In a recently published document, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has created the impression that there is, in most cases, no need to take into account the unintended genetic changes caused by the process of new GM techniques ("new genomic techniques" or NGT), reports Testbiotech. Testbiotech comments, "EFSA appears to assume that the unintended genetic changes and the associated risks could not be distinguished from those resulting from conventional breeding. Consequently, the approach as suggested by EFSA would mean a substantial reduction in current standards of risk assessment. It looks like the EFSA assumptions largely originate from inadequate data: In the context of its previous opinions, the authority has stated several times that it did not have a mandate to comprehensively assess all relevant scientific publications. On the contrary, it seems that EFSA has, in fact, simply ‘overlooked’ most of the relevant publications." GMWatch
As leaders gather for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) to adopt what is sometimes called a “Paris Agreement for nature”, the European Commission is moving ahead with deregulation plans for a new generation of genetically modified plants (new GMOs). Friends of the Earth Europe’s new briefing shows that new GMOs are an environmentally risky distraction from the real solution to nature recovery and food security. Mute Schimpf, food and farming campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe said: “Officials must not throw away 20 years of essential safety regulations. Are they really ready to ignore citizens’ demands just to please chemical giants with a track history of false promises and very real environmental damage? Their power and resources are better off going towards promoting already proven solutions like agroecology.” GMWatch
Back in October we at GMWatch published an article about the reported failure of Calyxt, the company that was the first to market gene-edited soybeans. Adoption by farmers was reported to be slow due to disappointing yields. In the article we mentioned Cibus's herbicide-tolerant SU Canola as one of very few possibly gene-edited crops available on the market. We say "possibly" because Cibus launched the product in 2014 as a success of its ODM gene editing technique, but later claimed that the mutation that conferred the herbicide tolerance was accidental and not a product of gene editing after all. But now it seems that the "maybe/maybe not gene-edited" canola has disappeared from the market, in Canada and the US. GMWatch
Farmers from 600 districts across India will gather in Delhi on December 18 to protest against the central government’s policies on GM crops, among other issues. The protest is organised by farmers' union BKS (Bharatiya Kisan Sangh). The Hindu
In the ten-year fight against GMOs in Costa Rica, one of the most successful organisations has been the GMO Free Territories. This grassroots initiative has led local governments responsible for 92% of Costa Rica's territory to issue statements opposing GMOs and in defence of local seed. Biodiversidad LA (Spanish language article)
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