More than 70 academics and scientists have signed a letter asking for a full rejection of the European Commission's proposal to deregulate new GMOs (products of new genomic techniques or NGTs), on the grounds that it threatens an "irreversible change" to our ecosystems and food systems. The letter says, "As academics, from a vast range of disciplines, including agroecology, political ecology, rural sociology, molecular biology, environmental history, population genetics, evolutionary biology, ecology, agronomy and innovation studies, we are very concerned about the quality of this legislative proposal, the process by which it came into being, and the social, economic and environmental impacts it will have, should it be adopted. Moreover, we have serious questions about the way in which climate and sustainability goals are being used to justify this (de-)regulation." The letter criticises the "arbitrary" and non-scientifically-based distinction between the different categories of new GM plants – the vast majority of which are planned to be exempted from safety checks, traceability, and labelling – and the lack of risk assessments. The letter says, "The concept of safety is conspicuous by its absence in the proposal, even though it is the cornerstone of existing GMO legislation." Academics and scientists are invited to add their signatures to the letter, which has been covered by the mainstream European magazine Politico. GMWatch

 

 

139 German organisations are demanding strict regulation of genetic engineering in open letter to Germany's Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, on the occasion of today's Agricultural Council meeting on new GMOs in Brussels. The letter says, “The German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), the German Rural Agriculture Association (AbL) and the German Federation of Organic Food Producers (BÖLW), together with the youth organisations BUNDjugend and junge AbL (jAbL), call for the preservation of freedom of choice, the safeguarding of GMO-free conventional and organic food production, transparency, the protection of natural resources, and the continued strict regulation of new genetic engineering techniques.” AbL (German language text)

 

 

Bayer’s Monsanto was ordered to pay more than $1.5 billion on Friday over claims its patented weedkiller, Roundup, was linked to users’ cancer. James Draeger, Valerie Gunther and Dan Anderson were each awarded a total of $61.1 million in actual damages and $500 million each in punitive damages by jurors in state court in Jefferson City, Missouri. The three people alleged that their non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas were caused by years of using Roundup while gardening. The Messenger

 

 

Bayer AG has suffered its biggest drop ever, losing about €7.6 billion ($8.3 billion) in market value, after major courtroom and drug-development setbacks that raise pressure on its new leader to outline a turnaround plan. Five years after the German conglomerate’s $63 billion takeover of Monsanto Co., the historic value destruction from that deal continues to grow. There’s no end in sight to the litigation over Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup, especially after a shock jury verdict on Friday raised the risk that Bayer will ultimately have to tap all of, or perhaps even more than, the $16 billion it’s set aside for the Roundup lawsuits. Meanwhile, Bayer is now facing a separate crisis in its pharma division after halting the primary study of its most important experimental drug because of a lack of efficacy. Shares tumbled as much as 21% in Frankfurt trading, dragging Bayer’s market valuation down to about $37 billion, less than half of what it’s paid for Monsanto and earmarked for the resulting legal problems. The events raise the stakes for Bill Anderson, who joined the company this spring and took over as chief executive officer in June, as he weighs a potential breakup of the pharma and agriculture conglomerate. BNN Bloomberg

 

 

Bayer's agricultural sciences division is facing shrinking markets and an ever-growing legal bill. Clearly, the acquisition of Monsanto is already one of the greatest disasters of contemporary capitalism. Bayer has signed a cheque for EUR55 billion to acquire Monsanto, a sum that can be compared with its current market capitalization of EUR40 billion to gauge the scale of the destruction of value. Let's face it, the Germans were fooled by the Americans, who handed them the hot potato just before the storm broke. MarketScreener

 

 

Heavy rains have overwhelmed defences put in place at the Ty Llwyd Quarry by Caerphilly Council to prevent chemical waste allegedly abandoned by Monsanto contaminating surrounding woodland, roads, reaching the village of Ynsddu and the River Sihowy. Monsanto (which has since been bought up by Bayer) is thought to have used the site to store chemical waste from its Newport factory. When it left the site, it abandoned barrels of chemical waste. The barrels are now expiring and leaking. South Wales Argus

 

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