CO-EXISTENCE POSSIBLE, GERMAN STUDY REPORTS
A 2004 study on
genetically modified (GM) corn planted alongside conventional varieties in
Germany showed
that either variety can "co-exist" with
the other, and as long as the crops are planted at least 20 meters apart. The
announcement was made at a press conference in Berlin, just days before Germany’s
lower house of Parliament is expected to give final approval to a new law that
would strictly regulate GM crops.
The test crop
was performed at 30 locations in seven Federal States using GM corn line
MON810, engineered to protect the crop against the European Corn
Borer. With manpower from InnoPlanta in Gatersleben and the Federal Association
of German Plant Breeders, as well as private farmers and state agricultural
institutes in Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt, the project studied the extent of
cross-hybridization between GM and conventional corn planted at varying distances
from each other, taking into consideration all operational, regional, and climatic
factors, and even the presence of pollen samples in beehives placed close to
the experimental fields.
Scientists found that conventional corn planted at least 20 meters from GM
corn contained 0.9% or less GM upon harvest. According to EU regulations, corn
with a GM level above 0.9% must be properly labeled.
Prof. Dr. Lothar
Spaeth, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Jenoptik AG, urged both scientists
and
farmers not to miss out on the innovation. “It
is important, in view of these scientific results, that we encourage farmers
in Germany to make use of new technologies,” he said.
For further information
go to http://www.erprobungsanbau.de and
http://www.biomedcentral.com/
news/20041124/04/,
or download the press release at http://www.isaaa.org/kc.
ITALIAN ASSOCIATIONS RELEASE GM CONSENSUS DOCUMENT
Eighteen Italian
scientific associations, on the initiative of the Societa Italiana di Tossicologia,
have signed a consensus document on “Food Safety
and GMOs.” They note that the public needs to be taught that innovations
that have made possible life saving medicines are the same ones used in farming
and food. The document presents the world’s current knowledge about the
safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food so that the public
can take a position on the issue.
The document lists the following conclusions on GMOs and food safety:
- GMOS are governed
by rules that are unparalleled elsewhere in the food industry, so that they
are strictly controlled than any other food product. They must
undergo the full range of food safety tests before they are authorized for
sale.
- Research should
concentrate not on the technology used to produced these crops, but on their
engineered features on a case-by-case basis.
- GMOs now on the
market have passed all tests and have been had been properly authorized,
so on the basis of current knowledge, they should be considered
safe for both human and animal consumption.
- The dualistic
stance on GM food should be abandoned in favor of rational consensus based
on knowledge of the process and its products.
Among the associations that signed the document include the Accademia Nazionale
delle Scienze, Associazione Ricercatori Nutrizione Alimenti, Federazione Italiana
Scienze della vita, Societa Italiana di Biochimica e Biologia Melecolare, and
the Societa Italiana di Microbiologia Generale e Biotecnologie Microbiche. For the full document which is available in English and Italian, visit http://www.cedab.it/
Documenti.asp
BLACK SEA COUNTRIES ESTABLISH LAB NETWORK FOR GM FOOD
The newly established Black Sea Biotechnology (BSB) Association - made up
of Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine - has recently established
a laboratory network for the analysis and control of foods containing genetically
modified organisms (GMOs).
The laboratories will be part of the current network of GMO laboratories in
the European Union (EU). In the BSB Association network, products made up of
greater than 0.9% GMO should be specially labeled.
Among the main aims of the Association are control and biosafety coordination,
as well as monitoring and harmonization of legislation of BSB Association member
states with those of the EU.
For more information,
contact Irina Roussenova (assistant to the BSB Association) at irina.BSBA@mbox.contact.bg or Nevena Alexandrova of the Bulgaria Biotechnology
Information Center (BgBIC) at alexandrova@abi.bg.
The official page of the Association will be operational by the end of 2004,
and may be accessed at http://www.bsba.org/.
BIOTECH TO TRIGGER ‘GREEN REVOLUTION’ – INDIA’S
AGRIC MINISTER
Biotechnology will spur the second ‘Green Revolution,’ Union Agriculture
Minister Sharad Pawar said as he spoke at the inaugural function of the second
annual national conference of the Federation of Jain Educational Institutes
(FJEI) in Jakkasandra, India.
There has been a 20% increase in yield in cotton production this year, thanks
to the use of innovative biotechnology solutions and a good monsoon, Pawar
said. He also emphasized the need for greater awareness of biotechnology, and
urged educational institutions to train students in emerging areas of biotechnology
and information technology, particularly in rural areas.
“Biotechnology has shown the world that quality is possible even without
spraying chemicals. India has huge genetic wealth and can increase food production
by using GM crops, thereby strengthening food security and delivering quality
food products,” Pawar added.
The two-day conference is scheduled to deliberate on issues such as training,
computerized administration, and maximizing infrastructure utilization.
Read the complete
articles at http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEK200411
21004729&Page=K&Title=&Topic=0&and
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov212004/s1.asp
FAO COUNCIL ADOPTS FOOD GUIDELINES
The Council of
the Food and Agriculture Organization has adopted the Right to Food Guidelines
that
would "support the progressive realization of
the right to adequate food in the context of national food security." The
Council is FAO’s executive governing body.
According to FAO,
the Guidelines were conceived "to provide practical
guidance" to help countries implement their obligations relating to the
right to adequate food. It considers several human rights principles, “including
equality and non-discrimination, participation and inclusion, accountability
and the rule of law, as well as the principle that all human rights are universal,
indivisible, inter-related and interdependent.”
Various non-governmental groups and intergovernmental organizations contributed
significantly in the preparation of the Guidelines. These included the Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
Right to Food and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and
the North-South Alliance, which is a coalition of a large number of NGOs.
The guidelines, according to FAO, must be implemented to reduce by half the
number of hungry people in the world by 2015.
See the full article by John Riddle of FAO at
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/
2004/51653/index.html
FRENCH GM LAW STILL STALEMATE
Despite an earlier pronouncement by French President Jacques Chirac that a
national law on genetically modified crops will be passed within two weeks,
France is still far from introducing a legislation to change a European Union
(EU) directive on the matter.
The Scientist, an online site of Biomed Central, quotes Stephane Vaxelaire
of the French Ministry of Agriculture, as saying that the draft legislation
to transpose EU Directive 2001/18/EC, which covers the deliberate release into
the environment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), could not be expected
until 2005.
Vaxelaire said that the government would wait for the report of a parliamentary
inquiry before drafting legislation. The EU directive introduces one of the
most stringent regulatory frameworks in the world for GM crops, including principles
of a case-by-case risk assessment as well as a public register with lists of
GMOs released for trials and commercial purposes.
See the full article
in http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20041125/02.
ICRISAT TO ASSIST RP LEGUME INDUSTRY
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
in Hyderabad, India and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and
Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) have joined forces on a
project that aims to enhance the adoption of ICRISAT-bred legumes and associated
technologies.
With a grant from the Philippine government, ICRISAT will provide the seeds
of improved legume varieties, particularly peanut, chickpea, and pigeonpea;
technical advice for the use of the technology; and training of project staff.
PCARRD, on the other hand, will provide institutional support for project planning,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
For further information, contact Dr. CLL Gowda at c.gowda@cgiar.org.
LOWER
ENZYME LEVEL FOUND TO INCREASE CORN’S DROUGHT TOLERANCE
In a paper in
the December Issue of The Plant Journal, Dr. Daniel R. Gallie and his research
team at the University of California, Riverside report that ACC
synthase Expression
Regulates Leaf Performance and Drought Tolerance in Maize.
ACC
synthase is the enzyme responsible for producing ethylene, a hormone
that regulates plant responses to environmental stresses, and initiates
fruit ripening
and leaf death, among other important functions.
In their experiments,
Gallie and co-workers screened thousands of corn plants for naturally occurring
mutants that were deficient in ACC
synthase. The researchers
isolated several such plants, and one in particular that produced substantially
lower levels of ethylene. The mutant plant, they found, was more resistant
to the effects of adverse environmental conditions, including drought. Researchers
then engineered plants to produce less ACC
synthase, thereby reducing the level
of ethylene, and found that all the leaves of the altered plants contained
higher levels of chlorophyll and leaf protein, and functioned better than control
leaves.
For several years, Gallie said, a number of studies on global climate have
predicted an increase in global temperature, and regional conditions of drought,
which may have already begun. The findings by Gallie and his research team
suggest that ethylene controls the level of leaf function under normal growth
conditions, as well as during adverse environmental conditions.
For more information,
visit http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=928
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