11/August/20

 

Were you surprised when one of the first things Boris Johnson did on becoming Prime Minister was to declare his desire to “liberate” the UK “from anti-genetic modification rules”? If it left you wondering, “Where did that come from?”, then you should pay careful attention to the wave of revulsion that has just greeted his handing of a peerage to Claire Fox, the sister of Fiona Fox, the director of the Science Media Centre. It could provide an explanation. Claire Fox defended the IRA bombing of Warrington, in which children died, and denied the genocide of Bosnian Muslims. GMWatch

 

 

Three eminent experts have joined forces to debunk claims by members of two influential think tanks that GM Bt cotton in India has been a resounding success. Andrew Paul Gutierrez, senior emeritus professor at the College of Natural Resources at the University of California at Berkeley and CEO of the Center for the Analysis of Sustainable Agricultural Systems; Hans R. Herren, winner of the World Food Prize and president of the Millennium Institute, Washington DC; and Peter E. Kenmore, MacArthur Fellow (“Genius Award”) for his work on integrated pest management in green revolution rice, former head of FAO/Plant Protection, and former FAO Ambassador to India, have written a fully referenced open letter to the think tank members, rebutting their claims. GMWatch

 

 

The push for corporate-led solutions to hunger and malnutrition is alarming. In particular, GMO golden rice is now being proposed as a solution to the worsening hunger and malnutrition associated with the pandemic. Agrochemical transnationals (TNCs) and collaborating institutions such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are using concerns over food security during the pandemic to push for an industrial agricultural system that is already discredited. The Stop Golden Rice Network (SGRN) explain why they oppose GMO golden rice. GMWatch

 

 

There's a common warning about our planet's future: the risk of food shortages. "We've got a growing world and a hungry world. We need to make sure we do our part in helping feed that hungry world," said Kip Tom, a farmer from Indiana who's currently the US ambassador to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, as he closed a panel discussion in 2018. But, in fact, the long-term trend, for more than a century, has been toward ever more abundant food, and declining prices. Dan Charles looks into the reasons for the contradiction. NPR; comment by GMWatch

 

 

A peer-reviewed study published today in the journal Environmental Research found that levels of the pesticide glyphosate in participants’ bodies dropped an average of 70% after six days on an organic diet. The study is the first to examine how an organic diet affects exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer AG’s weedkiller Roundup®, the most widely used pesticide worldwide. It also indicates that for the general population, the food they eat is a primary way they are exposed to this pesticide. GMWatch