Genetic Engineering
GMO = Genetically Modified Organism
GMOs are created in a lab, by inserting a gene from one organism into another unrelated organism, producing plants and animals that would never occur in nature. No long-term safety studies have been done on humans, but animal studies link the consumption of GMOs to an increase in allergies, kidney and liver disease, ADHD, cancer, infertility, chronic immune disorders and more.
ST. PAUL — A legislative proposal is being floated to protect Minnesota’s native wild rice by delaying attempts to research modified varieties of the crop.
The seemingly minor debate
Read moreIn February, a private organization with unique powers over world industry, trade and agriculture, issued a Preliminary Draft Ruling on a three-year-old case. The case was brought by the Bush Administration in May 2003 against European Union rules hindering the spread of genetically-engineered plants and foods. The WTO ruling, which is to be final in December, will have more influence over life and death on this planet than most imagine.
The ruling was issued by a special three-man tribunal of the World Trade Organization, in Geneva
Read moreIn recent years, "you are what you eat" has become a popular adage, a truism, perhaps a bit of a cliché. There is little doubt that the quality and variety of the food we eat has a profound impact on our health and well being. But in recent years, a new threat has emerged that challenges our ability to make the most basic choices about our food. The new technology of genetic engineering (GE), coupled with an unprecedented concentration of corporate control over the processing and distribution of food‹and especially the sources of our seeds - has cast doubt on the safety and
Read moreMONTVILLE, Maine - Residents have voted to include a ban of genetically engineered seeds in the town's land use ordinances.
At their annual town meeting on Saturday, residents gave overwhelming approval to a resolution that declared that the town would commit to banning genetically modified organisms, or GMO's, and develop land-use ordinances to support the policy. The policy will be included in the town's comprehensive plan.
It is thought to be the first time that a Maine town has agreed to ban GMO's in its land use ordinances. Voters in Brooklin last year passed Read more
CURITIBA, Brazil - Two patents granted in the United States between 2000 and 2002 and another for which an application has been filed have put "maca", a high altitude Andean plant that is used by indigenous people in Peru, at the centre of a new battle against biopiracy, which involves the construction of an international network against the misappropriation of traditional knowledge.
One of the patented maca-based products claims to raise testosterone levels. But the countries that registered the plant "did not invent a thing," said lawyer Isabel Lapeña, with the Peruvian Read more
A view of the Ho Chi Minh Trail as it crosses the Rinh River near the village of Thanh Liem, in an undated photo. Vietnam War veterans from the United Read more
The winners of the Captain Hook Awards for Biopiracy announced in Curitiba today are an eclectic group that includes old favorites and new up-and-comers; Community-based biodiversity efforts win Cog Awards for defending food sovereignty
Google "Crashed" today at the Captain Hook Awards ceremony during the meeting of the Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). No, this doesn't mean that Internet service was interrupted in Curitiba's ExpoTrade Convention and Exhibition Centre where the CBD meeting is being Read more
Dear Readers,
I preface these two articles with the below comment from the second article.
Thomas
Professor Keith Kendrick, of the Babraham Institute, University of
Cambridge, agreed that the genetically-modified pigs might help scientists assess the role of omega-3 fats in reducing cardiovascular disease.
However, he said: "I am less convinced that this is going to be a source of omega-3 for human consumption when there are other non-GM sources."
A review of 89 studies into the health benefits of omega-3 Read more
CURITIBA, Brazil, Mar 24 (IPS) - Small farmers and activists celebrated a triumph against Terminator seeds in Brazil Friday, but said they would not let down their guard, and would continue to fight the seeds.
The working group in charge of addressing the issue at the Eighth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP8) maintained the moratorium on field trials of Terminator technology, which produces seeds whose sterile offspring cannot reproduce.
The decision is still pending a vote in next Friday's plenary session in the Mar. 20-31 Read more
Monsanto and its affiliates are probably the last place a consumer would want to source their seeds from right now. The corporate behemoth has made it clear that its intent is to control as much of the world's seeds as possible. The corporation, already one of the leading patent owners of the world's diverse seeds, recently acquired Seminis, the largest seed vendor on the planet. Monsanto is also the leading producer of genetically modified seeds. Its most popular genetically modified seeds on the market create a plant that is resistant to the company's own Roundup (glyphosate) pesticide
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