Genetically modified rice containing human genes has received
preliminary approval in the US, sparking new concerns and fears on
both sides of the Atlantic.
New UK government proposals to allow up to 0.9 per cent GM in
organic food without it being labelled threatens a highly lucrative
industry, claim campaigners.
Europe's Food Safety Authority has ruled that a
genetically-modified cotton plant, which can be used for food
applications, presents no cause for concern.
Food can polarise opinion more than most issues, but can we please
have some balance and debate, rather than mudslinging and crop
burning to get to the truth?
The department of environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) has
released a consultative paper seeking views on coexistence of GM
crops alongside ordinary crops.
Scientific experts from European Union member states yesterday met
with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to discuss ways to
strengthen scientific co-operation in the risk assessment of GMOs.
On the other side of the debate, environmental activists remain
committed to ensuring that Europe's food supply remains GM free
even if that means breaking the law.
The development of EU-wide legislation on the co-existence of
genetically modified crops with conventional and organic farming is
not currently justified, according to a new report from the
European Commission.
Greenpeace has called for the urgent adoption of international
biosafety standards after the publication of a report that claims
to reveal the extent of GM contamination.
An online summary of a key FAO study into genetically modified food
has given the food industry unprecedented access to vital
information concerning the safety and potential risks of this
technology.
Denmark is to pay compensation in cases where conventional or
organic production has suffered economic losses following
genetically modified (GM) material contamination.
EuropaBio has slammed the EU Agricultural Council's decision to
uphold a Greek ban on genetically modified (GM) corn, claiming that
the judgement flies in the face of EFSA advice on biotech crops.
In a move that is bound to add more heat to the dispute among EU
states over genetically modified organisms, the Europe's food
safety regulator has approved a number of products for use within
the bloc.
A call by the World Health Organisation for further safety
assessments on using genetically modified (GM) foods should give
governments pause for thought before giving their approval for
their wider use of the technology.
It is a perversion of the 21st century that while affluent
societies continue the quest to slice the fat from their
increasingly obese populations, five million children die from
hunger each year, and more than 850m people go chronically...
As the country cautiously introduces GM imports, China has ratified
the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, a global protocol signed by
over 130 countries that aims to regulate international trade of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
While acceptance of genetically modified ingredients remains
divided across the globe, recent field trials in China suggest GM
rice could reduce health problems and increase yields in the
burgeoning Chinese market.
With the countdown extended, talks continue this week in Geneva
between the US and Brussels to move the entrenched trade dispute on
genetically modified organisms forward.
GM food ingredients under attack, again, this week as environmental
group accuses Brussels of 'exposing EU states' to risk from
genetically modified corn.
Joining the heated debate on GM food crops and ingredients, a group
of agricultural experts, herded together under the UN-backed FAO,
declare an A to Z approach must be the only path for 'responsible
deployment' of GM crops.
Brussels addresses the issue of consumer cynicism and fear of
agricultural biotechnology in European citizens, setting up a
thematic network on the safety risk assessment of genetically
modified food crops, the Entransfood project,...
Food formulators working in Europe will steer away from using GM
ingredients in their recipes as long as consumer sceptism towards
biotech foodstuffs continues but at a meeting herded by Europe's
food agency this week attendees...
New rules in Europe recently opened the way for market
opportunities of GM food crops but the debate still rattles on with
the focus now turned to the co-existence of GM, organic and
conventional crops with a new UK report claiming...
Now tight rules are in place for the labelling of GM ingredients on
food products, Brussels has moved down the food chain to tackle the
sensitive issue of genetically modified seeds, meeting today to
hammer out a draft decision setting...
Food makers working on the European stage today are matching
consumer concerns over genetically modified organisms, largely
selecting non-GMO ingredients for their food formulations,
highlights a new survey.
The unofficial ban on GM foodstuffs has ended but sceptical
European ministers yesterday failed to give the green light on a
biotech sweetcorn from Monsanto, reports Lindsey Partos.
Food makers likely to continue to reject GMO ingredients...
As the anti-GM feel gains pace in Europe Britain's third largest
retailer Sainsbury has seized the moment launching onto the
supermarket shelves a milk produced from cows 'guaranteed to have
been fed a GM free diet'....
As Europe continues to relax the rules which for six years have
effectively blocked the development of genetically modified
foodstuffs throughout the EU, new research suggests that the
consumer antipathy towards GM goods - usually...
Claims by anti-GM groups that genetically modified crops cannot
co-exist with 'normal' ones without causing contamination have been
exaggerated, and increasing the regulatory burden on GM crops in
Europe would be inequitable...
Biotech firms, consumer groups and environmental campaigners have
the opportunity to voice their concerns about the framework for the
risk assessment of GM food in the EU with the European food
watchdog inviting comments on a new...
In a move set to fuel the already heated GM debate swirling around
Britain, the country's medical body said this week it sees no
'current evidence of potential harm from GM food'.
Favourable news for the pro-GM camp as a team of British scientists
claims that genetically modified (GM) maize is less damaging to
wildlife than conventional varieties. At the same time, leading UK
organisations call on Tony Blair...
Bush administration trade officials were not the only ones to
welcome China's decision to allow a raft of GM products from
biotech giant Monsanto. This week the American Soybean Association
hails the move as 'good news'.
Early last week the German government passed a bill codifying
European Union legislation for the cultivation and export of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into national law. Following
suit, the UK government seems set to give...
Monsanto will have to wait a little longer to find out if it will
be granted permission by the European Union authorities to import
its genetically modified (GM) maize NK603 into the trading bloc.
European scientists will meet today to decide the fate of a
genetically modified corn developed by US biotech giant Monsanto. A
positive outcome from the committee would end Europe's five year
ban on GM crops, attacked by a host...
An end to Europe's unofficial five-year ban on new biotech crops
could be imminent as the Commission backs proposals to import a new
GM sweetcorn. Ministers in the EU 15 have three months to decide on
the fate of the biotech...
Consumer indifference - not to say hostility - towards
genetically-modified products in the UK means that British
supermarkets are likely to stay firmly GM-free in 2004, according
to an annual survey of retailers carried out by www.gmfoodnews.com.
The adoption of a bill in Germany last week enforcing European regulations on genetically modified
food and feed has done little to calm unease among many consumers.
Parliament adopts contentious report calling for rules to be
established at Community level on the coexistence of genetically
modified (GM) crops with ordinary crops 'without delay'.
After months of risk assessment scientists at Europe's first food
safety agency have given the green light to Monsanto's
herbicide-tolerant GM maize. NK 60 is as safe as conventional
maize, they declare.
Hunger is on the rise again after falling steadily during the first
half of the 1990s, warns the UN's annual hunger report released on
Wednesday. In the same week, a Danish task force asserts that
organisations are falling short...
The advent of new European legislation on genetically modified
organisms - applicable as of last week - will hit all players in
the food industry. In a bid to render the new rules clearer we have
decided to take the step to publish...
If nothing else, the opening decade of the 21st century will go
down in the annals of time as the period the world went to war over
GMOs. When it comes to genetically modified organisms, passions run
deep and the path to reconciling...
As the debate in the UK heats up over GM crops, new research
sourced from Spain claims that co-existence between GM and non-GM
crops can occur without economic and commercial problems.
Can the trend for foods with added health benefits turn the tide of
consumer cynicism towards genetically modified foodstuffs? US
researchers hypothesise that shoppers might just pay a premium for
GMOs if they are told of the potential...
Undecided limits on the amount of genetically modified organisms in
cereal and vegetable seeds have thrown the GMO debate into further
disarray, as EU setbacks delay voting until Spring next year.
The Co-op group, the UK's biggest farm group and one of its largest
retailers, has responded to a recent customer survey on attitudes
to GM by pledging never to plant genetically modified crops or sell
GM products in its stores,...