The pioneering gene-editing firm Cibus Inc., which only a few months ago made it onto a prestigious list of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024”, is now under investigation by a series of US law firms for deceiving investors. This follows a research report for investors that argued they had been duped by company claims for its “over-hyped” gene-editing technology. Up till now, Cibus and the other US firm that it merged with in 2023 – Calyxt Inc. – have been the two companies most often cited by GMO promoters needing concrete examples of the breakthroughs gene editing can supposedly deliver. But this narrative was thrown into serious doubt when a company called Bonitas Research issued a report stating that it “found no evidence that Cibus’ gene-editing technology brings desirable new crops to market”. What Bonitas did find evidence of was “farmer complaints of lower crop yields and lost revenues, along with multiple examples of large seed manufacturers and distributors walking away from joint ventures and partnerships with Cibus for a variety of seed types and seed traits”. Bonitas cited GMWatch research in its report. Now US law firms have said they are investigating these allegations. GMWatch

 

 

Thanks to all those who emailed their election candidates to demand traceability and labelling for new GMOs, using the tool set up by UK campaign groups Beyond GM, GMWatch and GM Freeze. Some of you at the same time opted to subscribe to GMWatch newsletters. If you're new to our lists, welcome! We've signed you up to receive our Daily Digests and Reviews, but if you want to amend your subscription preferences, please do so here.

 

 

Nigeria's Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, has declared that the newly adopted GMO crops are not suitable for human consumption because not enough research has been done to show safety. According to Prof Adeyeye, until NAFDAC gets very convincing data to demonstrate safety, “it is not safe for us". Nature News

 

 

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is being investigated by the environmental watchdog after Conservative ministers authorised a bee-killing pesticide that was banned by the EU. The investigation into Defra was launched after the campaign group ClientEarth submitted a complaint to the Office for Environmental Protection, which was set up after Brexit to replace the EU’s framework for punishing environmental offences by governments in the bloc. On Monday, the OEP announced it would be investigating the emergency authorisation of a neonicotinoid pesticide in 2023 and 2024. The Guardian

 

 

After the death of her baby, an Argentinian woman called Sofia Gatica started a fight for a healthy environment. She discovered that many other people in her town had lost young children or had a family member diagnosed with cancer. Everything pointed to a common denominator. Next to the community, there were GMO soybean fields where farmers sprayed chemicals, such as glyphosate. The cancer rate was 41 times higher than the national average, with a high incidence of neurological and respiratory diseases, birth defects and infant deaths. A study confirmed the health problems were linked to pesticide exposure. Sofia said, "I started seeing children wearing masks over their mouths and mothers with scarves on their heads to cover up their hair loss due to chemotherapy. That's when it clicked and I snapped out of my pain." She formed an action group to fight Monsanto and the spraying. Vijesti

 

 

In the US, the House version of the Farm Bill contains a provision — drafted by Bayer — to protect the company against further lawsuits claiming that the Monsanto herbicide glyphosate (Roundup) causes non-Hodgkins lymphoma and other cancers. Nutrition professor Marion Nestle comments: "Bayer’s greed about monopolising seed stocks brought on this problem. The Farm Bill is not the place to solve it. Bayer does not deserve this level of protection. Food corporations should not be writing the Farm Bill." Food Politics

 

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