| The appearance in the EU of illegal GM-contaminated organic basmati rice reminds us that GMOs, once released, cannot be contained (GMO CONTAMINATION). Also in the EU, GMO advisory body EFSA continues to appoint industry-linked experts to its GMO Panel (LOBBYWATCH). In the US, an expert quoted in the mainstream agricultural press admits that GM Bt corn has failed (GMO FAILURES). The USDA has cleared GM wheat for cultivation there, though it will be some years before itâs planted commercially (GM WHEAT). Reports from South America state that the GM wheat was approved in violation of the law and official data show that its performance is poor compared to non-GM wheat. Elsewhere in the Global South, resistance to GM remains strong. Indiaâs Supreme Court has ruled that the country must develop a national policy on GM crops through public consultation involving all stakeholders â but farmersâ leaders are unanimous in rejecting GM crops (INDIA). In Nigeria, government agencies are disagreeing over GMO safety (AFRICA). In Kenya and globally there are strong concerns over seed laws that restrict farmersâ access to seeds (SEED FREEDOM). Meanwhile non-GM breeding approaches continue to deliver benefits that GMO advocates claim can only be offered via GM (ALTERNATIVES TO GM). GMO CONTAMINATION An organic basmati rice consignment sent from Pakistan to Germany has been found by the EU authorities to contain GM rice. No GM rice is authorised for import into the EU. The EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) said the consignment had entered Germany via The Netherlands. The contamination was traced back by government labs in Germany and Luxembourg to the GM 370 rice variety. Sources said the contamination could have happened because of Chinese scientists growing experimental GM rice in Pakistan. This resulted in the import of seeds from China and other countries. An expert commented that GM crops cannot coexist with geographical indication (GI) products like basmati rice. In June 2021 500 tonnes of GM rice from India were found in a consignment in the EU, though it was not organic basmati rice. And the contamination of US rice with GM LibertyLink rice in 2006 led to damages valued between $741 million and $1.28 million for the US rice industry. The RASSF alert is here. Norfolk Plant Sciences (NPS) has released a statement saying that they are aware that an individual named Bruno Fournier is offering what he claims to be their GM Purple Tomato seeds for sale on his Facebook page in Europe. This variety has not been registered or approved for use in Europe, and Norfolk has not authorised its sale or distribution outside the United States, where it is legally permitted, according to a press release. NPS has reached out to the seller, demanding that he immediately stop offering their seeds, and have reported this unauthorised activity to the US government and the European Commission. âWe strongly advise the European tomato-growing community to avoid purchasing or planting these seeds,â states the release. While GMWatch agrees with Norfolk Plant Sciences on this matter, thereâs a possibility that they have themselves been guilty of a biosafety breach involving their GM tomato. Norfolk Plant Sciencesâ Prof Cathie Martin has suggested a way that her GM purple tomatoes could have ended up being advertised in the Baker Creek heirloom seed catalogue as the âPurple Galaxyâ tomato, according to an article in The Times. She said she could not comment on whether Baker Creekâs Purple Galaxy was in fact her GM tomato (for background, see this article). But she added that the testing laboratory that analysed the Baker Creek tomatoes for GMO content had been obliged to release seeds to other researchers as part of an earlier study, under an MTA or material transfer agreement: âWe released a lot of seedsâ. The ancestors of the Purple Galaxy must have come from someone who broke the MTA, she said. âI have no idea who it was.â An archived version of The Timesâs article is here. LOBBYWATCH 
In July, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) appointed new experts to the GMO Panel, which is responsible for the assessment of GMOs. Research by Testbiotech has found that the panel now includes a large number of researchers involved in the development of genetically engineered plants, some of whom have links to industry, and are actively lobbying for the deregulation of new GM techniques (NGT). The panel is responsible for the risk assessment of genetically engineered plants and for developing risk assessment guidelines. The research shows that almost half of the 16 panel members are involved in the development of transgenic or NGT plants. In a number of cases, there were or are collaborations with industry, such as Syngenta and Corteva. Five experts on the panel have also applied for patents on transgenic or NGT plants, often together with companies. The chair of the GMO Panel even advises industry on EFSA risk assessment. The findings show that EFSA's independence from industry has not improved since earlier research was done by Corporate Europe Observatory on the EFSA GMO Panel members from 2012 onwards. UK GMO regulatory committees are also stuffed full of GMO developers and other industry-linked people. GM WHEAT A type of herbicide-tolerant GM wheat developed by Argentinaâs Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. can be cultivated without restrictions in the United States, the US Department of Agriculture said. Bioceres must still complete additional steps, including field trials, that will take years before it can commercialise HB4 wheat, modified to tolerate drought (but see item below), industry group US Wheat Associates said. GMWatch comment on GM (HB4) wheat GM (HB4) wheat is advertised as drought-resistant, which suggests it will perform better than non-GM varieties under water stress. But, in fact, research shows exactly the opposite: non-GM varieties produce more in drought conditions â on average 17% more! And when Monsanto tried to commercialise GM wheat, international buyers threatened to boycott US wheat if the product was introduced to the marketplace. In Argentina, where HB4 is being grown, Argentinaâs main farmer associations as well as grains exchanges and storage and flour chambers have expressed their opposition to the approval of the GM wheat. HB4 GM wheat was authorised in Argentina in an irregular process that was denounced for violating laws that protect health and the environment, as well as violating the rights of small and medium-scale farmers, including peasants and Indigenous people, says an article for the grassroots news agency Tierra Viva. The Federal Prosecutorâs Office has twice asked for the suspension of its authorisation in the country, while in the province of Buenos Aires, the Supreme Court has to decide whether to uphold an order to prohibit its cultivation and commercialisation. In Brazil and Paraguay, where it was also authorised, sectors of civil society have mobilised to warn that the process was illegal and demand that it be revoked. At the international level, movements and organisations from Latin America, Asia, and Africa presented a report to the United Nations detailing concerns about the damage that the new GMO could cause to communities and their territories. MEXICO-US TRADE DISPUTE Mexicoâs closing argument in its dispute with the United States over its restrictions on GM corn and glyphosate residues in tortillas has been published in English translation. The Mexican government argued persuasively that it has the right to take such precautionary measures under the United States-Canada-Mexico (USCMA) agreement, that the measures have had minimal impacts on US corn exporters and that its restrictions are indeed based on peer-reviewed science documenting the risks of consuming GM corn with glyphosate residues. These risks are particularly elevated for Mexicans, who consume more than 10 times the corn consumed in the US and do so in minimally processed preparations, such as tortillas. Mexico refuted the US rebuttal, which failed to acknowledge or rebut that evidence, relying instead on outdated studies that do not take Mexican consumption patterns into account and are often corrupted by conflicts of interest with biotechnology companies. Evidence submitted to the dispute panel included an expert report on the toxicology of GM maize by Prof Michael Antoniou. See also Timothy A. Wiseâs summary of the case. GMO FAILURES 
GM Bt corn is failing in the US and yields are no better than non-GM corn, according to a report in the USâs mainstream agricultural press written by North Carolina State University professor and extension specialist, Dominic Reisig. Prof Reisig says that the corn earworm pest has become resistant to the Bt insecticidal (âCryâ) toxins in GM Bt corn. GM Bt corn was engineered to kill the pest, but, Prof Reisig says, âWe have documented corn earworm resistance to all hybrids with Cry toxins since 2016 â eight years now. During that year, we observed unexpected injury to Bt corn and recommended growers spray Bt cottonâ with chemical insecticides, because many of the Bt-resistant earworms coming off the Bt corn will present a problem for Bt cotton later in the season. Prof Reisig adds that corn varieties containing VIP toxins, another form of genetically engineered insecticide, are still effective against the pest â though GMWatch points out that a paper published in 2021 documented signs of resistance in the pest to these toxins too. Itâs only a matter of time before this resistance becomes widespread and GM Bt corn becomes completely redundant. The Global Justice Ecology Project (GJEP) has asked the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Inspector General to investigate a potential lack of transparency by the New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF), regarding fundamental errors in its attempt to produce a GM American chestnut tree, the Darling 58. HEALTH RISKS Undisclosed genetically engineered ingredients are being added to baby formula and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) does not require them to be labelled, report GE Free New Zealand and the Safe Food Campaign. âWe believe parents have the right to know the full ingredient details, especially if they are genetically engineered,â said Alison White, co-convenor of the Safe Food Campaign, which is calling for labelling. FSANZ approved another GM ingredient in June 2024 for addition to baby formula, follow-on formula and formulated supplementary foods for young children. The approved GM protein is produced by microbial fermentation using GM bacteria. In a rat feeding study, animals fed the GM protein showed significant changes to blood parameters, limb weakness with diarrhoea, weight loss and reduced brain weight. However, in the EU, food safety authority EFSA still gave a positive opinion for its use. INDIA The uncertainty over the commercial sale of GM mustard in India is likely to continue, with the Supreme Court delivering a split verdict on 23 July. While Justice B. V. Nagarathna quashed the approval given to GM mustard by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), Justice Sanjay Karol upheld the panelâs decision to allow the crop to be sold commercially. With the two judges giving divergent views, the matter will now be placed before Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, who will then allot it to a larger bench. The court order came on a set of public interest litigations (PILs) challenging the Centreâs nod to the commercial cultivation and release of GM mustard. Justice Nagarathna faulted the GEAC for clearing the project without relying on any indigenous studies on the cropâs effect in India and its possible environmental ramifications. Also on 23 July (see above), the Supreme Court of India ordered the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to develop a national policy on GM crops within four months through public consultation involving all stakeholders and ârepresentatives of farmersâ. In August, farmer union leaders and members from 18 states, as well as activists advocating farmersâ rights, held a meeting and passed a resolution against GM crops, stating, âGM organisms (and their products) are unnecessary, unsafe, and unwanted in Indiaâs food and agriculture systems. Farmers in India want sovereign, nature-conserving farming. Modern biotechnology is an expensive and unsafe means to take over and control our agricultural systems with false promises which we cannot and will not allow.â Organisations advocating farmer rights have been demanding that they are consulted as stakeholders in formulating a national policy for GM crops since the Supreme Courtâs 23 July order. At the farmersâ meeting (see above), farmersâ leader Kapil Shah said, âSee how the Bt cotton crop has failed. They said GM seeds would do away the need to use insecticides and the crops would not be susceptible to mealybug, whitefly and pink bollworm attacks. In reality, the use of insecticides has increased manifold as insect attacks are common, so much so that it has made cotton cultivation economically unviable.â Farmersâ leader Rakesh Tikait said domestic animals avoid going to Bt cotton fields. He advocated organic farming. Agriculture expert Devinder Sharma said farmersâ leaders from across the country were unanimous in their opinion that GM crops would not be allowed. AFRICA In Nigeria, two government agencies â the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control, NAFDAC, and the National Biotechnology Management Agency (NBMA) â have openly disagreed over the usefulness or otherwise of agricultural GMOs. Prof Moji Adeyeye, director general of NAFDAC, criticised GMOs, saying there were concerns over their suitability in Nigeria. She also raised doubts over whether rigorous scientific and laboratory tests had been undertaken to ascertain safety risks and implications for human health. However, the director general of the NBMA, Dr Agnes Asagbra, wrote in a letter that the comments of the NAFDAC boss undermined the mandate and functions of the NBMA. See also this. Prof Zacharys Anger Gundu, vice-chancellor of the University of Mkar, said Nigeriaâs National Biosafety Management Agency cannot regulate GMOs because it lacks technical and scientific capacity â and because of this, the doubts against GMOs by stakeholders are credible. Gundu also said that GMO science is driven by greed and profit, adding that Nigerian and African food security must be predicated on the âsmall farmerâ model, using local plant and animal species. At a conference organised by environmental group HOMEF, its director Nnimmo Bassey said, âGenetic engineering technologies have further aided the concentration of power in the agricultural sector by allowing the companies to design suites of seeds and accompanying chemicals... Will GMOs solve bad governance, insecurity, climate change, poor extension service, lack of storage/processing infrastructure, soil degradation, poverty, inequalities, etc. that directly affect agricultural productivity? The obvious answer is no.â GM cowpea has cleared the first of three regulatory hurdles in the way of commercialisation in Ghana. If it is commercialised, it will be the first GM crop grown in the country. A number of factors will inform whether farmers choose to purchase and grow the seed, writes Joeva Rock, Assistant Professor in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge. An obvious but key factor is the seedâs performance. In field trials, GM cowpea suffered less damage from the Maruca pod-borer than non-GM cowpea. But there are a multitude of other diseases and pests that cowpea farmers in Ghana, and elsewhere in West Africa, must contend with. Moreover, GMWatch notes that this GM cowpea contains Bt insecticidal toxins. Targeted pests have evolved resistance to these toxins after a few years of deployment of the GM crops expressing them. See, for example, this. Two farmer unions have called on the government to solve challenges in Ghanaâs agricultural sector, rather than relying on GMO seeds as a solution. According to the Peasant Farmers Association Ghana (PFAG) and the Centre for Climate Change and Food Security (CCCFS), the introduction of GMOs in the country would not resolve food security issues. They pointed out that many farmers already produce a significant quantity of food, but face challenges such as lack of ready markets, inadequate storage systems, and poor road infrastructure. The groups were reacting to the approval of GM cowpea. Stakeholders in Ghanaâs food chain have advocated urgent formulation of a national policy to preserve indigenous seeds, instead of promoting hybrid ones and GMOs. They recommended such a policy should target all food crops, including neglected local and indigenous crop varieties, known to be more adaptable to local conditions, which have high nutritional value. SEED FREEDOM Since the 1960s, when development programmes started pushing high-yielding crops into developing countries, seed laws have proliferated, granting property rights over seed varieties, usually to governments and corporations. Over time, this system has deemed only commercially developed seeds as legitimate, replacing indigenous varieties and forcing farmers to purchase seeds instead of relying on their own. The evolution of international trade has made it increasingly challenging for countries to avoid ratifying stringent seed laws, as these regulations have become a component of commercial treaties. An investigation found that the UK has been leveraging trade agreements to enforce strict seed patenting in at least 68 countries in the Global South. According to the report, the UK has signed or ratified 19 trade deals that require or encourage signatory countries to comply with UPOV91, the Convention promoting intellectual property rights on plant varieties. While these are intergovernmental deals, they benefit corporations selling commercial seeds. According to agroecologist Nasike Claire Akello, thereâs been a lot of misinformation about the punitive Kenyan seed law that bans farmers from sharing or selling uncertified seeds. She explains the facts. Kenyan farmers are opposing the privatisation of the Kenya Seed Company. The farmers fear the proposed move would compromise their access to seeds, the countryâs seed sovereignty and food security. The group has vowed to reject the privatisation bid. They fear that farmers might not access quality seeds once the company is privatised because the new owners would focus on profit making, hence increasing prices. According to European law, patents can only be granted on genetic engineering in plant breeding. Despite this, major seed companies have exploited legal loopholes and already obtained 200 patents on traditional breeding, writes Johanna Eckhardt of No Patents on Seeds! Breeders need access to genetic material to address challenges such as pests, diseases and climate change. The current European patent system hinders their work, leading many to avoid certain traits for fear of violating large companiesâ patents and risking patent infringements. GM HUMANS Chinese scientist Jiankui He, who genetically modified children using CRISPR, was a speaker at Roundtables organised by MIT Technology Review. Biologist Stuart Newman wasnât impressed, commenting that the Review is âNormalizing human genetic engineering by giving a platform to someone who took a potshot at prenatally modifying three children.â ALTERNATIVES TO GM Researchers at the James Hutton Institute in the UK have developed potato cyst nematode-resistant potatoes using marker assisted selection, a biotechnology that doesnât result in a GMO. According to the Institute, potato cyst nematodes (PCN) cause damage valued at over £50 million in the UK each year. On a worldwide basis plant parasitic nematodes are thought to cause damage valued at over 100 billion US dollars each year. (Thereâs a podcast here. Coverage starts at 08:25 mins.) You can find this example and more in our popular database of non-GMO successes. Youâll be amazed at all the non-GMO breakthroughs solving precisely the kind of problems (drought-resistance, salt-resistance, biofortification, etc.) that GM proponents claim only genetic modification can provide the answer to, even though it almost invariably fails to deliver. A crimson beer made from red barley has been created that is healthier and tastier than normal pints, according to brewers. Scientists at beer giant Carlsberg have created âcrossoverâ beers that are imbued with the colourful chemicals found in wines that have been linked to a host of health benefits. The experimental lager is less bitter and contains fewer hops than normal beer thanks to the addition of anthocyanins, chemicals in grape skins that make wine red. These compounds are naturally occurring and red barley has been bred to contain a high concentration of the chemicals, which have been shown to boost memory as well as reduce the risk of cancer, inflammation and diabetes. Red barley is not made by gene editing or other GM techniques but with the biotechnology known as marker assisted selection. GMWatch notes that while non-GMO, referring to older style GM, has been a selling point for many years, ânon-gene-editedâ seems to be a newly emerging selling point! Agroecological farms conserve biodiversity, restore soil fertility and maintain crop yields under conditions of environmental and climatic stress. Most outperform industrial agriculture in terms of total production, resilience, energy efficiency, biodiversity conservation, and water use. More importantly, they lay the foundation for food sovereignty, diversification of diets, and improvement of health, says Miguel Altieri, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, general coordinator of the United Nations Sustainable Agriculture Program, and a scientific advisor to the Latin American Consortium on Agroecology and Development. Altieri adds, âThe global food system has failed the resilience test and is not up to the task of feeding the world in the face of the global environmental crisis. Industrial agriculture poses a major threat to our planetâs health, contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity. Continuing with the current agricultural paradigm is not an option.â There's no need for GMO gene drives to control non-native grey squirrels in Britain. As well as goshawks, research shows the increase and spread of pine martens in Britain is linked to rises in red squirrel numbers. .................................................................. We hope youâve found this newsletter useful. Please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you! |
