Italy has lost its world leadership as a GMO-free country with the field trial planting of the experimental gene-edited rice “Ris8imo” (notification B/IT/24/01), genetically engineered for resistance to rice blast, at the farm “Radice Fossati” in Mezzana Bigli, in the province of Pavia. The Italian Rural Association (Associazione Rurale Italiana, ARI) said in a press release, "After 24 years of national legislation to guarantee the 'GMO-free' production of Italian agriculture, due to the shameful choices of the Draghi and Meloni governments... Italy becomes a country at risk of biotechnological drift. The way in which politics, the academy and the so-called majority agricultural organisations have imposed on the nation the risk of losing all the work done in recent decades to place Italian agriculture at the top of the quality of production ranking, is nothing short of baffling." For the Italian Rural Association's press release in Italian, see this). Comment by ARI on notification of GMO trial to EU Commission

 

 

At the beginning of the new wheat growing season in Argentina, two of the country's main food companies, Arcor and Molinos Río de la Plata, have said that they will not buy or use GMO HB4 wheat to make their products. Though a few countries have approved GMO HB4 wheat for consumption, their wheat buyers won't touch it, and so it can't be exported. As a result, the Federation of Grain Collectors has warned that it is likely to end up in domestic bakeries, pasta factories and pizzerias. @GMWatch on Twitter/X, translating article in TierraViva

 

 

Prenatal glyphosate exposure (at low levels) induces colonic inflammation, immune metabolic dysfunction and behavioural deficits in mice, shows a new study carried out for a PhD thesis. Two doses of glyphosate were selected: the acceptable daily intake set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (1.75 mg/kg/day) and the Average American dose based on values of glyphosate found in items that make up a North American diet (0.01 mg/kg/day). Breeding pairs of colitis-resistant and colitis-susceptible mice were exposed during pregnancy and two generations of animals were raised. The results revealed that colitis-resistant mice with ancestors exposed to glyphosate developed colitis, characterised by increased histopathological damage, goblet cell depletion and reduced Mucin2 expression within the colon (indicative of inflammatory bowel disease). Additionally, animals in the EPA Upper Limit F2 (2nd generation) group exhibited impaired glucose clearance, GLP-1 depletion (indicative of obesity and diabetes) and decreased locomotor activity. Colitis-susceptible offspring displayed modest exacerbation of colitis. The author says the findings require "immediate further exploration and consideration of regulatory practices". UBC Theses and Dissertations

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible by readers’ donations. Please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you!