US land-based GM salmon producer AquaBounty saw first quarter losses grow by more than 70 percent as the group was forced to write down the value of its Indiana farm. AquaBounty announced in February it would sell the Indiana facility as it looked for options to finance the construction of its Ohio farming site, which is around 30% completed. IntraFish

 

 

The European Commission published its proposal for the future regulation of plants obtained from new genomic techniques (NGT) in July 2023. In February and April 2024, the EU Parliament adopted a position that differs substantially from the Commission proposal. The Council, during the Spanish and Belgian Presidency, has been discussing so far without coming to a common position. In May 2024, the Belgian Presidency made a new proposal for a common position. However, many open questions remain – notably, the risks of new GM plants; the impact on consumers and non-GMO food production (including labelling); and access to germplasm for breeders, given that new GM plants are patented. Testbiotech

 

 

In January 2024, two Danish industrial giants focused on microorganisms merged and Novonesis was born. This company sells “biosolutions” for all industrial and agricultural areas. “Bio” for biotechnological… and not biological, as it prefers to emphasise. This company uses microorganisms, often genetically modified, with the goal of manufacturing medicines (prebiotics, probiotics), fertilisers, pesticides, food additives (vitamins, enzymes), agrofuels (which they call “biofuels” or “biodiesel”), and many industrial products, such as solvents, detergents, and “bioplastics”. For such companies, current regulations on GMOs are an obstacle to the development of sustainable biosolutions, so they are lobbying for deregulation. Inf'OGM

 

 

The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Agricultural Production and Services to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the introduction of genetically modified crops in Nigeria by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). It also mandated the committee to assess the health and environmental risks associated with GM crops and report back within four weeks. The Green Chamber also called on the federal government to suspend the introduction of new GM crops until an investigation by its Committee on Agricultural Production and Services is completed and the findings are made public. TheHintsNews

 

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