| | 15/July/25
| | GMO deregulation won’t fix potato blight In a letter published in the Dutch KNPV (Royal Netherlands Society of Plant Pathology) member magazine Gewasbescherming (“Crop Protection”), Piet Boonekamp, a researcher at Wageningen University & Research (WUR), advocates the use of cisgenesis – the transfer by genetic engineering of genetic material within a particular species – to control Phytophthora, the fungus that causes late blight in potatoes. He argues that the long-standing impasse in removing new GM techniques from “outdated” EU regulations is causing much-needed innovation to stagnate. Do we need GM – old or new – to combat potato blight? Agriculture and food writer Theo Grent says we don’t. He responded to Boonekamp’s letter in an article in Gewasbescherming. Bottom line: There are agroecological ways to manage potato blight and GM approaches have only offered years of failure at the taxpayer's expense. GMWatch US: Total Pesticide Immunity In the US, Section 453 of the Federal House Interior Appropriations bill has Total Pesticide Immunity language included in it. If the bill is passed in the relevant committee today, the EPA would effectively be frozen in time and prevented from reviewing and doing its job as it relates to pesticides, herbicides, etc. It would also immediately impede the 67,000 pending lawsuits claiming Monsanto-Bayer Roundup caused cancer. Breeauna Sagdal on X Glyphosate herbicide is superfood for pathogenic fungi Glyphosate herbicide is a superfood for pathogenic fungi. Fusarium species can use glyphosate as both a carbon and phosphorus source, giving them a competitive advantage over beneficial microorganisms that protect plant health. Robert Kremer, a USDA scientist with 32 years of experience, discovered that GMO soybeans and corn consistently harboured 2-10 times more of pathogenic Fusarium fungi on their roots than non-GMO crops. Agronomy consultant Sam Knowlton on X Gene-edited rice sparks alarms: Scientists back activists, warn of hidden dangers Growing apprehensions over the safety and regulation of genome editing in agriculture have reportedly received "validation" from peer-reviewed scientific studies, backed by civil society advocacy efforts. The Indian government’s recent announcement of gene-edited rice varieties has triggered critical responses, notably from the Coalition for a GM-Free India, which hosted a webinar to assess the implications of gene editing in Indian agriculture. The session, moderated by activist Kavitha Kuruganti, brought together scientists and agroecology practitioners who cautioned against the premature rollout of gene-edited crops without robust biosafety assessments. Counterview Lab-grown cheese is coming British start-up Better Dairy is making lab-grown vegan cheese, containing the protein casein made by GM yeast. But there has been a trend away from meat-free foods recently, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). The organisation says that plant-based cheese sales across the UK declined 25.6% in the first quarter of 2025, while sales of cow's cheese grew by 3%. One reason for this, the AHDB said, might be because the number of vegans in Britain is small – just 1% of the population, far fewer than the amount of dairy cheese eaters – and has slightly declined lately. Other reasons may be concerns about health and price. A recent government survey found that food being ultra-processed – a key challenge with vegan cheese – was the second-greatest concern for consumers, the first being cost. BBC News RIP Ulrich Loening We were sad to hear of the death on 10 July of molecular biologist Dr Ulrich Loening at the age of 94. His scientific knowledge was matched by his kind heart, deep wisdom, and humility. He was a tireless defender of scientific integrity and the precautionary principle and his sharp mind remained undiminished by age. He will be greatly missed. You can read more about him and his work here, here, and here. GMWatch – no link in header We hope you’ve found this newsletter interesting. It was made possible by GMWatch supporters. To become one, please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you! __________________________________________________________ Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
Profiles: http://www.powerbase.info/index.php/GM_Watch:_Portal
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMWatch |
|
