Supreme Court hears landmark GM crop case

Two West Australian farmers are back in Perth's Supreme Court today in a case that could have consequences for the growing of genetically-modified crops. An organic farmer is suing his neighbour for loss of income and damages after his property was allegedly contaminated with the neighbour's genetically modified canola.

abc.net.au

GMO soybeans are bad for Mexico's beekeepers

Genetically modified organisms rarely stay put, as we've seen in cases where organic farmers have found their crops cross-bred with GMOs. Pollen has many ways of getting around, including the honey bee.

A new study published in Scientific Reports found that's bad news for beekeepers in Mexico. Mexico is the fourth largest producer of honey in the world, but the livelihoods of beekeepers could be threatened by GMO-soybeans, which makes its way into honey via pollen. The presence of GMO pollen in honey makes it difficult to export the product to Europe, where there's low-tolerance for genetically modified food. The contaminated honey can only be sold at substantially reduced rates if it's not rejected for sale altogether.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute found that soybean crops are the source of GMO pollen in honey from the Yucatan. The authors write that although it's widely believed that self-pollinating soy flowers are not visited by bees, there is clear evidence that this is not the case.

"Bee colonies act as extremely sensitive environmental indicators," said senior researcher David Roubik in a statement. "Bees from a single colony may gather nectar and pollen resources from flowers in a 200-square-kilometer area. With an economy based on subsistence agriculture associated with honey production, the social implications of this shift in the status of honey are likely to be contentious and have profound implications for beekeeping in general."

Although the researchers emphasized that all of the soybean pollen came from plants that have been approved for human consumption, the findings are another example of how GMOs may travel trough the environment in unpredictable ways. Treehugger

Margaret Badore

Editor / New York

Margaret Badore is a multimedia reporter who covers food, fashion, recycling and sustainable living in New York City. She earned her undergraduate degree in writing and environmental studies at Sarah Lawrence College and has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. She previously worked as assistant editor at DietsInReview.com. Her work has appeared on Seventeen.com and in Real Detroit Weekly.

Margaret grew up outside of Detroit and has been figure skating since she was seven.

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Is Wheat the Next Big GMO for Monsanto Company?

Monsanto is caught in the middle of a unique situation. The anti-GMO (genetically modified organism) movement could be a threat to existing soybean and corn seed sales, while the potential to commercialize genetically modified (GM) wheat could create a huge new market opportunity. Monsanto's decision to either double-down on GMOs or shy away from a jeopardized industry may shape the future of agricultural technology.

A look into the GMO business
Corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton are the four largest crops in the U.S. in terms of total sales, and wheat is the only one not grown with GM seed. Worldwide, wheat is the most widely grown crop. Advances in wheat crop technology are believed by many to be one of the most promising ways to address food shortages and starvation across the developing world.

In spite of the promise of GM wheat, DuPont and Monsanto both abandoned R&D efforts focusing on GM wheat at the turn of the century due in large part to each company's own market analysis. The decisions made by both companies were likely influenced at the time primarily by the price of wheat and a fear that the somewhat risky R&D investments wouldn't provide a strong enough return. The price farmers pay for GM wheat would have been notably higher than the existing hybrid seeds available, and given the market price of wheat balanced with what may have only been marginally increased yields, farmers may not have been as receptive to GM wheat as they have been to other cash crops.

The other complicating factor from a decade ago that remains in play today is the lingering suspicion that the international community will be reluctant to purchase GM wheat. China made clear their unease with GM crops at the end of 2013 when the country rejected two shipments of distiller's grain that contained corn product originating from a particular genetically modified seed. Stringent regulations on GMOs in the European Union (EU) add to the concern of international acceptance for newly developed wheat strains.

Monsanto and Syngenta are among the agribusiness giants willing to make the investment in GM wheat in spite of the potential downfalls. Both companies have advanced to the field testing stage, though more extensive testing on crop yields and other desired properties are needed before a commercial release becomes reality. As the technology continues to develop, the public relations battle will rage on between concerned consumers and activist groups at odds with wheat growers and wheat trade groups who are putting their support behind biotech research on the crop.

Getting out of the GMO business
There has always been a portion of the public against GMOs since their less controversial beginnings, and the anti-GMO movement is continually gaining momentum. In spite of falling short on attempts to require labelling of GMO foodstuffs in California and Washington, anti-GMO proponents are gaining more public attention as major food companies like General Mills and Chipotle join the movement.

Monsanto makes more money from the sale of genetically modified seed than all of its major competitors combined, yet the company's seeds and genomics business is not its fastest growing business sector. Monsanto is far from exiting the GM seed business as demonstrated by continued research and development (R&D) investments into new seed technologies, but the company is also investing heavily into other technologies such as climate and field condition modeling tools to help farmers get the most return from their crops. As public sentiment grows increasingly wary of GMOs, Monsanto is creating alternative methods for remaining the dominant agricultural technology company that farmers will continue to rely on for maximizing their yields.

The takeaway
Demand for wheat is projected to increase 40% by 2030, and the expectations for growth are not going unnoticed by the biggest companies in agribusiness. Whether or not GM wheat sales start contributing to the earnings of Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta is more dependent on how the engineered crop is received internationally than it is on domestic considerations. Nonetheless, expect anti-GMO activists in the U.S. to make it well known that adding wheat to the growing list of genetically modified seeds will not happen without a fight.

dailyfinance

Russian ecologists push for GMO crops ban

Russian ecologists are calling for a ban on GMO crops in Russia but fear that their calls may go unheeded despite assurances by top officials. At a recent Cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich proposed to ban crops containing genetically modified organisms.

“Unfortunately, Russian officials’ statements do not always lead to concrete steps. We, on our part, will continue to press for a GMO crops moratorium in Russia,” a source in the National Association for Genetic Security (NAGS) campaigning against GMO told reporters.

Speaking about the need for tighter control over the import of GM lines, which was also mentioned by Dvorkovich, the source said that there was virtually no control and that dozens of genetically modified products were already being imported into Russia.

“About two dozen GM lines are imported officially and used in the food industry. It should be borne in mind that their turnover also needs to be controlled,” the source said.

While the safety of GMO foods for humans and animals is yet to be proven, some experiments suggest that they may, after all, be dangerous to human health.

“During a research experiment performed in cooperation with the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, we failed to obtain the third generation of laboratory animals fed on GMOs. This shows that there are definite risks to livestock,” the source said.

The NAGS is ready to do expert analysis for the Agriculture Ministry.

Dvorkovich backed the GMO crops ban.

“I support a ban on the cultivation of GMO crops in Russia. We must not allow that to happen,” he said at a government meeting on February 6.

As for GMO fodder imports, it’s a “separate issue”, Dvorkovich said. “We can either ban them straight away or introduce a transitional period”.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev remarked that no database had been formed so far, and therefore it was hard to judge what was really happening.

“You mentioned crops. I won’t be surprised if we already have such crops,” the premier said. He instructed the Agriculture Ministry and related agencies to create a research base so that “we could understand what is imported, what’s been planted and what’s being produced”.

The Agriculture Ministry favors a conservative policy towards GMO food.

Voice of Russia, Interfax

EU Set to OK New GM Corn After Germany Drops Objection

EU Set to OK New GM Corn After Germany Drops Objection

A new genetically modified crop, US firm Pioneer's TC1507 corn, is set for approval in Europe next week. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)



BRUSSELS, Feb 05, 2014 (AFP) -
A new genetically modified crop, US firm Pioneer's TC1507 corn, is set for approval in Europe next week after Germany dropped its objections, several EU sources told AFP Wednesday.
"Germany is moving from being against to abstaining" in a vote on the long-running controversy, said a source close to the dossier who asked not to be identified. A second source confirmed.
Ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday are to hand down a final decision on the cultivation of TC1507 corn after a European Court ruled late last year that the company's 2001 request for permission must be dealt with.
But the 28-nation bloc is badly divided over GM crops, and the EU's complex voting arithmetic has been at the heart of a deadlock on a decision.
The European Union's general affairs ministers will decide next week using qualified majority voting -- which is weighted to take account of the bigger states.
If there is no majority against due to one nation's abstention, then approval will be automatic, said the EU's Health Commissioner Tonio Borg on website Vieuws.
When the principle was last voted on in 2009, the heavyweights of Britain, France and Germany ended up cancelling each other out.
Asked to allow GM cultivation in the EU, but to leave space for national and even territorial opt-outs on non-health or environmental grounds, Britain was one of six backers.
France at that time was among 12 states opposed and Germany lead a group of nine that abstained but later switched sides.
Currently Britain, Spain and Sweden are leaders of the "yes" camp, France and Hungary lead opponents and sources say the position of Germany, whose government is divided, will not change the outcome.
There are another six applications for authorisation in the European Commission's pending tray.
To date GM crops have won repeated safety approvals from experts around the world despite environmentalists' fears that they will harm the ecosystem and ultimately human health.
The Pioneer crop, for instance, has already six times been given a clean bill of health by the European Food Standards Authority, although the EU is waiting for proof of modifications demanded of the company, and the six pending applications have also secured EFSA backing.
Environmentalists meanwhile accuse certain EFSA experts of enjoying links with the biotechnology industry that are too close.

First African study on biodiversity in genetically modified maize finds insects abundant

First African study on biodiversity in genetically modified maize finds insects abundant

Previous studies from China, Spain, and the United States on genetically modified (GM) rice, cotton, and maize have concluded that the biodiversity of insects and related arthropods in GM crop fields was essentially the same as that among conventional crops. Now a new study from South Africa shows similar results.

The study is described in an article called "Comparative Diversity of Arthropods on Bt Maize and Non-Bt Maize in two Different Cropping Systems in South Africa," which appears in the February 2014 issue of Environmental Entomology.

"The aims of the study were to compile a checklist of arthropods that occur on maize in South Africa and to compare the diversity and abundance of arthropods and functional groups on Bt maize and non-Bt maize," the authors wrote. "Results from this short-term study indicated that abundance and diversity of arthropods in maize and the different functional guilds were not significantly affected by Bt maize, either in terms of diversity or abundance."

A total of 8,771 arthropod individuals, comprising 288 morphospecies, were collected from 480 plants sampled from Bt maize and non-Bt maize fields over a two-year period. The researchers found no significant differences in abundance or diversity in detritivores, herbivores, predators, or parasitoids.

"The results of our study indicate that arthropod diversity, even in high-input farming systems, is as high as in subsistence farming systems" said Dr. Johnnie van den Berg, a professor at North-West University and one of the co-authors of the article. "More recently, surveys of arthropod and plant beta-diversity inside and adjacent to maize fields have been completed during which 30,000 arthropods and 15,000 plant individuals were surveyed along a 1,000 kilometer transect. It seems that maize field diversity is homogenized and field margins had a high beta diversity," he added.

Source: Entomological Society of America

ScienceCodex

India should not succumb to prejudices against Bt crops: PM

Batting for Bt crops, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India should not succumb to unscientific prejudices against genetically modified crops. 

"While safety must be ensured, we should not succumb to unscientific prejudices against Bt crops", he said in his address at the 101st Indian Science Congress here. 

Opinion has been sharply divided in India on introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops. There have been protests against such crops with several parties opposed to it. 

"Our government remains committed to promoting the use of these new technologies for agricultural development," Singh said, adding that the "use of biotechnology has great potential to improve yield". 

The Prime Minister called upon the scientific community to increase communication and engagement with society in explaining socially productive applications of technology alternatives and for improving the productivity of small and medium enterprises. 

In order to ensure food security and to improve land and water productivity, "we have to launch a national drive for an ever-green revolution," he said. 

"This will test the ingenuity of our agricultural scientists. Climate-resilient agriculture and modern bio-technological tools hold great promise. Use of biotechnology has great potential to improve yields," he said. 

The Science Congress will conclude on February 7 and will focus on the theme of 'Innovations in Science and Technology for Inclusive Development'. PTI