Brazil's National Technical Commission for Biosafety (CTNBio) has decided that a CRISPR gene-edited soybean, developed by Embrapa for drought tolerance, is non-GMO – thereby exempting it from the GMO regulations and meaning it will not carry a GMO label. "By considering this soybean as non-GMO, the research processes are less bureaucratic and therefore we were able to reduce the time and costs for drought-tolerant cultivars to reach the market, with guaranteed biosafety," said Alexandre Nepomuceno, general head of Embrapa Soja, and researcher Liliane Henning. "Furthermore, there will be no need for us to conduct the complex process of commercial deregulation of a GMO product, which is time-consuming and costly," they said. The deregulation of the GM soy means that no safety testing will have been performed on it, meaning it could contain novel toxins or allergens. GMWatch

 

 

Rothamsted Research has applied for permission to plant millions of experimental GM camelina plants on their farms in Hertfordshire and Suffolk. Please let Defra know by 17 April that you do not want this trial to go ahead. The camelina plants will include synthetic copies of human, cattle, mouse and goat genes. The risks and ethical issues this raises aren’t properly considered in the application and for many people it simply crosses a line so shouldn’t be allowed. The application doesn’t actually say what will be planted. Instead it lists over 130 different genes that will be combined as the genetic engineers see fit over the next five years. Different genes interact with each other in often unexpected ways, so no GM field trial should be considered until it is clear exactly how the plants involved have been changed. GM Freeze

 

 

The Non-GMO market in Germany continues to go from strength to strength. In 2022 consumer spending on food with the "Ohne GenTechnik" ("without genetic engineering") label rose by 21% to 16 billion euros. New GMOs must remain strictly regulated in order not to jeopardise this success. European Non-GMO Industry Association on Twitter @NonGMOEurope

 

 

A Mexican government ban on the use of GM white corn for the manufacturing of dough and tortillas will have little impact on the Mexican food industry and enjoys wide public support. The ban introduced by the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador earlier this year did not target yellow corn but white corn, which is used to produce the processed corn flour used for most local dishes. A previous ban on the imports of GM seeds was introduced in late 2022. China Daily

 

 

Leading Chinese seed companies have said that commercial production of GM corn will not start this year, as Beijing has not provided a clear timeline. Seed experts told their peers at the annual China Seed Congress in Hainan that they would have to wait until at least 2024 before they could expect a green light for mass planting of GM corn. “The government is taking a cautious approach and wants to take one step at a time,” said Ma Dehua, president at one of China’s leading seed companies, Yuan Longping High-Tech Agri. “The industry mostly expected commercialisation to start this year,” an expert who works for an accredited GM producer told the Post. Beijing has adopted a cautious approach towards GM after amid public fears about health risks. scmp.com

 

 

Bayer has settled one of several class action battles over claims that its Roundup products lack cancer warning labels, and will pay millions in attorneys’ fees to end a long dispute involving the company and product maker Monsanto. The settlement approved in federal court Friday shows Bayer will pay the eight lead plaintiffs $5,000 each, plus reimbursement of $210,888 in expenses. More than 200,000 class members can submit claims to cash in on the settlement fund. Bayer will also pay $5.75 million in attorneys' fees, a sharp reduction by US District Judge Vince Chhabria from the $11.25 million which plaintiffs requested last year. The agreement is a drop in the bucket for the billions of dollars that Bayer has already paid to settle cancer claims stemming from Roundup use. Courthouse News Service

 

 

The Administrative Court has upheld a decision by which Luxembourg's ban on glyphosate, which is used in Bayer's plant protection products, is deemed unlawful. The pesticide has been prohibited in Luxembourg since 1 January 2021. The Grand Duchy was the sole country in the EU to take steps against the substance and manufacturer Bayer therefore initiated legal action against the Luxembourg government, arguing that it was a violation of EU law. The Administrative Tribunal has since ruled against the ban, a decision that has now been upheld by the Administrative Court. Said Raymond Aendekerk, director of Greenpeace Luxembourg, "In view of the many unresolved questions about the potential effects of the active substance glyphosate on health and biodiversity, the Luxembourg government must exhaust all legal possibilities to ensure that a poison that is potentially carcinogenic and harmful to species remains banned in Luxembourg." RTL; Greenpeace Luxembourg

 

 

Despite massive jury verdicts against Monsanto and settlement agreements with Bayer (which acquired Monsanto in 2018), glyphosate, a key ingredient in Roundup weedkiller, remains one of the most heavily applied agrochemicals. One of the reasons for its continued use is the US Environment Protection Agency's conclusion that glyphosate is not likely to cause cancer. The authors of a review published earlier this year say EPA’s conclusion is "untenable", given the growing body of research that has found increased risk for cancer associated with glyphosate exposure. According to the authors, over the last seven years, 84 newly published studies reported a genotoxic response following exposure to glyphosate or a glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) compared to just six published studies that reported no evidence of such a response. The review is here. Wisner Baum

 

 

On 12 April there will be an exclusive preview screening of the powerful new documentary, "Into the Weeds", directed by Jennifer Baichwal and featuring Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, at the UGC Cinema, Brussels. The documentary tells the story of school groundskeeper Dewayne “Lee” Johnson and his landmark legal battle against chemical company Monsanto (now Bayer), which sparked a worldwide reflection on the safety and environmental impact of the weedkilling agent glyphosate. Reports have found that 80% of people in Europe have glyphosate in our urine. It can affect fertility and is routinely sprayed on crops that become breakfast cereals for children. This event includes a post-screening panel discussion with Dewayne "Lee" Johnson, Director Jennifer Baichwal, Carey Gillam (author of The Monsanto Papers), Dr Angeliki Lysimachou (Head of Science and Policy at PAN Europe), Daniele Mandrioli, MD, PhD (Director of the Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center, Ramazzini Institute), and other experts and policymakers. Book now – it's free. Eventbrite

 

 

A popular narrative claims that India was incapable of feeding itself until Norman Borlaug saved the starving with his Green Revolution. He saved a billion lives, right? Wrong. According to the anthropologist Glenn Davis Stone, commenting on a body of new research, "The new histories lead us to revise the number of lives saved from a billion to a lower number. Like zero." Why does the false narrative persist? Stone says one reason is that "Today the biotechnology industry and its allies zealously promote the legend as a flattering framing for the spread of genetically modified crops." Geography Directions

 

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