| | 17/February/21
| Webinar invitation: Gene editing - the reality behind the hype Next week, on 23 February at 16:00 to 17:30 CET, the Greens/EFA group will host an online meeting on new GMOs. The Greens/EFA will launch their new report, "Gene Editing Myths and Reality - A guide through the smokescreen", with an interactive online event. During the event, four experts will speak very briefly on the different aspects of the gene editing "revolution" in plants and will take questions from the audience:
- Claire Robinson, GMWatch (author of the new report)
- Dr Michael Antoniou (technical advisor for the new report)
- Dr Fulya Batur, Kybele Consultancy
- Dr Léa Lugassy, Pour une Agriculture du Vivant
The event will be hosted by Green MEPs Eleonora Evi and Benoît Biteau. EN-DE-FR-IT Interpretation will be provided. Register here. Greens/EFA in the European Parliament Monsanto owner Bayer and US officials pressured Mexico to drop glyphosate ban Internal government emails reveal Monsanto owner Bayer AG and industry lobbyist CropLife America have been working closely with US officials to pressure Mexico into abandoning its intended ban on glyphosate, a pesticide linked to cancer that is the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkillers. The pressure on Mexico is similar to actions Bayer and chemical industry lobbyists took to kill a glyphosate ban planned by Thailand in 2019. Thailand officials had also cited concerns for public health in seeking to ban the weed killer, but reversed course after US threats about trade disruption. The Guardian Why China and the WHO will never find a zoonotic origin for the COVID-19 pandemic virus Wuhan, China, is a place that no one predicted a natural coronavirus pandemic would begin. Nevertheless, the numerical improbability of a natural coronavirus pandemic originating within commuting distance of a major coronavirus laboratory has, until now, never been properly calculated. But there is also another coincidence that defenders of a zoonotic origin for the COVID-19 pandemic need to account for. There are numerous coronavirus species. Any one of these might theoretically have caused a pandemic. Yet the actual pandemic virus belongs to the same species that was also the near exclusive focus of coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The magnitude of these two coincidences explains why a natural zoonotic origin has not been found. Indeed, it implies that some variant of a laboratory escape is the only realistic possibility, according to Jonathan Latham, PhD and Allison Wilson, PhD. Independent Science News Bill Gates, Climate Warrior – and Super Emitter Bill Gates has a new book out: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster. But some people are less than amused at having to take lessons on the climate crisis from a billionaire who, in the words of the ETC Group, “made a fortune skirting government regulations with monopolistic practices, and holds a significant financial stake in the continued expansion of the fossil fuel industry.” An article by Tim Schwab makes clear just how extensive those fossil fuel investments are and how much they are at odds with Bill Gates’ claims. GMWatch comment on article in The Nation DONATE TO GMWATCH
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