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AFRICA: Outrage Over Claim that Anti-GM Campaign "Causes Hunger"
27 08 2010 Civil society organisations have reacted with outrage to claims that the international campaign against genetically modified (GM) crops is partly responsible for food shortages and food insecurity in Africa.
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AFRICA: Modified Banana Could Cure Deadly Disease
13 08 2010 An innovation by researchers in Nigeria could be a cure for the devastating Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) - responsible for annual losses in excess of 500 million dollars of crop across East and Central Africa. But it has also fuelled debate on the genetic engineering of crops in Africa.
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When Agrochemical Corporations Invented Nature
06 08 2010 A civil society protest against a British agrochemical company that claims it has invented a particular sort of broccoli has again focused attention on the question who owns natural biodiversity, especially vegetables, seeds, and many forms of meat and animal food products.
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EUROPE: 'No' to GM Could Conceal a 'Yes'
14 07 2010 Genetically modified (GM) foods will be introduced more quickly in Europe as a result of a new proposal, some Brussels officials fear.
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TRADE: UNCTAD "Forgets" Real Risks Faced by African Farmers
01 07 2010 The latest UNCTAD report on science and technology repeats previous calls for a "green revolution" in African agriculture but contains no mention of the real and present dangers that the international trade and financial framework presents to African farmers.
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DEVELOPMENT: India Holds Public Meetings on GM Food Crop
18 06 2010 As India's central government begins a series of public meetings across the country this month on the commercial release of genetically modified (GM) brinjal – or eggplant -in this country, activists and farmers' groups are mobilising to oppose such a plan.
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BIODIVERSITY: India Bans Farming of GM Aubergine
18 06 2010 After India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh announced Tuesday a ban on the cultivation of Bt brinjal, the country's first genetically modified (GM) food crop, food security experts and activists said this major farming country has been saved from a biodiversity disaster.
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BULGARIA: Govt Forced Down on Genetically Modifed Crops
18 06 2010 Campaigning by environmental groups and the general public has weakened the determination of the Bulgarian government to allow the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in this country.
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HEALTH: Potato Drags GM Food Into Europe
18 06 2010 Genetically modified (GM) foods appear to be back on the European Union's political menu - thanks to a potato.
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EAST AFRICA: Green Agriculture Growing in Leaps and Bounds
18 06 2010 Organic agriculture using natural farming methods rather than fertilisers and pesticides has made significant gains in African countries – not just among farmers but among consumers too.
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GM Crops Go to US High Court, Environmental Laws on the Line
18 06 2010 The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in its first-ever case involving genetically modified crops. The decision in this case may have a significant impact on both the future of genetically modified foods and government oversight of that and other environmental issues.
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Advantage GM in Europe
18 06 2010 Leading biotechnology companies have been granted privileged access to the European Union's policy makers as part of their efforts to speed up the approval of new genetically modified (GM) crops.
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AFRICA: "Boost Development Through Labour-Intensive Farming"
18 06 2010 Development in Africa should be boosted through labour-intensive production on small to medium-sized farms. To advance food security in Africa, governments should assist small farmers with credit lines and infrastructure while buffering them against fluctuations in world food prices.
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AGRICULTURE-AFRICA: Seeking Diversity, Resilience and Farmer Control
18 06 2010 The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) claims that its "stress breeding", high-yield seed program and its emphasis on grassroots farmer input will boost agricultural production among poor, small scale farmers. But NGOs and environmentalists say AGRA's Programme for Africa's Seed System (PASS) is essentially a top-down, corporate driven approach that further threatens food security on the continent.
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DEVELOPMENT: Investment in Small Farmers Crucial in Africa
18 06 2010 Attempts to alleviate poverty and hunger and boost African economies are futile if the needs and potential of small-scale farmers in the region are ignored and the issue of trade barriers remains unaddressed.
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AGRICULTURE: Biotechnology: Africa Must Not Be Left Behind
18 06 2010 Africa must embrace agricultural biotechnology or risk being excluded from a major technological revolution that has had increased food production in the Europe, North America and Asia.
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ENVIRONMENT: Monsanto, Dow Stacking the Deck, Critics Say
18 06 2010 The most complex genetically engineered corn (maize) yet has been approved for use next year in Canada and the United States without its potential health and environmental risks being investigated, anti-biotech activists charged Wednesday.
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CHILE: War Over Seeds
18 06 2010 Environmental organisations, organic farmers and indigenous people in Chile are opposed to a draft law that would expands the rights of the developers of new varieties of plants, while the government and seed companies argue that there will be no negative impacts on small farmers and biodiversity.
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INDIA: Controversy Rages over Genetically Modified ‘Brinjal’
18 06 2010 Scientists and activists say that but for the fact that the 'brinjal', also called 'eggplant' or 'aubergine', is native to India and a favourite on the table, the decision to allow commercial release of its genetically modified (GM) variety may have gone unremarked.
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SOUTH AFRICA: GMOs - Strategic Priority in Whose Interest?
18 06 2010 The South African government is in the process of drafting regulations to police genetically modified organisms (GMO) as part of the national Consumer Protection Act, but environmental experts are worried the GMO section of the new Act, which was signed into law last April, will not be put into practice.
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Advantage GM in Europe
18 05 2010 BRUSSELS, May 18 (IPS) - Leading biotechnology companies have been granted privileged access to the European Union's policy makers as part of their efforts to speed up the approval of new genetically modified (GM) crops.
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GM Crops Go to US High Court, Environmental Laws on the Line
27 04 2010 WASHINGTON, Apr 26 (IPS) - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in its first-ever case involving genetically modified crops. The decision in this case may have a significant impact on both the future of genetically modified foods and government oversight of that and other environmental issues.
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EAST AFRICA: Green Agriculture Growing in Leaps and Bounds
22 04 2010 NAIROBI, Apr 21 (IPS) - Organic agriculture using natural farming methods rather than fertilisers and pesticides has made significant gains in African countries – not just among farmers but among consumers too.
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AGRICULTURE-GHANA: Few Signs of Concern as GM Crops Advance
13 04 2010 ACCRA, May 15 (IPS) - Ghanaians are daily consuming genetically modified (GM) products imported by various traders without much care. However, as the government prepares to allow the planting of GM crops locally in a bid to boost food production, one non-governmental organisation, Friends of the Earth (FoE) Ghana is sounding the alarm.
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ENVIRONMENT: GM Should Not Just be Dismissed, Nor Just Accepted
13 04 2010 CAPE TOWN, Jun 16 (IPS) - After a protracted court battle of seven years, a small South African environmental organisation won a major legal victory against the multinational agri-chemical and seed giant Monsanto.
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