Whatever happened to GM Golden Rice? And wasn’t GM salmon supposed to revolutionise aquaculture? Three decades after the first GMO crops were planted, Save Our Seeds, in collaboration with GMWatch, with contributions from Beyond GM, explores the fate of eight GMO promises once presented as game-changers. The conclusion: bold claims, dismal delivery. In 1995, the US Department of Agriculture approved the first Bt maize and glyphosate-tolerant soybean, opening the way for large-scale cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops. The promises came thick and fast: GMOs would feed the world, reduce chemical use, and save children from malnutrition. Thirty years on, GM crops occupy just 13% of global arable land, and largely concentrated in a handful of countries. Most of the promises remain unmet. Save Our Seeds' new website, GMO Promises, is a resource for journalists, policymakers, campaigners, scientists, and investors looking to understand the real legacy of GMO technologies, and what lessons should be learned as the next wave of biotech rolls in. The website presents eight prominent claims, and shows what happened in each case. GMWatch

 

 

There is broad agreement among experts that advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and genetic engineering can result in risks for health and biosecurity. A wide range of users, including malicious actors, will be enabled to engineer biology and generate new pathogens, toxins, or other outputs that could be weaponised. At the same time, possible biosafety issues often slip under the radar. These include applications in plants and animals that may, even though well-intentioned, result in substantial risks for nature and the environment. In the EU, ongoing negotiations on new GM techniques (new genomic techniques, NGTs) applied to plants could exempt the huge majority of these plants from risk assessment. AI could make it even easier to circumvent the Commission's ‘magic threshold’ of 20 genetic changes, underneath which NGT plants would be considered safer than other genetically engineered plants. When taking their decision on this far-reaching deregulation, policymakers must take risks for environment, biodiversity and health into account. A Testbiotech workshop will zoom in on some biosafety issues. Register now! Testbiotech via GMWatch

 

 

New, groundbreaking research confirming glyphosate's link to cancer is forcing governments to review their support for the world’s most popular weedkiller. Invitation: The Global Glyphosate Study (Free Webinar), 1.30-2.15pm (BST) on Wed 9 July This webinar is an exclusive opportunity to hear about the most comprehensive study ever conducted on glyphosate from its only UK-based contributor, Professor Michael Antoniou (Professor of Molecular Genetics and Toxicology at Kings College London). Published in Environmental Health journal, the study confirms that glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides cause multiple types of cancer, even at exposure levels deemed to be “safe” by the EU. It was coordinated by the Ramazzini Institute in Italy and involved scientists from the US, South America and Europe. In response to this landmark study, the European Commission has said it will review the new data and “act immediately to amend or withdraw the approval” of glyphosate if it “no longer meets” the EU’s safety standards. This decision would have huge implications in the UK and beyond. Sign up to this free webinar to hear Prof Antoniou present the study’s key findings. There will be a chance for questions. The webinar is open to all so please share it with your colleagues, supporters and other networks. PAN UK

 

 

The genetic testing company 23andMe has been fined more than £2.3m for failing to protect the personal information of more than 150,000 UK residents after a large-scale cyberattack in 2023. Family trees, health reports, names and postcodes were among the sensitive data hacked from the California-based company. It only confirmed the breach months after the infiltration started and once an employee saw the stolen data advertised for sale on the social media platform Reddit, according to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office – which levied the fine. The information commissioner, John Edwards, called the months-long incident across the summer of 2023 a “profoundly damaging breach”. The compromise of UK data was just a fraction of the wider losses, with the data of 7 million people affected. The Guardian

 

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