11/November/20

 

In October we featured a media article reporting that GM Bt crops are no longer offering protection from insect pests in the face of growing insect resistance to the Bt insecticidal toxins in the crops. We pointed out that the article was incorrect in its claim that the Bt insecticidal proteins in GM Bt crops are "harmless to people and other animals". Now Dr Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist at Strategic Expansion and Trainings, LLC, and Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Agroecology at Coventry University, UK, has drawn attention to another incorrect claim in the article – that GM Bt crops have reduced the use of applied chemical insecticides. GMWatch

 

 

The consortium of NGOs and industry that organised the development of the new detection test for Cibus's gene-edited SU canola has produced a detailed briefing on the current arguments going back and forth between regulators, Cibus, and NGOs over the test. The briefing answers the questions: Is Cibus's SU Canola a genetically modified organism (GMO) under EU law or not? And does a GMO detection test also have to identify the applied technology itself? Detect-GMO.org

 

 

India’s proposal to make it mandatory for certain imported food crops to have certificates for non-GM origin and GM-free status from January 1, 2021 has been objected to by the US, Australia, Brazil and some others at the World Trade Organization on the ground that it would create an “undue burden" on exporting countries. In August, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published an order specifying that every consignment of 24 identified food products needs to be accompanied by a non-GM-origin-cum-GM-free certificate issued by Competent National Authority of the exporting country. The order is to be effective from January 1, 2021, the order said. The Hindu BusinessLine

 

 

We can’t assume that a UK-US trade deal under Joe Biden would be much different from one under Trump. Trade deals are driven by big business interests. The demand that we import chlorinated chicken [GMW: and unlabelled and poorly tested GMOs] comes from US agribusiness. The demand that the NHS pay higher charges for medicines comes from the pharmaceutical industry. If the deal is really close to being completed, and if Boris Johnson can find a way of preserving the Good Friday agreement regarding Northern Ireland, it will be enticing for Biden to just push it over the finish line and satisfy the corporate demands. The Guardian

 

 

No novel food technology has been more divisive than the use of GMOs. The 2010 Eurobarometer survey, conducted in 32 countries, shows that opponents of GM foods outnumber supporters by three to one. Also, meat can now be grown in a laboratory. But a 2018 survey showed that the public isn’t ready for it. Survey respondents had a low understanding of the technology and a low level of acceptance. When the production process was explained to them, it actually reinforced the acceptance of traditionally reared meat. "Cultured meat evokes a 'disgust' response in many people because it’s perceived as artificial," says psychologist Michael Siegrist. Geographical

 

 

The US Environmental Protection Agency released an assessment last week finding that the endocrine-disrupting pesticide atrazine is likely to harm more than 1,000 of the nation’s most endangered plants and animals. The assessment’s release comes just two months after the EPA reapproved the pesticide’s use for another 15 years. Sustainable Pulse