21/November/19

 

Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) has published a new factsheet on GM golden rice which includes the update on beta-carotene levels (low and variable). In summary, golden rice is still not yet ready for farmers to grow or for people to eat; its beta-carotene levels are not as high as in several other foods and degrade significantly during storage and cooking; and we still do not know whether it helps fight vitamin A deficiency. In addition, no animal feeding studies have been conducted to show it's safe to eat. CBAN

 

 

Ghana’s minister for food and agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto, said he believes that hybrid seeds could provide a more workable solution than GM. “GMO for me is like cracking a little nut with a sledge hammer. We have so many varieties of a whole range of crops developed through traditional breeding methods by our scientists, sitting on the shelves in their universities and research organisations. We haven’t even touched 20% of them,” he says. He says that Ghana has trained researchers to produce new varieties: “Last year we registered 13 different varieties. Instead of talking about GMOs we have varieties that are disease resistant, and drought resistant. The focus should be to use and maximise what we have, not go chasing something else.” African Business

 

 

Diamond & Diamond, a national personal injury law firm in Canada, is spearheading a $500 million class-action lawsuit against various Roundup makers, including pharmaceutical company Bayer, the owner of Roundup maker Monsanto. Darryl Singer, the head of commercial and civil litigation at Diamond & Diamond, said the plaintiffs involved in this class-action lawsuit are looking not only for financial compensation, but also what he calls "behaviour modification" so that the same thing doesn't happen again in the future with other products in Canada. CBC News