16/February/22

 

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has published a report after considering the draft Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022, issued by farm ministry DEFRA. The report is a damning condemnation of the scientific, legal and democratic basis of the Westminster government's plans to weaken regulations around GMOs – though whether the government and DEFRA will listen remains unknown. The report notes, among other problems, that DEFRA fails to set out any scientific or regulatory criteria to assess whether a genetic modification or change in a plant could have occurred naturally or could have been produced through traditional breeding methods. Such a definition is crucial because the government intends to exempt such GM plants from the GMO regulations. GMWatch

 

 

GM developers at the Cambridge University Crop Science Centre have applied for permission to plant experimental GM barley in open fields for the next five years. Please make your views known by emailing gm-regulation@defra.gov.uk (with application reference 21/R54/01 in the email subject line) by Saturday 19 February. GM Freeze has published guidance as to what to say. GM Freeze

 

 

There is emerging concern regarding the unintentional and often unrecognized antimicrobial properties of pesticides, including insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, according to a newly published review. These are known to produce broad ranging, off-target effects on beneficial wildlife, even at seemingly non-toxic low dose exposures. In addition to their direct lethal effects on microbes, they can also impact the gut microbiomes of honeybees, disrupting digestion, immune regulation, and pathogen resistance. The evidence suggests that immediate action is needed by regulatory authorities in amending safety assessments for supposedly “non-antimicrobial” pesticides. Microbiome Research Reports

 

 

In experiments with zebrafish, researchers have for the first time shown that unintended effects of CRISPR/Cas applications are inherited in subsequent generations, as Testbiotech reports. The researchers also found unusual patterns of inheritance. According to the scientists, the findings show that the effects of CRISPR/Cas applications on subsequent generations need to be examined in much greater detail. The findings are relevant for the planned marketing of GM laying hens. GMWatch