Soaring number of patent applications including those on farm animals
Wednesday, 2 March 2016
Testbiotech has published a report which for the first time gives an overview of patents filed by large corporations for the use of gene-editing and synthetic gene technology in food plants. According to the research presented in the report, DuPont and Dow Agrosciences are the corporates that have filed the highest number of patent applications for plants derived from the new methods. They are closely followed by German company, Bayer. In addition, there is an increasing number of patents being filed for the use of these methods in farm animals.
Potential for genetically engineered maize to crossbreed with its wild ancestor teosinte
Thursday, 25 February 2016
Today thirteen civil society organisations active in agriculture and environmental issues have officially alerted the European Commission that the wild ancestor of cultivated maize, teosinte, has appeared in Spain and is spreading widely in maize growing areas as an invasive species. Teosinte and maize have the potential to interbreed and form hybrids. This applies equally to genetically engineered maize MON810, produced by Monsanto and grown on more than 100,000 hectares in Spain.
New debate on the health risks of genetically engineered plants
26 January 2016 / Several new publications on the outcomes of feeding genetically engineered plants to cattle and goats have triggered a new controversial debate about the impact on the health of animals.
One new publication documents the case of a German farm where dairy cows died after being fed with genetically engineered plants (1). Although this happened about 15 years ago, the real causes are still cause for controversy. Industry continues to reject all the allegations that were made, and sees no need for further investigation.
Mix of residues from combined spraying of herbicides raise health concerns
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
In a letter to Testbiotech and GeneWatch UK, the responsible EU Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis admits that “it is true that the legislation requires cumulative and synergistic effects of pesticide residues to be considered”. At the same time, he also states that methods to assess these health effects are not yet available. The letter from the Commission was written in response to a call by the two organisations to stop market authorisation of herbicide resistant genetically engineered soybeans.
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