Articles

GMOs, the latest addition to the industrial “toolbox,” are a short-term and unstable solution to these problems because they change the environment surrounding the organisms they intend to control (Binimelis et al. 2009). Thus, as predicted by a fundamental biological principle, namely the Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection, their use induces resistance (Ceccarelli 2014). It is the same process by which bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics, a phenomenon that is the cause of diseases affecting yearly two million Americans and causing 23,000 deaths in the USA (Frieden 2014; Reardon, 2014). At best, GMOs can only be a short-term solution to any particular problem, but in every case they have created an often more serious problem (resistant weeds, insects or disease) that requires a new GMO and/or more chemical use. They also make a farmer completely dependent on the company producing the GMOs and chemicals (Pechlaner 2010).

Agroecology and Alternative Methods of Plant Breeding

Agroecological models of agriculture, such as organic agriculture, could be solutions to the most important problems affecting the planet, but they are often criticized for not being able to produce enough food for a growing population. We believe, however, that most of the meta-analysis showing lower yields under organic conditions are biased by the use of varieties which were not selected specifically for organic conditions.

New Horizons for Eco-Labels and Sustainability

Sustainable ingredients, food waste and marketing developments will be featured in the European edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit. Like previous editions, the summit will bring together leading organisations involved in eco-labels and sustainability in the food industry. Click here to get the detailed summit agenda.

What are the implications of COP21 on the European food industry? What developments are occurring in sustainable seafood and livestock production? What can food companies and retailers do to minimise food losses? How can consumers be encouraged to undertake sustainable purchases and responsible consumption? This new edition will address such questions in a high-level forum.

Since 2009, the Sustainable Foods Summit has been discussing leading issues the food industry faces concerning sustainability and eco-labels, such as Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, etc. The aim of the Sustainable Foods Summit is to explore new horizons for eco-labels and sustainability in the food industry by discussing key industry issues. Other editions in this international series will be hosted in Latin America and North America.

In late January the watchdog said that it might ban imports of the US corn and soybeans due to contamination of products by quarantine objects and the risk of delivery of GMO products to Russia.

MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. Russia has banned import of soybeans and corn from the United States starting from February 15, Assistant to Head of Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) Alexey Alekseenko told TASS on Wednesday.

"Restrictions will be imposed on imports starting from February 15," he said when answering a respective question, adding that "they (the US) have to establish a system to ensure safety of products imported to Russia."

Mr Matic is just warming up. Soaking up the winter afternoon sun, he delivers an extended eulogy-cum-reverie about the properties of the earth in this part of the country.

For those not initiated in the finer points of what makes one kind of soil better than another, it boils down to this: The Vojvodina soil is rich, dark and anything will grow in it.

The Matic family farm, Brkin Salas, is typical of the traditional Serbian model. It covers eight hectares (19 acres) and the fields are cultivated without the use of chemical fertilisers.

Mr Matic, like other farmers, calls the produce "organic not by paper, but naturally," because although they are passionate about the integrity of their methods, they have never gone to the expense and trouble of applying for official organic certification.

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Mr Glamocic fears that the recent glut of cheap produce from the EU may just be a taste of things to come, as far as Serbia's farmers are concerned. For a country which has long ear-marked agriculture as a key potential growth sector, that is a worrying prospect.

But there is another, more optimistic school of thought. It holds that Serbia can take advantage of its "naturally organic" heritage and more recent ban on genetically-modified (GMO) crops.

The country is already a leader in the production of GMO-free soy - and could exploit its reputation to find markets in the EU where people are becoming more concerned about food-sourcing.

Potential for genetically engineered maize to crossbreed with its wild ancestor teosinte

Thursday, 25 February 2016

Today thirteen civil society organisations active in agriculture and environmental issues have officially alerted the European Commission that the wild ancestor of cultivated maize, teosinte, has appeared in Spain and is spreading widely in maize growing areas as an invasive species. Teosinte and maize have the potential to interbreed and form hybrids. This applies equally to genetically engineered maize MON810, produced by Monsanto and grown on more than 100,000 hectares in Spain. Due to the risks of appearance of an invasive, transgenic teosinte species, the organisations have asked the Commission and the Spanish government to ban the cultivation of MON810 in 2016.

This week Bill and I discuss the Trans Pacific Partnership. We also have an interview with Karen Hansen-Kuhn from the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy. Please visit www.iatp.org to learn more about the great work that they do.

A group of fourteen experts, including ENSSER member Michael Antoniou and CRIIGEN[i] member Robin Mesnage, warns that current safety assessments of glyphosate based herbicides (GBHs) as well as their maximum daily intake limits are based on outdated science. Also, exposure levels have risen because drinking water, rain and air, especially in agricultural regions, but also foods, are increasingly contaminated. Moreover, glyphosate turns out to be more persistent in water and soil than previously recognized.

In a new peer-reviewed paper in the journal Environmental Health, the experts list their concerns, distinguishing between certainties, confident estimations, model-based predictions, unconfirmed presumptions based on existing data and relevant uncertainties in current safety assessments.

Monsanto is in the news again. The Competition Commission of India (CCI), the country’s antitrust regulator, has recently said that it suspects a Monsanto joint venture abused its dominant position as a supplier of genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds in India and has issued an order citing prima facie violation of Sections 3(4) and 4 of the Competition Act, to be investigated by CCI’s director-general.

Monsanto also faces cases brought by state governments and domestic seed manufacturers, for the astronomical royalty it charges. In previous cases, Monsanto defended itself by saying that it was “trait fees” (for using its technology in cotton hybrids) and not royalty.

Fact is that Monsanto has viewed the laws of our land as mere hurdles in its way to swindle India and our farmers. On March 10, 1995, Mahyco (Monsanto-Mahyco) brought 100 grams of cotton seeds, containing the MON531-Bt gene, into India without the approval of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).

DG SANTE ordered to prove in a future report they changed their practices.

The practice of EU Commission health service SANTE to approve pesticides while important safety data are missing, the so-called "confirmatory data procedure" (CDP), is a case of maladministration according to the EU Ombudsman in a decision published today (pnt 8 of the decision). Under the previous pesticide Directive (91/414) she considers use of these practices by DG SANTE as unlawful (pnt 27) and under the new Regulation (1107/2009) that allows use of CDP only in exceptional cases she concludes the use was not restricted as it should (pnt 11). Possible consequences for human health would be particularly worrying, writes the Ombudsman (pnt 27). Several other shortcomings in the pesticide decisions were observed by the Ombudsman such as a lack of requirements to protect the environment (pnt 44), a lack of systematic verification of protective measures (pnt 50) and even cases of approval when no safe use was demonstrated by Food Authority EFSA (pnt 28). The solution proposed by the Ombudsman includes a change of practices by DG SANTE; the Ombudsman orders SANTE to prove in a report, to be published in two years time, they have actually implemented the changes (pnt 71).

Ségolène Royal, France’s minister of ecology, sustainable development and energy, has called for a ban on glyphosate mixed with certain adjuvants (additives) due to its perceived risks to human health.

On Feb. 12, Royal called for ANSES—France’s food, environment and health agency—to withdraw authorizations on herbicides containing glyphosate mixed with the adjuvant tallow amine, according to French newspaper Le Monde (via Google translate).

Although it wasn’t explicitly said, one can only conclude that this measure was directly targeted at Monsanto and other herbicide makers.

Tallow amine, or polyethoxylated tallow amine, aids the effectiveness of herbicides such as glyphosate. The chemical is contained in Monsanto’s widely popular weedkiller Roundup, according to the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, which published a letter from Monsanto listing the ingredients. Roundup’s ingredients are as follows:

- Isopropylamine salt of glyphosate (active ingredient)

- Water

- The ethoxylated tallow amine surfactant

- Related organic acids of glyphosate

- Excess isopropylamine