01/February/22

 

GMO-free agriculture in Germany and Europe has been a success story. Foods that are explicitly labelled as GMO-free are increasingly popular. A number of European companies, including Aldi, Lidl Germany, Rewe and Penny, voted in favour of a resolution in 2021 stating that new genetic engineering should be regulated and labelled as genetic engineering. But a few, such as Edeka, Kaufland and Metro, are being evasive. Edeka and Kaufland refer to the statement of the umbrella organisation of the German food trade, in which the regulation of new genetic engineering is described as "comprehensible under European law" and also mentions the precautionary principle, freedom of choice, labelling and verification procedures. Yet a clear position on a possible deregulation is not taken. Lidl does not dare to position itself internationally, although Lidl Germany and Lidl Austria have approved the resolution. "That's not enough and doesn't help either consumers or farmers who want to make a conscious decision against genetic engineering when buying or growing," says Dirk Zimmermann, genetic engineering expert at Greenpeace. “Anyone who is serious about their commitment to transparency and freedom of choice must do more than observe the foreseeable course of action by the EU Commission and refer to the vague position paper of an umbrella organisation. In the end, passivity supports the possible deregulation of new genetic engineering.” Greenpeace Germany

 

 

GMWatch has published its response to the UK Food Standards Agency's (FSA) public consultation on applications for 9 GMOs for food and feed uses, which we submitted to the FSA on 23 January. The response "notes that all the risk assessments are based on those of EFSA, which are inadequate to establish safety. On the basis of the information provided and omitted by the GMO developers, these applications should be refused." It criticises the lack of data on the combinatorial effects of stacked-trait GM plants such as those being put forward for approval, even though studies show that these multi-GM trait plants may pose more complex and serious risks than single trait GM plants. GMWatch

 

 

Senior ministers in the Welsh and Scottish governments have furiously criticised “last-minute and cack-handed” plans from the Conservatives to scrap or amend thousands of EU rules. The move – nicknamed the “Brexit freedoms bill” – has also raised alarm from constitutional experts who said it would make it easier for ministers to bulldoze through important parliamentary scrutiny. The areas affected by the proposed bill, which has yet to be published, include climate policy, agricultural rules, food safety, genetic modification, vehicle safety and industrial subsidies. The Guardian

 

 

Journalist Sharyl Attkisson interviews investigative reporter Paul Thacker about Anthony Fauci's and Peter Daszak's conflicted roles in suppressing discussion of the lab leak theory of COVID origins at the same time as funding dangerous gain-of-function research with coronaviruses in China. Thacker also offers insights on why and how science writers have silenced public debate on this topic. OwlTail