More "International Media Releases":

Read breaking news about the latest studies from governments and researchers around the world.  

Roundup could cause birth defects 
The herbicide used on genetically modified soy – Argentina's main crop – could cause brain, intestinal and heart defects in fetuses, according to the results of a scientific investigation released Monday. Although the study "used amphibian embryos," the results "are completely comparable to what would happen in the development of a human embryo,” embryology professor Andres Carrasco, one of the study's authors, told Efe.

Germany to ban cultivation of GMO Corn
Germany is to ban cultivation and sale of maize with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner said on Tuesday. The ban affects MON 810 maize which may no longer be sown for this summer's harves 

Brazilian Government AG Research Corp opposes Transgenic Rice 
For the first time since the beginning of the discussions on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Brazil, the Brazilian Research Company on Agriculture and Husbandry (Embrapa) raised its voice against the cultivation of a transgenic variety. Embrapa classified the approval of the transgenic rice "Liberty Link as a "threat to the food safety in Brazil" and recommended to the National Technical Commission of Biosafety (CTNBio) to "analyze carefully the introduction of genes" of resistance to herbicides based on ammonium glufosinate.

GM maize fails to produce in South Africa
A mysterious maize crop flop in three provinces has sparked a fresh row over the government’s backing of genetically modified agriculture. Three varieties of genetically modified maize did not pollinate properly this season. Worst affected are farms in the Free State and North West.

EU Parliament wants labeling of meats raised on GM Feed 
The European Commission should, according to the European Parliament, introduce a ban on meat and milk from cloned animals. In addition, the Parliament has demanded clearer definitions regarding nano-particles in food, and the imposition of an obligation to state on foodstuff labels whether the product contains 'novel foods', or is a product of animals fed on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The European Parliament today voted on the report from SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard on novel foods. Liotard describes the vote as 'a huge success', especially in view of the opposition from the European Commission. "The Commission repeatedly puts economic interests first," she says. "But the European Parliament agrees with me that priority must be given to food safety and to the wellbeing of the public."

EU Considering Making GM-Free Zones a National-level Decision
A growing consensus has emerged among member states at this week's Farm Council in favour of renationalising GMO cultivation policy. The Czech presidency said that a "surprising" number of countries reacted positively to a paper from the Dutch government proposing that the choice of whether to cultivate GMOs should be left to individual member states. In a paper put forward to the Council, the Netherlands suggests that a possible solution to GMO approval issues would be for internal market rules to apply on the import of products - with a decision at EU level. But for cultivation it could be left to each member state. 

German Ministers want GM-free zones 
German agriculture minister Ilse Aigner is aiming to apply the 'subsidiarity principle' to decisions about the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops.

Hunger Strike for a GMO-Free Poland 
Two days ago Edyta Jaroszewska, 42 year old organic farmer and the chairperson of the Organic Farmers Association, started hunger strike against GMO cultivation in front of Ministry of Agriculture, Warsaw, Poland along with Danuta Pilarska, another organic farmer and chairperson of  The Organic Farmer's Union. After a meeting of the Polish government's Senate Agricultural Committee, Edyta concluded "There's no political will within the Polish government to stop corporations from illegal planting of the GM maize variety MON 810 - and to ensure that Poland is kept GMO free. This opens the possibility of the widespread planting of MON 810 during this year. So we don't have another choice other than to stay here and fight!"  More 

Biggest Brazil soy state loses taste for GMO seed (Brazil)
Farmers in Brazil's Mato Grosso, the country's top soy state, are shunning once-heralded, genetically modified soy varieties in favor of conventional seeds after the hi-tech type showed poor yields.

Different RoundUp Formulations Lead to Embryonic, Umbilical cord and Placental Cell Death and Are Poorly Assessed (France)
For the first time, the toxicity mechanisms of four different Roundup formulations were studied in human cells. They act at doses where they are not herbicides anymore. The cells were neonatal cells freshly isolated from the umbilical cord, or less sensitive cell lines specially used to measure pollutant toxicity. The various components of these major herbicides were tested because they are among the most common in the world. Their residues are among the major pollutants, and moreover they are authorized as residues contaminating GM foods and feed at the tested levels. Full Story 

Government Study Confirms Genetically Modified (GM) Crops Threaten Human Fertility and Health Safety (Austria)
A long-term feeding study commissioned by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, managed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health, Family and Youth, and carried out by Veterinary University Vienna, confirms genetically modified (GM) corn seriously affects reproductive health in mice

Is Bt cotton: causing human allergies and reproductive problems and deaths of animals. (India)
Investigators find human and animal health problems linked with Bt cotton in India. These include allergic reactions in cotton workers, reproductive problems in buffalo and herds of sheep and goats (reduced fertility, aborted foetuses, premature deliveries and calf deaths), toxic effects leading to sudden unexplained animal deaths, as well as reduced milk yields and fat content.

GM Corns Disturbs Immune System in Young and Old Mice (Italy)
The Italian government’s National Institute of Research on Food and Nutrition has just published a report online in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry documenting significant disturbances in the immune system of young and old mice that have been fed the GM maize MON 810.