11/January/21

 

"The Wuhan lab-leak hypothesis goes mainstream" is the headline of an article about New York magazine’s latest cover story, a deep dive into the origins of SARS-CoV-2 by the respected American novelist and essayist Nicholson Baker. The award-winning science writer Rowan Jacobsen, whose own impressive piece covered similar territory for the Boston Review, calls Baker’s article “game-changing” and “essential reading for anyone who wants to understand why lab-leak has become the leading hypothesis – and why labs are such a biosecurity concern”. GMWatch's Jonathan Matthews looks at the article and the backlash against it. GMWatch

 

 

Please sign the Open Letter to the WHO COVID-19 International Investigation Team, which contains 50 important questions for the WHO team visiting Wuhan in January to seek answers to – none of these questions has been answered to date. The world needs a full and transparent investigation. iPetitions

 

 

The RSPCA has responded to the news that a consultation on gene editing has been launched by Environment Secretary George Eustice on January 7. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) chief executive Chris Sherwood said: “The RSPCA is very concerned about government plans to weaken legislation on livestock gene editing in England... While the UK is no longer compelled to follow the EU’s robust genetically modified food laws which are designed to protect human and animal life, health and welfare, it would be a huge mistake for the Westminster government to water down that legislation.” AgriLand

 

 

Gene editing will be bad for animal welfare and bad for efforts to curb greenhouse gases, organic farmers and environmental experts claim. Allowing the genes in crops and farm animals to be altered would lead to greater farm animal suffering and would not address food waste, they argue. The Independent; comments by GMWatch and GM Freeze

 

 

Scotland may soon be “forced to accept the marketing, sale and free circulation” of genetically modified food as England looks to change its own laws in the area post-Brexit, the Scottish Government has warned. Although the consultation is explicitly not UK-wide, the Internal Market Bill’s “non-discrimination clause” means that Scotland’s Government will be powerless to bar goods produced in England from being sold north of the Border. The National; comment by GMWatch

 

 

Colin Todhunter has published a great summary of the UK predicament regarding Brexit and GMO deregulation. He quotes campaigner Jim McNulty as arguing that we now see treachery in our midst: A former member state (the UK) has seen fit to bury 25 years of evolving laws and regulations founded on a science-based approach and the precautionary principle. CounterCurrents

 

 

The body representing food and drink manufacturing in the UK, the Food and Drinks Federation, warns there could be "barriers" to exporting English farmed foods to the EU if gene editing is allowed. And Essex farmer George Young said gene editing simply isn't necessary. Sky News

 

 

The Republican Association of Attorneys General (RAGA) — the chief Republican law enforcement officers for their states — used its dark money group to help organize the recent mob attack on the Capitol. The Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF), a "nonprofit" set up by the RAGA, appears in a list of groups "Participating in the March to Save America" along with Stop the Steal, Turning Point Action, Tea Party Patriots, and others. Donors to the RAGA include Monsanto and petroleum/chemicals giant Koch Industries, among others. Daily Kos; Documented