for plants developed using New Genetic Engineering techniques to undergo case-specific risk assessment, taking both the properties of the end product and risks posed by the applied procedures into account. GMWatch

 

 

A non-GMO disease-free blight-resistant potato, named CIP-Matilde, has been developed by international breeders in collaboration with farmers in Peru. Agricultural journalist Richard Halleron hailed the new potato as "one of the most important breakthroughs within the field of agricultural science in living memory". He said that the plant breeding breakthrough "flies in the face of the likes of Monsanto, which seems to think that GM is the answer to all our problems". And in a striking statement, he added, "In truth, I am fast coming to the conclusion that GM and all other related sciences could be creating long-term issues for humanity – many, or all of which, could prove very difficult to step back from." GMWatch

 

 

On 17 October the New York Times (NYT) published an interview (with Jane Goodall in its "By the Book" section about the books she has read and is currently reading. One of the questions was: "Are there researchers or popular science writers you especially admire?" She answered: "I admire Rachel Carson, who wrote 'Silent Spring', and Steven Druker, who spent 11 years researching the dangers of genetically modified food to write 'Altered Genes, Twisted Truth'. In 2016 the NYT ran a similar interview with Gwyneth Paltrow in which she named Steven Druker's book as the book she would recommend that then-President Obama should read. The book is available from Amazon. GMWatch comment on articles in the New York Times (paywalled)