16/November/20

 

Will genetically modified gene-edited crops, foods and animals improve the sustainability of food and farming? A comprehensive new scientific review by Dr Allison Wilson of the Bioscience Resource Project addresses this question by investigating the record of old-style transgenic GM crops and the potential and reality of newer gene-edited crops and animals. Dr Wilson concludes, "While in theory it might someday be possible to create a GM crop that meets the broad requirements of sustainable agriculture, in practice this seems highly unlikely to ever happen." The findings of the review are timely for the European Union. The European Commission's Farm to Fork Strategy of May 2020 plans to improve the sustainability of the food and agriculture chain – and the Commission thinks new GM techniques such as gene editing might play a part. GMWatch

 

 

How did Cibus generate and select the genetic modification present in its herbicide-tolerant canola? Nearly ten years after the Canadian authorities’ favourable opinion, the question has recently resurfaced after Canada and Cibus changed their presentation. Indeed, the company explains that the main tool it used to generate a mutation was ultimately useless. Cibus's communications illustrate its lack of mastery of its proprietary gene manipulation technique and the vagueness it is trying to create regarding its regulatory status. Inf'OGM

 

 

A rally calling to stop the use of glyphosate on local forests assembled in front of the British Columbia Ministry of Forest Office in Prince George on November 12. Organised by Stop the Spray BC, the group is calling for a halt to five more years of broadcast aerial spraying of the pesticide. “We are basically standing up for diverse forests, we are standing up for moose food, we are standing up for beaver food, we are standing up for fire-resistant forests,” said James Steidle, spokesperson from Stop the Spray BC during the rally. Prince George Matters