06/September/22

 

In April 2022, Testbiotech reported that no new applications were registered in 2021 for the import of GM transgenic plants into the EU – the first time this has happened. The European Food Safety Authority EFSA was initially set up in 2004, and has since then received more than 150 applications for the market approval of transgenic plants. It appears that new applications were still being registered each year up until the end of 2020, although in noticeably fewer numbers. Concerns about transgenic plants have increased within the last few years. The EU Parliament has adopted around 60 resolutions against these imports. In the EU, large supermarket chains have tried to avoid selling food produced using transgenic plants. Countries growing transgenic plants have also been heavily criticised for using large amounts of pesticides and the destruction of the rainforest in order to grow even more crops. In addition, there are indications that transgenic plants can cause the spread of pest insects. Testbiotech

 

 

In August, a group of Arkansas farmers met to discuss why the public should be warned about dicamba herbicide, which is used on GM dicamba-tolerant (DT) soybeans. Products containing dicamba can cause serious damage to non-dicamba-tolerant soybeans and to other sensitive crops and non-crop plants. Dr Dan Scheiman said he's been researching dicamba for three years and he's found 300 locations in the state where it has destroyed plants and potential wildlife. He said, "Dicamba may be an agricultural product but it's not just an agricultural issue. It's an environmental issue, it's a conservation issue, if you love public lands if you love hunting, fishing, wildlife watching you should be concerned about this stuff... If trees are dying [because of dicamba] then what does that mean for the insects, the birds that depend on those trees. What does that mean for human health, people who depend on breathing in this volatile herbicide that's a gas and it's out there." According to Scheiman, dicamba needs to be banned. KATV.com

 

 

During September 5-9, the Gates-funded Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is holding its 12th Summit in Rwanda, promising to take "bold actions for resilient food systems". And so they should, because they have taken Africa in the wrong direction, writes Anne Maina of the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya. Agricultural production is down, costs to farmers are up for fertilisers that fail to produce results, and hunger is getting worse. AGRA's monocultures of maize and rice fed by synthetic fertiliser have ruined the soil and hurt farmers' chances of producing more diversified, wholesome food that is less dependent on fossil fuel inputs. The AGRA model has been disastrous for local ecologies, reducing agricultural productivity, ruining soils, and worsening the hunger crisis. What's needed is resilient agriculture that works with nature, builds crop and diet diversity, respects climatic patterns, and empowers marginalised farmers such as smallholders and women to enable them to support their families while growing food for a hungry continent. Common Dreams

 

 

Reviewing a new book by Joeva Rock, We Are Not Starving: The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Ghana, Marion Nestle, formerly professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, writes that the book is "an utterly compelling account of how the failure of international donors to understand and respect the recipients of development aid contributes to the failure of their projects. Through the industry’s attempts to introduce GMO crops in Ghana, anthropologist Joeva Rock draws lessons essential for anyone who wants international development to work. If you want to understand the real, on-the-ground politics of GMOs, start here." Food Politics

 

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