Jim Thomas has kindly given GMWatch permission to publish his brilliant essay about George Monbiot’s promotion of genetically engineered bacteria grown in bioreactors as the techno-fix for the world’s food needs, in which Jim highlights the gaping holes in Monbiot’s argument and the disturbing way Monbiot has taken to dealing with those who dare to point these out. Monbiot's article, “The cruel fantasies of well-fed people”, had attacked regenerative farmer Chris Smaje's book, Saying No to a Farm-Free Future, which is in turn a reply to Monbiot's book Regenesis. GMWatch

 

 

On 27 October, GMWatch's Claire Robinson joined lawyer Blanche Magarinos-Rey and molecular geneticist Prof Michael Antoniou in a presentation on the EU Commission proposal to remove safety checks, traceability and labelling from new GM foods, at the Let's Liberate Diversity! conference on seed diversity in Dublin, Ireland. The presentation explained the content of the proposal and its implications for consumers, farmers, and the seed sector, including breeders, and ended with an explanation of why the proposal is not scientifically based and indeed runs counter to scientific findings on the risks of new GMOs. The presentation ended with recommendations on what concerned citizens and groups can do to oppose the Commission's proposal. This involves writing to MEPS and demanding that safety checks, traceability requirements, and labelling are applied to all GMOs, both old and new. The event followed the publication of a detailed new report by Slow Food, "Deregulation of New GMOs in the EU: What would it mean for us?", authored by Claire Robinson with Slow Food's Madeleine Costa and Giulia Gouet. Both the slides for the presentation and the Slow Food report can be downloaded at the above link. GMWatch

 

 

Testing has revealed the presence of 92 unknown compounds in “synbio milk”. [GMW: This is a genetically engineered animal-free “fake dairy” product.] John Fagan, PhD, chairman and chief scientist at the Health Research Institute (HRI), which carried out the testing, said these compounds needed to be studied for food safety and nutritional quality, including by the US Food and Drug Administration. He said synbio milk products should either have a risk warning on their packaging or be taken off the market. FoodBusinessNews

 

 

A Philadelphia jury has found Bayer AG liable in a case brought by a retired restaurant owner who claimed his cancer was due to exposure to the company's Roundup weedkiller, and ordered Bayer to pay him $175 million in damages, the man's lawyers said. The verdict, for retired restaurant owner Ernest Caranci, includes $25 million in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages. Caranci's lawyers said in a joint statement that they were pleased with the verdict. Caranci had alleged that he developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma as a result of using Roundup in his garden for years. Last week, the company was hit with a $1.25 million verdict in a separate Roundup trial. Before that, it had won nine consecutive trials over similar claims. Roundup-related lawsuits have dogged Bayer since it acquired the brand as part of its $63 billion purchase of agricultural seeds and pesticides maker Monsanto Co in 2018. Reuters

 

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