International News Archive

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

Bolivian president decreed 5-year phase-out of GE crop (June 2010)
Bolivian president Evo Morales decreed a five-year transition period in which to eliminate genetically modified crops from the national territory, as well as a process for rescuing local seeds in order to promote food sovereignty. "The process of recovering food sovereignty in Bolivia has had to overcome various obstacles," commented Radio Mundo Real.

Luxembourg bans BASF's GM potato (June 2010)
The political message is courageous and final: Luxembourg asserts loudly and clearly that it is not ready to accept a GMO menu dictated to it by the European Commission. Following Austria, it's the second European Member State that has taken the decision to protect consumers and agriculture from the negative consequences of "Amflora".

Bulgaria votes to stay GM-free (March 2010)
Bulgaria's parliament votes to tighten a law that effectively banned cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops for scientific and commercial reasons in response to public fears.

Swiss GM Ban Extended (February 2010)
The moratorium for genetically modified animals and plants that has been in force in Switzerland since 2005 is to be extended for a further three years.

Finding the Tipping Point (October 2009) Jeffrey M. Smith shares with Kiran Yadav in an email interview “that the greatest problem with GMO is they self-propagate in the environment. The genes released in this generation may outlast the effects of global warming and nuclear waste.”

Ireland Goes G-E Free! (October 2009)
The Irish Government will ban the cultivation of all GM crops and introduce a voluntary GM-free label for food – including meat, poultry, eggs, fish, crustaceans, and dairy produce made without the use of GM animal feed.

GMW: Flax Contamination Soars to 28 Countries (October 2009)
28 countries, including more European countries as well as Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Thailand, have now been affected by contamination from genetically modified (GM) flax in Canadian exports since contamination was first reported on September 8.

When Every Mouthful is a Health Risk - India (September 2009)
Genetic Roulette lists 65 known health risks from GM foods, all of them drawn from well-documented scientific studies and emerging evidence from across the world. It also draws on reports published by leading geneticists, molecular biologists, protein chemists, epidemiologists and every kind of scientist who has worked in this field to present an ominous picture of the true state of affairs.

Roundup could cause birth defects (July 2009)
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.

Colombian Cotton Growers to Sue Monsanto (June 2009)
Colombian cotton growers want to sue U.S. agricultural company Monsanto for selling them a bad genetically engineered seed that caused damage to crops. According to the cotton growers, the seed caused damage to 13 percent of the cotton crops in the north of Colombia, resulting in a 7 million dollar loss. The seed, known as DP 164, was three times more expensive than the traditional one, but did not resist the plagues as promised.

GM Crops - Poisoning the Planet (May 2009)
As the cultivation of soybean rapidly expands, so does glyphosate use. In southern Brazil, for every kilo reduction of non-glyphosate herbicide during the period of expansion of GM soybean cultivation, the use of glyphosate increased by 7.5 kilos. And, usage is expected to increase as weeds start developing resistance to Roundup.

Greece Expands Ban on GM Corn (May 2009)
Greece extended its ban on a genetically modified strain of corn seed developed by U.S. biotech giant Monsanto Co. for another two years. The ban on importing and cultivating MON810 has also been expanded to include 100 types of the seed - up from 70 last year.

Call for Moratorium on GMOs for Europe (April 2009)
The participants of the 5th European Conference of GMO-Free Regions “Food and Democracy” on April 25th, 2009, called for an EU-wide moratorium on the authorization and the commercial planting of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Germany to ban cultivation of GMO Corn (April 2009)
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 harvest.

Brazilian Government AG Research Corp opposes Transgenic Rice (March 2009)
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 (March 2009)
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 (March 2009)
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 (March 2009)
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 (March 2009)
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 (March 2009)
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!"

Biggest Brazil soy state loses taste for GMO seed (March 2009) 
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 (January 2009)
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.

Government Study Confirms Genetically Modified (GM) Crops Threaten Human Fertility and Health Safety (November 2008)
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.   study

Is Bt cotton: causing human allergies and reproductive problems and deaths of animals. (November 2008)
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 (November 2008)
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.