Probe into tainted rice ends
Washington Post, October 6, 2007 (USA)

More than 14 months after the Agriculture Department began an investigation into how the US supply of long-grain rice became tainted with an unapproved GE variety - an event that continues to disrupt US exports - the government announced that it could not figure out how the contamination happened.
Agency officials said documents from several years ago that might have helped them determine what went wrong had been lost or destroyed, though not in violation of any record-keeping regulations. Lacking clear evidence of who was responsible, they said, the government will not take enforcement action against any person or entity, including Bayer CropScience, the company whose gene-altered products slipped into the food supply.
The investigation consumed more than 8,500 staff hours and included site visits to more than 45 locations in 11 states and Puerto Rico, Smith said.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/102007/01.html

Feeding the world without GE
Terra Daily, October 2, 2007 (USA)

The work of a Kansas State University professor is challenging the assumption that GE plants are the only efficient and cheap way to feed a growing population.
Jianming Yu, an assistant professor of agronomy, is teaming with Rex Bernardo, a professor of agronomy and plant genetics, on research with marker-assisted selection.
This agricultural technology offers a sophisticated method to greatly accelerate classical breeding through genetic analysis and selection of existing natural diversity in various crops without having to resort to alien species.
"The traditional way is to identify genome regions that show significant information," Yu said. "The new way is to consider all information genomewide. In other words, we strategically shifted the focus from finding the most interesting genome areas to considering all information simultaneously. This is critical, especially given that most of traits with agricultural importance are controlled by many interacting genomic regions and their individual effects are relatively small."
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/102007/02.html

GM Co.s refuse to supply seed for trials
Farm Weekly, August 31, 2007 (Australia)

WA's first broad-scale field trial of GM canola has been placed on hold after becoming entangled in a political battle between the State Government and the seed companies which own the technology.
State Agriculture Minister Kim Chance confirmed that the South East Premium Wheat Growers Association (SEPWA), which he approved to conduct the trials, has hit a brick wall in its attempts to source GM seed. SEPWA vice president, Andrew Fowler, said the indications from Monsanto and Bayer were that they did not see the up-side to releasing the GM seed for the trial.
"It is obvious that those pushing GM crops would prefer that farmers rely on misleading hype because farmers would not be supporting GM crops if they knew the facts," said Network of Concerned Farmers spokesperson, Julie Newman.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/102007/03.html

GM seeds to be prohibited: Chance
WA Business News, August 30, 2007 (Australia)

Agriculture and Food Minister Kim Chance this week introduced legislation into the Western Australian Parliament designed to further protect the State's moratorium on the growing of GM crops.
The Seeds Amendment Bill 2007 will allow the Minister to declare GM seed to be 'prohibited seed'.
"Under the proposed changes, it will be an offence to import, sell or be in possession of prohibited seed in WA for the purposes of cultivation," Mr Chance said.
"This legislation is designed to protect WA's GM-free cropping systems from intentional or inadvertent GM contamination."
"WA's GM-free status is providing benefits to WA farmers in terms of price premiums for food grade non-GM canola and continued market access to discerning markets in Europe, Japan, India and China," Mr Chance said.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/102007/04.html

Campaign plans mass "vote" against GM food
Reuters, October 3, 2007 (Italy)

Italian food producers, consumers and conservation groups hope to get three million signatures in a petition drive to ban GM food, a move they hope will renew Europe's rejection of biotech crops.
At a time when the companies that make the GM crops grown widely in North and South America hope that European resistance is dwindling, Italian campaigners said they were confident they could turn the tide.
"What's happening is an extraordinary experiment in participatory democracy," Mario Capanna, chairman of Genetic Rights, one of the members of the "GMO Free" coalition, said.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/102007/05.html

NZ authority faces court battle over GM
AP Foodtechnology, September 20, 2007 (New Zealand)

The Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) will face a court hearing in March 2008, after an anti-GM group claimed that it has illegally approved the field testing of genetically modified brassica.
Food manufacturers who are interested in pioneering GM products in New Zealand face strong opposition, as regulators yet again clash with the vocal anti-GM crops campaigners who are very active within the country.
GE Free NZ first announced its decision to file court papers against the regulatory body last year, after ERMA allowed Crop and Food Research to field-test a brassica crop.
The anti-GM group claimed that the possible outcome of the trial had not been examined in enough detail, and so could possibly damage New Zealand's economy, as well as the public and animal health.
According to New Zealand news portal Stuff, the challenge has gained widening support in recent weeks, with Organic Aotearoa New Zealand, BioGro NZ, and the Biodynamic Association also filing in support of the appeal.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/102007/06.html

New study shows GE corn could pollute aquatic ecosystems
Environmental News Network, October 8, 2007 (USA)

A study by an Indiana University environmental science professor and several colleagues suggests a widely planted variety of GE corn has the potential to harm aquatic ecosystems. The study is being published by the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.
Researchers established that pollen and other plant parts containing toxins from GE Bt corn are washing into streams near cornfields. They also conducted laboratory trials that found consumption of Bt corn byproducts produced increased mortality and reduced growth in caddisflies, aquatic insects that are related to the pests targeted by the toxin in Bt corn.
Before licensing Bt corn, the US Environmental Protection Agency conducted trials to test its impact on water biota. But it used Daphnia, a crustacean commonly used for toxicity tests, and not insects that are more closely related to the target pests, Royer said.
In laboratory trials, the researchers found caddisflies that were fed leaves from Bt corn had growth rates that were less than half those of caddisflies fed non-Bt corn litter. They also found that a different type of caddisfly had significantly increased mortality rates when exposed to Bt corn pollen at concentrations between two and three times the maximum found in the test sites.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/102007/07.html

Poll: Mandate ethanol, but give GM a miss
North Queensland Register, October 4, 2007 (Australia)

Farmers overwhelmingly want ethanol mandated in Australian fuel, according to a Rural Press survey, but more than half don't think GM grain crops should be grown here.
The survey revealed 61.3pc of farmers want an ethanol blended fuel mandated by governments.
And even though more than 30pc of farmers in this survey also produce crops, more than 52pc of farmers don't think GM crops should be grown in Australia.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/102007/08.html

EU environment chief faces GMO hot potato
Reuters, October 3, 2007 (EU)

Europe's environment chief faces a showdown this month with his colleagues in the EU's executive Commission over biotech foods and crops, officials say.
Since July, the biotech industry has been waiting for the Commission to authorize an application by German chemicals group BASF for a genetically modified (GMO) potato for use in industry rather than as food.
The application for a potato, engineered to yield high amounts of starch has triggered controversy far exceeding the usual European consumer wariness over GMO foods.
If, or rather when, it is approved by the Commission, the EU's executive arm, it will be the first GMO product to be passed since 1998 that is designed to be grown in Europe's fields.
It is not intended for human consumption but rather for use in industries such as paper-making.
Full item: http://www.GEinfo.org.nz/102007/09.html