Showing posts with label International. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International. Show all posts
Friday, February 22, 2013
Eclipse2012 - FormidableVegetable SoundSystem LIVE!
Formidable Vegetable Soundsystem is a uplifting new experiment in ‘ecological edutainment’ that mashes together speakeasy electroswing-style wonk and live vocabulous ukulele quirk that aims to pound simple solutions of sustainability deep into your consciousness with a decent serving of Radish Beets.
By busting out their live show and following it up with a workshop on the principles of permaculture (a sustainable design science) at some later time and place, Formidable Vegetable Sound System has been a raging success on the Australian festival circuit with packed dancefloors and workshops alike at internationally renowned festivals such as Eclipse 2012 Festival, Rainbow Serpent and Woodford Festival.
With music being one of the best tools for getting the word out there, globetrotting permaculture troubadour, Charlie Mgee has dedicated the last couple of years to composing a repertoire of swingin’ tunes on a ukulele addressing the 12 principles of permaculture in various musical styles ranging from ‘energy-descent electroswing’ and ‘climate-change reggae’ to ‘peak-oil polka’, all of which make for an eccentrically entertaining, if not unforgettable dancefloor experience when smashed through the soundsystem.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Northland Councils Move To Regulate Some GMOs | Stuff.co.nz
Northland Councils Move To Regulate Some GMOs | Stuff.co.nz
A recommendation to regulate outdoor use of genetically modified organisms has delighted GE Free Northland chairwoman Zelka Grammer.
She says the inter-council report is a complete vindication of what "our councils and other councils are doing".
An inter-council working party has recommended that member councils consider regulating the outdoor use of GMOs under the Resource Management Act through their planning documents.
This would involve inserting objectives, policies and rules in existing district plans in Northland and in the Auckland Council's new unitary plan, to prohibit the release of genetically modified organisms to the environment and make field trialling of GMOs a discretionary activity, subject to liability conditions for any environmental or economic harm that may eventuate.
The inter-council working group comprises the Far North, Kaipara and Whangarei district councils and the Auckland Council. Northland Regional Council is a member but did not participate in the project.
Mrs Grammer says GE Free Northland is very pleased with the findings, which she says are of huge national significance.
"Auckland and Northland have an amazing opportunity to be the first in the country to achieve enforceable rules in local plans on a regional basis," she says.
A recommendation to regulate outdoor use of genetically modified organisms has delighted GE Free Northland chairwoman Zelka Grammer.
She says the inter-council report is a complete vindication of what "our councils and other councils are doing".
An inter-council working party has recommended that member councils consider regulating the outdoor use of GMOs under the Resource Management Act through their planning documents.
This would involve inserting objectives, policies and rules in existing district plans in Northland and in the Auckland Council's new unitary plan, to prohibit the release of genetically modified organisms to the environment and make field trialling of GMOs a discretionary activity, subject to liability conditions for any environmental or economic harm that may eventuate.
The inter-council working group comprises the Far North, Kaipara and Whangarei district councils and the Auckland Council. Northland Regional Council is a member but did not participate in the project.
Mrs Grammer says GE Free Northland is very pleased with the findings, which she says are of huge national significance.
"Auckland and Northland have an amazing opportunity to be the first in the country to achieve enforceable rules in local plans on a regional basis," she says.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Bad Seed: The Truth About Our Food
Bad Seed: The Truth About Our Food
In the last thirty years global demand for food has doubled. In a race to feed the planet, scientists have discovered how to manipulate DNA, the blueprint of life, and produce what they claim are stronger, more disease-resistant crops.
However, fears that Genetically Modified Food may not be safe for humans or the environment has sparked violent protest. Are we participating in a dangerous global nutritional experiment?
This informative film helps the viewer decide if the production of genetically modified food is a panacea for world hunger or a global poison.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Op-Ed: Anti-GMO protests by Polish farmers continue in London, UK
Op-Ed: Anti-GMO protests by Polish farmers continue in London, UK
London - On Thursday, the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC) and a group of British and Polish supporters rallied in front of the Polish Embassy in central London, against the sale of Polish farmland to foreign multinationals.
Digital Journal reported on last month's protest by British farmers and Polish supporters, who demonstrated their solidarity with Polish farmers, who are protesting against the sale of farmland in Poland to multinational corporations.
Supporters conveyed the messages 'No to GMO' ' Local Food not Global Food' and 'Stop Land Grabs.' Continuing this protest, on February 7, Sir Julian Rose and Jadwiga Lopata and a group of British and Polish supporters demonstrated in front of the Polish Embassy in London, demanding that the Ambassador support the position being taken by the Polish farmers.
While the Polish government has "banned GMOs", they have left a backdoor for GMOs to be grown on prime Polish farmland bought by Dutch, Danish and UK multinationals. This "backdoor" allows the "trading" of GM seeds, in compliance with an EU directive which calls for GM planting to be permitted in “special designated areas.”
Federal officials ignore GMO forum (Mérida, Mexico)
Federal officials ignore GMO forum - The Yucatan Times
Organics are for the rich, GMO’s are for the poor
Jeffrey Smith, an expert on health impacts of genetically modified foods derived from transgenic organisms, has found that humans could become more susceptible to viral infections from consumption of GMO’s, including influenza and hepatitis, among many other health risks. The study showed that the transgenic MON810 and NK603 maize from Monsanto, have these viral components, and caused cancer in rats.
On January 23, the European Commission announced its decision to freeze processes that would approve GM crops in the European Union until the end of 2014.
Scientists in Europe confirmed the negative impacts of GMO’s on human health; they found that GM corn causes cancer in rats. Another scientific study by Podevin N. and Du Jardin, P. proved that most GM crops approved in the United States contains a virus that was not recognized during the crops first approval, the virus has negative effects on plants, animals and humans. This study was presented to the European Agency for Food Safety (EFSA).
The Mexican Government plans to authorize the planting of millions of hectares of transgenic corn.
Organics are for the rich, GMO’s are for the poor
Jeffrey Smith, an expert on health impacts of genetically modified foods derived from transgenic organisms, has found that humans could become more susceptible to viral infections from consumption of GMO’s, including influenza and hepatitis, among many other health risks. The study showed that the transgenic MON810 and NK603 maize from Monsanto, have these viral components, and caused cancer in rats.
On January 23, the European Commission announced its decision to freeze processes that would approve GM crops in the European Union until the end of 2014.
Scientists in Europe confirmed the negative impacts of GMO’s on human health; they found that GM corn causes cancer in rats. Another scientific study by Podevin N. and Du Jardin, P. proved that most GM crops approved in the United States contains a virus that was not recognized during the crops first approval, the virus has negative effects on plants, animals and humans. This study was presented to the European Agency for Food Safety (EFSA).
The Mexican Government plans to authorize the planting of millions of hectares of transgenic corn.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Agric Minister decries cost of GMOs
Agric Minister decries cost of GMOs
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Clement Kofi Humado has lamented the cost of producing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the country.
The newly sworn in Minister said experience had shown him GMO seeds are more demanding for chemicals such as fertilizer than other seeds making it quite difficult for small scale farmers to manage.
“If you take a GMO maize, the chances are that the quantities of fertilizer you are going to use to get the optimum yield from the GMO seed is much much higher than the local varieties or the varieties produced by the CSIR and Crop Research Institute”, Mr. Humado told Members of Parliament at his vetting. He said despite the several advantages associated with GMOs such as resistance to pests and diseases, the application of the full technology cannot be surmounted by the small scale Ghanaian farmer.
“We have to let the situation be liberal”, he advised, adding that “commercial farmers who can afford to apply all the full technology in order to realize the potential of the GMO may be allowed to go ahead but if you introduce a GMO to a small scale farmer, he cannot afford all the inputs that will go along with the production so we need to find hybrid seeds and intermediate levels of handling our small scale farmers”.
The small scale farmers, he said, should first upscale to hybrid seeds before learning to jump to GMOs.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Clement Kofi Humado has lamented the cost of producing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the country.
The newly sworn in Minister said experience had shown him GMO seeds are more demanding for chemicals such as fertilizer than other seeds making it quite difficult for small scale farmers to manage.
“If you take a GMO maize, the chances are that the quantities of fertilizer you are going to use to get the optimum yield from the GMO seed is much much higher than the local varieties or the varieties produced by the CSIR and Crop Research Institute”, Mr. Humado told Members of Parliament at his vetting. He said despite the several advantages associated with GMOs such as resistance to pests and diseases, the application of the full technology cannot be surmounted by the small scale Ghanaian farmer.
“We have to let the situation be liberal”, he advised, adding that “commercial farmers who can afford to apply all the full technology in order to realize the potential of the GMO may be allowed to go ahead but if you introduce a GMO to a small scale farmer, he cannot afford all the inputs that will go along with the production so we need to find hybrid seeds and intermediate levels of handling our small scale farmers”.
The small scale farmers, he said, should first upscale to hybrid seeds before learning to jump to GMOs.
Watch the Trailer for Jeremy Seifert's Food Industry Doc 'GMO OMG' |
Berlin 2013 EXCLUSIVE: Watch the Trailer for Jeremy Seifert's Food Industry Doc 'GMO OMG' |
THE GMO FILM PROJECT tells the story of a father's discovery of GMOs through the symbolic act of poor Haitian farmers burning seeds in defiance of Monsanto's gift of 475 tons of hybrid corn and vegetable seeds to Haiti shortly after the devastating earthquake of January 2010.
After a journey to Haiti to learn why hungry farmers would burn seeds, the real awakening of what has happened to our food in the US, what we are feeding our families, and what is at stake for the global food supply unfolds in a trip across the United States and other countries in search of answers. Are we at a tipping point? Is it time to take back our food?
The encroaching darkness of unknown health and environmental risks, seed take over, chemical toxins, and food monopoly meets with the light of a growing resistance of organic farmers, concerned citizens, and a burgeoning movement to take back what we have lost.
THE GMO FILM PROJECT tells the story of a father's discovery of GMOs through the symbolic act of poor Haitian farmers burning seeds in defiance of Monsanto's gift of 475 tons of hybrid corn and vegetable seeds to Haiti shortly after the devastating earthquake of January 2010.
After a journey to Haiti to learn why hungry farmers would burn seeds, the real awakening of what has happened to our food in the US, what we are feeding our families, and what is at stake for the global food supply unfolds in a trip across the United States and other countries in search of answers. Are we at a tipping point? Is it time to take back our food?
The encroaching darkness of unknown health and environmental risks, seed take over, chemical toxins, and food monopoly meets with the light of a growing resistance of organic farmers, concerned citizens, and a burgeoning movement to take back what we have lost.
Canada catching on to blessings of biotech crops
Canada catching on to blessings of biotech crops | Government content from Western Farm Press
Agriculture is one of the great engines of the Canadian economy–and much of our success in recent years comes from advances in technology that allow us to grow more food on less land.
On our farm in Saskatchewan, we’ve grown GM canola for almost 10 years. There are obvious advantages for us on the farm, but this technology benefits all Canadians. Boosting our productivity keeps food prices down and helps protect the environment.
Anti-biotech activists seek to turn back the clock on this progress. They fail to see the science behind the benefits. They want warning labels to demonize ordinary products, reduce consumer confidence, and hurt an entire industry, even as food and health organizations around the world have endorsed the adoption of GM crops.
For me, the issue is personal. I have two young daughters, and we feed them what we grow on the farm. That includes food with GM ingredients. As a parent, I’m very comfortable feeding my children food produced from GM crops. But I’m inundated with anti-biotech propaganda while shopping at the grocery store. I’m irritated by irrational labeling… like “GM Free” stickers on products that don’t even have a GM counterpart. Thanks for the “warning!” Parents have enough to worry about these days when feeding our families, we don’t need more unsubstantiated fear tactics.
Agriculture is one of the great engines of the Canadian economy–and much of our success in recent years comes from advances in technology that allow us to grow more food on less land.
On our farm in Saskatchewan, we’ve grown GM canola for almost 10 years. There are obvious advantages for us on the farm, but this technology benefits all Canadians. Boosting our productivity keeps food prices down and helps protect the environment.
Anti-biotech activists seek to turn back the clock on this progress. They fail to see the science behind the benefits. They want warning labels to demonize ordinary products, reduce consumer confidence, and hurt an entire industry, even as food and health organizations around the world have endorsed the adoption of GM crops.
For me, the issue is personal. I have two young daughters, and we feed them what we grow on the farm. That includes food with GM ingredients. As a parent, I’m very comfortable feeding my children food produced from GM crops. But I’m inundated with anti-biotech propaganda while shopping at the grocery store. I’m irritated by irrational labeling… like “GM Free” stickers on products that don’t even have a GM counterpart. Thanks for the “warning!” Parents have enough to worry about these days when feeding our families, we don’t need more unsubstantiated fear tactics.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Tristram Stuart: The global food waste scandal | Video on TED.com
Tristram Stuart: The global food waste scandal | Video on TED.com
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Tristram Stuart sounds the warning bell on global food waste, calling for us to change the systems whereby large quantities of produce and other foods end up in trash heaps. Full bio »
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Western countries throw out nearly half of their food, not because it’s inedible -- but because it doesn’t look appealing. Tristram Stuart delves into the shocking data of wasted food, calling for a more responsible use of global resources.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
GMOs, Enslavement & Poverty Seeds of Freedom
I've always said, even if you don't believe GMO seeds are unhealthy, there are many political reasons to reject the seeds. It's a blueprint for slavery. It turns food into a weapon of mass poverty. The story of seed has become one of loss, control, dependence and debt. It's been written by those who want to make vast profit from our food system, no matter what the true cost. It's time to change the story.
The story of seed has become one of loss, control, dependence and debt. It's been written by those who want to make vast profit from our food system, no matter what the true cost. It's time to change the story. Narrated by Jeremy Irons.
Seeds of Freedom charts the story of seed from its roots at the heart of traditional, diversity rich farming systems across the world, to being transformed into a powerful commodity, used to monopolise the global food system.The film highlights the extent to which the industrial agricultural system, and genetically modified (GM) seeds in particular, has impacted on the enormous agro -biodiversity evolved by farmers and communities around the world, since the beginning of agriculture.
Seeds of Freedom seeks to challenge the mantra that large-scale, industrial agriculture is the only means by which we can feed the world, promoted by the pro-GM lobby. In tracking the story of seed it becomes clear how corporate agenda has driven the take over of seed in order to make vast profit and control of the food global system.
Through interviews with leading international experts such as Dr Vandana Shiva and Henk Hobbelink, and through the voices of a number of African farmers, the film highlights how the loss of indigenous seed goes hand in hand with loss of biodiversity and related knowledge; the loss of cultural traditions and practices; the loss of livelihoods; and the loss of food sovereignty. The pressure is growing to replace the diverse, nutritional, locally adapted and resilient seed crops which have been bred by small-scale farmers for millenia, by monocultures of GM seed.
Alongside speakers from indigenous farming communities, the film features global experts and activists Dr Vandana Shiva of Navdanya, Henk Hobbelink of GRAIN, Zac Goldsmith MP (UK Conservative party), Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser, Kumi Naidoo of Greenpeace International, Gathuru Mburu of the African Biodiversity Network, Liz Hosken of The Gaia Foundation and Caroline Lucas MP (UK Green party).
This film is co-produced by The Gaia Foundation and the African Biodiversity Network. In collaboration with GRAIN, Navdanya International and MELCA Ethiopia .
Please support the original filmmakers by donating or purchasing the DVD here: http://seedsoffreedom.info.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Dr. Mercola Discusses a New GMO Study (playlist)
Internationally renowned natural health physician and Mercola.com founder Dr. Joseph Mercola discusses new study on GMO.
The first-ever lifetime feeding study1 evaluating the health risks of genetically engineered foods was published online on September 19, and the results are troubling, to say the least. This new study joins a list of over 30 other animal studies showing toxic or allergenic problems with genetically engineered foods.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, found that rats fed a type of genetically engineered corn that is prevalent in the US food supply for two years developed massive mammary tumors, kidney and liver damage, and other serious health problems.
The research was considered so "hot" that the work was done under strict secrecy. According to a French article in Le Nouvel Observateur,2 the researchers used encrypted emails, phone conversations were banned, and they even launched a decoy study to prevent sabotage! Read More
GMO Ticking Time Bomb - Part 4
Special Thanks to: Dr. Shiv Chopra,
Food Democracy Now, GMO Free Zone,
Institute for Responsible Technology,
International Center for Technology Assessment,
Dr. Don Lotter, Mercola.com, Natural News.com,
Natural Solutions Foundation, Percy Schmeiser,
Public Patent Foundation
GMO | Genetic Roulette Clip
Are you and your family on the wrong side of a bet?
When the US government ignored repeated warnings by its own scientists and allowed untested genetically modified (GM) crops into our environment and food supply, it was a gamble of unprecedented proportions. The health of all living things and all future generations were put at risk by an infant technology.
After two decades, physicians and scientists have uncovered a grave trend. The same serious health problems found in lab animals, livestock, and pets that have been fed GM foods are now on the rise in the US population. And when people and animals stop eating genetically modified organisms (GMOs), their health improves.
This seminal documentary provides compelling evidence to help explain the deteriorating health of Americans, especially among children, and offers a recipe for protecting ourselves and our future. IRT
Monday, February 4, 2013
Wikileaks cable reveals U.S. conspired to retaliate against European nations if they resisted GMOs
Wikileaks cable reveals U.S. conspired to retaliate against European nations if they resisted GMOs
Wikileaks continues to rock the political world by shedding light on conspiracies, corruption and cover-ups. The latest batch of diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks reveals what can only be characterized as a U.S.-led conspiracy to force GMOs onto European countries by making those countries pay a steep price if they resist.
The cable reveals the words of Craig Stapleton, the US ambassador to France, who was pushing the commercial interests of the biotech industry by attempting to force GMOs into France. In his own words (below), he expresses his frustration with the idea that France might pass environmental laws that would hamper the expansion of GMOs:
"Europe is moving backwards not forwards on this issue with France playing a leading role, along with Austria, Italy and even the [European] Commission... Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voice."
Got that so far? His own words: "Retaliation" as a way to "make [it] clear" that resisting GMOs will have a price.
Stapleton goes on to say something rather incredible:
"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory..."
As you read these words again, remember that these are the words of the U.S. ambassador to France who is suggesting the US "calibrate a target retaliation list" in order to "cause some pain across the EU" that must be "sustainable over the long term."
Wikileaks continues to rock the political world by shedding light on conspiracies, corruption and cover-ups. The latest batch of diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks reveals what can only be characterized as a U.S.-led conspiracy to force GMOs onto European countries by making those countries pay a steep price if they resist.
The cable reveals the words of Craig Stapleton, the US ambassador to France, who was pushing the commercial interests of the biotech industry by attempting to force GMOs into France. In his own words (below), he expresses his frustration with the idea that France might pass environmental laws that would hamper the expansion of GMOs:
"Europe is moving backwards not forwards on this issue with France playing a leading role, along with Austria, Italy and even the [European] Commission... Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voice."
Got that so far? His own words: "Retaliation" as a way to "make [it] clear" that resisting GMOs will have a price.
Stapleton goes on to say something rather incredible:
"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory..."
As you read these words again, remember that these are the words of the U.S. ambassador to France who is suggesting the US "calibrate a target retaliation list" in order to "cause some pain across the EU" that must be "sustainable over the long term."
GMO Giant Monsanto Joins Big Business Coalition for UN Agenda 21
GMO Giant Monsanto Joins Big Business Coalition for UN Agenda 21
Corporate giant Monsanto, known for its controversial business model, lobbying, and its widely criticized genetically modified organisms (GMOs), has officially joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a group of powerful interests including major banks and Big Oil backing the United Nations “Agenda 21” scheme for so-called “sustainable development.” Critics, however, expressed alarm over the announcement, saying the global “sustainability” push is really a transparent plot to centralize power in the UN and enrich special interests at the expense of private property rights, national sovereignty, and individual liberty.
Despite the widespread suspicion and criticism plaguing both Monsanto and the global Big Business alliance pushing the UN’s Agenda 21, the company and the coalition celebrated the move in a recent press release. According to the announcement late last month, the biotech behemoth will be rolling out a “sustainability” course for its employees all over the world. Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant will represent the GMO company as a “Council Member” in the global “sustainable development” coalition.
Also widely criticized is the corporate giant’s business model itself — patenting genetically engineered DNA and using the force of government to protect what it calls its “intellectual property,” even when that DNA ends up contaminating an unwitting farmer’s crops. The U.S. government, in particular, is filled with former high-ranking Monsanto figures, and it plays a key role in pushing the firm’s dubious products worldwide. When governments or scientists express concerns about the health or economic impacts of GMOs, official documents have revealed, American authorities stand ready to exert overwhelming pressure to crush any resistance.
Corporate giant Monsanto, known for its controversial business model, lobbying, and its widely criticized genetically modified organisms (GMOs), has officially joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a group of powerful interests including major banks and Big Oil backing the United Nations “Agenda 21” scheme for so-called “sustainable development.” Critics, however, expressed alarm over the announcement, saying the global “sustainability” push is really a transparent plot to centralize power in the UN and enrich special interests at the expense of private property rights, national sovereignty, and individual liberty.
Despite the widespread suspicion and criticism plaguing both Monsanto and the global Big Business alliance pushing the UN’s Agenda 21, the company and the coalition celebrated the move in a recent press release. According to the announcement late last month, the biotech behemoth will be rolling out a “sustainability” course for its employees all over the world. Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant will represent the GMO company as a “Council Member” in the global “sustainable development” coalition.
Also widely criticized is the corporate giant’s business model itself — patenting genetically engineered DNA and using the force of government to protect what it calls its “intellectual property,” even when that DNA ends up contaminating an unwitting farmer’s crops. The U.S. government, in particular, is filled with former high-ranking Monsanto figures, and it plays a key role in pushing the firm’s dubious products worldwide. When governments or scientists express concerns about the health or economic impacts of GMOs, official documents have revealed, American authorities stand ready to exert overwhelming pressure to crush any resistance.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
GMO Tobacco Produces Antibodies To Treat Rabies
GMO Tobacco Produces Antibodies To Treat Rabies
Here is a conundrum in the culture wars; genetically modified tobacco has been shown to have numerous beneficial effects and now another one has been added.
The treatment for rabies (painful shots, thankfully not all in the stomach in 2013) is not as bad as the disease (death) but it is hardly civilized, so here is hoping the anti-science crowd does not claim genetically modified tobacco will create giant rats with SuperRabies. Rabies deaths are not a big issue in the USA, 10 a year or so, and therefore it may be safe to do fundraising campaigns about Frankentobacco here, but for developing nations a better solution would save a lot of lives.
In a new report, scientists produced a monoclonal antibody in transgenic tobacco plants that was shown to neutralize the rabies virus. This new antibody works by preventing the virus from attaching to nerve endings around the bite site and keeps the virus from traveling to the brain.
Here is a conundrum in the culture wars; genetically modified tobacco has been shown to have numerous beneficial effects and now another one has been added.
The treatment for rabies (painful shots, thankfully not all in the stomach in 2013) is not as bad as the disease (death) but it is hardly civilized, so here is hoping the anti-science crowd does not claim genetically modified tobacco will create giant rats with SuperRabies. Rabies deaths are not a big issue in the USA, 10 a year or so, and therefore it may be safe to do fundraising campaigns about Frankentobacco here, but for developing nations a better solution would save a lot of lives.
In a new report, scientists produced a monoclonal antibody in transgenic tobacco plants that was shown to neutralize the rabies virus. This new antibody works by preventing the virus from attaching to nerve endings around the bite site and keeps the virus from traveling to the brain.
Friday, February 1, 2013
The Audit Committee was established by the Director of the Rowett Research Institute in August 1998
The Audit Committee was established by the Director of the Rowett Research Institute in August 1998
The Audit Committee was established by the Director of the Rowett Research Institute in August 1998. Its remit was to determine whether statements made by or attributed to Dr Pusztai during a World in Action programme broadcast on the 10th August 1998 were justified on the basis of the experimental evidence available at that time and to report its findings to the Director. The Audit Committee met on the 21st August and reported shortly thereafter.
The Audit Committee was established by the Director of the Rowett Research Institute in August 1998. Its remit was to determine whether statements made by or attributed to Dr Pusztai during a World in Action programme broadcast on the 10th August 1998 were justified on the basis of the experimental evidence available at that time and to report its findings to the Director. The Audit Committee met on the 21st August and reported shortly thereafter.
The relevant statements taken from a transcript of the World in Action programme prepared by Tellex Monitors Ltd were:
Andrew Brittain (Presenter): "Professor Pusztai's lab is at Scotland's Rowett Institute, one of the leading food research centres in Europe. Scientists here are trying to find out whether long-term consumption of GM foods may affect health. Their test, funded by the Scottish Office, is believed to be the only one of its kind.
Rats have fed two different kinds of genetically modified potato, which are not on sale and have never been eaten by humans. The rats ate them for more than 100 days, the human equivalent of 10 years."
Professor Arpad Pusztai: "The immune system takes about 10 days to get in top gear. So, if we do a short-term trial, we wouldn't have seen the end result."
Andrew Brittain: "Animals fed on one kind of research potato remained perfectly health. But rats given the other set did show ill-effects. The Professor is so concerned about the implications of his discovery, he's decided to publicise his findings early. Tonight, he reveals them for the first time."
Professor Arpad Pusztai: "The effect was slight growth retardation and an effect on the immune system. One of the genetically modified potatoes, after 110 days, made the rats less responsive to immune effects."
The three statements implicit in this exchange were: the completion of long-term experiments (110 days) made with two different kinds of GM potatoes, the retardation of growth and the reduced response to a challenge to the immune system. These three points were found by the Audit Committee to be untrue or not supported by the evidence.
Report of Dr Pusztai
Dr Puszrtai was provided with a copy of the Audit report by the Director and was invited to respond. This he did in October 1998, commenting both on the conclusions of the Audit Committee and on the data from experiment D249, an experiment not started at the time of the recording of the World in Action programme and only completed after the Audit process. A copy of his response was sent to all members of the Audit Committee.
In his report Dr Pusztai takes issue with the Audit committee on three broad counts:
their comments on the analytical data;
- their failure to take account of differences in organ weights in animals fed GM potatoes compared with parental controls;
- their conclusion with respect to immune function.
- Dr Pusztai also rejects the conclusion of the Audit Committee that the existing data (data available in August 1998) did not support any suggestion that the consumption by rats of transgenic potatoes expressing GNA has an effect on growth, organ development or immune function.
Scientist that Discovered GMO Health Hazards Immediately Fired, Team Dismantled | Consciousness TV
Scientist that Discovered GMO Health Hazards Immediately Fired, Team Dismantled | Consciousness TV
Arpad Pusztai, who is considered to be one of the world's most respected and well-learned biochemists, had for three years led a team of researchers from Scotland's prestigious Rowett Research Institute (RRI) in studying the health effects of a novel GM potato with built-in Bt toxin. Much to the surprise of many, the team discovered that, contrary to industry rhetoric, Bt potato was responsible for causing severe health damage in test rats, a fact that was quickly relayed to the media out of concern for public hearing.
Though it barely received any media attention at the time, a renowned British biochemist who back in 1998 exposed the shocking truth about how genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) cause organ damage, reproductive failure, digestive dysfunction, impaired immunity, and cancer, among many other conditions, was immediately fired from his job, and the team of researchers who assisted him dismissed from their post within 24 hours from the time when the findings went public.
Sources for this article include:
AllAboutFeed - Russia: Compulsory registration of GMO products
AllAboutFeed - Russia: Compulsory registration of GMO products
A bill to introduce compulsory registration of all products containing GM-components is in the final stages of adoption by the Russian parliament.
According to experts, it will strengthen the control over the circulation of genetically modified crops on the market, but at the same time will create a legal framework for cultivation, which will boost production. The initiative has already been welcomed by many authorities and experts.
"Already 10 varieties of genetically modified crops have passed certification in Russia. And these are only crops that have been in use for a long time abroad without any negative consequences for human health. I think that GM crops are already cultivated in Russia, but until now this area has not been under our control" - Nikolai Vlasov Deputy Head of Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor report.
"State registration of GMO will bring this area out of the shadows. Currently the GMO market has no legal framework only in very conservative countries such as ours. All over the world they can reduce the cost of [meat] production using it as feed. And it's safe for health, " said the president of the Meat Board of Common Economic Space Musheg Mamikonian.
However, the initiative has not been received so well by all. Representatives of social organizations have criticized the initiative.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Burkina Faso cotton output soars 57.5 pct due to GMOs -producers | Reuters
Burkina Faso cotton output soars 57.5 pct due to GMOs -producers | Reuters
Cotton production in Burkina Faso, one of the first countries in Africa to approve genetically modified cotton, jumped 57.5 percent in 2012-2013 due to an increase in GMO crops, the producers' association said.
Output for the year to end-January 2013 rose to 630,000 tonnes from 400,000 tonnes in 2011/2012 and exceeded the association's expectations for 532,000 tonnes, the Burkina National Cotton Producers' Union (UNPCB) said on Thursday.
Burkina Faso, which relies on cotton as one of its major exports, approved the planting of Monsanto's Bt cotton GMO variety in 2008.
Cotton production in Burkina Faso, one of the first countries in Africa to approve genetically modified cotton, jumped 57.5 percent in 2012-2013 due to an increase in GMO crops, the producers' association said.
Output for the year to end-January 2013 rose to 630,000 tonnes from 400,000 tonnes in 2011/2012 and exceeded the association's expectations for 532,000 tonnes, the Burkina National Cotton Producers' Union (UNPCB) said on Thursday.
Burkina Faso, which relies on cotton as one of its major exports, approved the planting of Monsanto's Bt cotton GMO variety in 2008.
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