In
This Issue:
ANTI-GM
GROUPS IN PHILIPPINES AND FRANCE DESTROY BT CORN TRIALS
The Philippines and France are oceans apart but activists in both countries
destroyed experimental lots planted to Bt corn in separate incidents. Farmers
and followers of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas uprooted Bt and non Bt
corn inside the experimental lot in Maltana, Tampakan, South Cotabato in Southern
Mindanao, Philippines. Over in the southern French towns of Beaucaire, Cleon
D'Adran and Salettes, activists including members of the Confederation Paysanne
farm union, also destroyed test sites for GM corn.
Small farmers of South Cotabato released a statement expressing
their outrage at the destruction of the field trial. They
noted that the field trials in
the country were being very closely watched "because we want to find out if
Bt corn will effectively neutralize the Asian corn borer which is the biggest
insect pest problem of most corn farmers specially in Mindanao."
The same sentiment was shared by a French corn growers'
group, AGPM. It stressed that "the escalation of violence being carried out with impunity against experimental
fields duly authorized and regulated by the authorities is unacceptable." Roger-Gerald
Schwartzenberg, French minister in charge of research, was quoted as saying
that "We must avoid two different kinds of excesses: on the one hand, adventurism
which would authorize GMOs without knowing their full possible impact on health
and the environment but also obscurantism, which would refuse to find out what
their effects really are."
GM TOMATO
AS EDIBLE MEDICINES?
A genetically modified tomato that can produce edible vaccines may soon be
a reality says researchers from Germany and Brazil. Scientists led by Ralph
Bock at the Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology in Munster, Germany
say that the tomato was created by altering its DNA. The DNA under study is
not that normally targeted in GM experiments.
The research team asserts that they also made the tomatoes more environmentally
friendly by inserting transgenes into the plants' plasmids rather than into
chromosomes in the cell nucleus. Transformed plastids can potentially produce
lots of a desired protein. In addition, they do not usually contribute DNA
to plant protein, so they offer foreign gene containment superior to that of
conventional genetic manipulation.
Plastid transformation has been routinely obtained only in tobacco. The successful
plasmid transformation in tomato indicate that the fruit may be a useful system
for production of edible vaccines.
More details of the research are found in the September 2001 issue of Nature
Biotechnology.
STILL ANOTHER
GM TOMATO THAT THRIVES IN SALINE AREA
Researchers at the University of California in Davis have developed a new gene-altered
tomato that not only grows in salt water but also desalinates the soil in which
it grows.
Eduardo Blumwald and his team modified their tomato plants to produce a natural
plant protein that causes the plant to filter out salts taken up by its roots,
and store the salt in its leaves.
The breakthrough is expected to make the world's irrigated lands permanently
sustainable. It will also salt-proof the food production in such major irrigating
countries such as China, India and Indonesia.
AUSTRALIA'S
BREAKTHROUGH: IMPROVED SORGHUM
A researcher from the Farming Systems Institute of the Department of Primary
Industries (DPI) Agency For Food And Fiber Sciences in Australia has opened
up possibilities for developing improved sorghum varieties.
Sally Dillon, research scientist at the DPI, identified key genetic relationships
between wild and commercial sorghum species. Establishing the genetic relationships
is a key factor in identifying which of the 25 world-wide sorghum species could
be used in breeding with existing commercial sorghum varieties.
Dillon noted that the identification of endemic sorghum species that are genetically
related to current commercial varieties has the potential to provide access
to a greatly expanded genetic base. Plant breeders could cross these wild species
with a commercial variety to develop new commercial sorghum varieties with
improved yield, disease or pest resistance.
"Further testing is required to determine the value of the offspring plants in
providing improved pest and disease resistance in cultivated varieties. This
will be undertaken over the next few years," she said.
SRI LANKA
DELAYS GM FOOD BAN
Sri Lanka has decided to indefinitely postpone plans to impose a ban on genetically
modified (GM) food. The ban was supposed to have taken effect on September
1, 2001. However, the Secretary of the Health Ministry has issued a circular
ordering that the regulations do not go into force until further notice. Reuters
reports the ban had been recommended by a government committee which felt that
Sri Lanka needed time to study health risks associated with the new technology.
CHINESE UNIVERSITIES
SIGN GM RESEARCH PACT
More research on agricultural biotechnology including genetic engineering in
crops - this was what more than 50 scientists from China, Hongkong and Taiwan
pledged at a recent triangular conference at the Chinese University of Hong
Kong. Signatories included academics from Beijing University, the China Academy
of Sciences and several local universities.
The science community agreed that DNA technology could meet the growing demands
for food supply in the developing world without posing new or heightened risks
to the environment. They also considered agricultural biotechnology as "more
precise, powerful and predictable" than traditional breeding methods.
IFPRI DG WINS
WORLD FOOD PRIZE
Per Pinstrup-Andersen, director general of the International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI), was awarded the 2001 World Food Prize. He was cited for
his positive contribution to agricultural research, food policy, and the well-being
of poor farmers and consumers worldwide.
IFPRI's director general has led his institute for nearly a decade. Through
his leadership, several groundbreaking research projects have been implemented.
These include efforts to encourage the breeding of staple crops for higher
nutrition, improve the effectiveness of food for education efforts, and develop
computer models to determine the effects of government policies on child malnutrition.
Pinstrup-Andersen is cited as the driving force behind the 2020 Vision Initiative,
a global effort to encourage world leaders to focus on food security issues
in the 21st Century. This effort has enabled food policy to move to the forefront
of the international agenda and has resulted in significant policy changes.
A full account is available at http://www.ifpri.cgiar.org
AUSTRALIA TO
STUDY SEGREGATION OF GM PRODUCTS
Australia will undertake a three-year project to examine the feasibility of
segregating genetically modified products across their entire production chains.
Federal Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said that his department will determine
whether to segregate and preserve the identity of Australian agricultural products.
Truss added that the Australian agriculture needs to be mindful of all types
of crops and productions to remain competitive and innovative. "Genetic crops
and their products, for example, can provide significant benefits to growers,
processors and can help Australia find a range of new market opportunities," he
explained. "What we need is a better understanding of the costs and benefits
of segregating different types of agriculture to help ensure that Australia's
primary producers and food enterprises can make decisions."
E-JOURNAL ON
IP STRATEGIES
IP Strategy Today, a free eJournal, has just been launched. According to Anatole
Krattiger, editor-in-chief, the electronic publication aims to provide a forum
to share creative, innovative and pragmatic analysis and ideas in intellectual
property (IP) strategies and management issues. In particular, it discusses
how IP affects the transfer of proprietary technologies to developing countries.
It also discusses access to proprietary technologies in agriculture by developing
countries, and the international exchange of genetic resources.
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