The negotiations on the European Commission’s plan to deregulate new GMOs ("new genomic techniques", NGTs) are at a standstill because of concerns related to patents. So Poland, chair of the Council of the European Union for the next six months, has published a proposal to resolve the deadlock. Farmers' association ECVC explained the problems with Poland's proposal – it will increase corporate control of seeds and the food supply.

ECVC points out that it is forbidden to patent nature under patent law. However, the Commission seeks to make this common practice by proposing to remove the obligation (in the current GMO regulation) to publish detection methods for new GM NGT plants – all of which are patented. This obligation protects farmers’ and consumers’ access to information and ensures that GMOs can be withdrawn from the market if they prove to harm health or the environment. The obligation also prevents the abusive extension of the scope of patents to farmer-saved or traditional seeds (since farmers and breeders can use the detection method to prove they haven't infringed a patent by using a GMO).

ECVC writes, "If this obligation were removed, farmers and traditional seed producers who use or market seeds containing a genetic sequence that is similar to a patented sequence obtained by NGT, either naturally or as a result of contamination, will no longer have any means of opposing abusive patent infringement proceedings. Within a few years, the patents of the five multinationals that already control more than 60% of the global seed market will control more than 90% of said market, at the expense of food security and sovereignty." ECVC

 

 

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, has significantly harmed the health of babies in rural US communities over the last two decades — especially those already at risk of poor birth outcomes, new research shows. Spurred by the introduction of GM seeds by Monsanto in 1996, the use of glyphosate nationwide has increased by more than 750%. In that time, researchers from the University of Oregon estimate that maternal exposure to the pesticide reduced the average birth weight of babies and duration of pregnancy (gestational length) in rural areas, where it is most prevalent. The study indicates exposure to glyphosate, at the mean level of 2012 intensity:
* Reduced average birth weight by 29.8 grams (about .07 pounds)
* Shortened pregnancy by 1.49 days
* Increased the chances of low birth weight by 0.65%, very low birth weight by 0.20%, and preterm birth by 2.14%. US Right to Know

 

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