Archive for the ‘GMO Africa Blog’ Category

Vilsack targeted for his Pro-GMOs stand

One day after President-Elect Barak Obama picked Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack, as Agriculture Secretary, anti-biotechnology activists are out in full force trying to paint him as an apologist for the biotech industry. Tara Lohan in an article on Alternet.org declares Obama is sending to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) “…a pro-GMOs, pro-Biofuels Ag [...]

Kenyan scientists weigh on GMOs

Scientists from one of Kenya’s premier university have endorsed crop genetic engineering. After a two-day workshop last week, University of Nairobi researchers dismissed fears that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) posed dangers to human health and the environment.

The scientists said although some caution was needed about GMOs, they had been found to be [...]

Indian researcher makes a case for biotechnology

The journal Nature has published an article about how developing countries can make the best from biotech. Indira Nath, the article’s author, argues biotechnology can revolutionize food production and healthcare in developing countries only if these countries bolstered their scientific capacity.

 
Nath regrets intellectual property rights coupled with inhibit scientists from developing countries from accessing [...]

EU challenges France on GM Maize

The European Union (EU) is again challenging France’s decision to ban a genetically modified (GM) maize developed by the U.S.-based biotech giant Monsanto. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is angry that France has refused to allow the cultivation of MON 810, the only GM crop being grown in the European Union.
“No specific scientific evidence, [...]

Italy’s health minister favors GM crops

Italy’s health minister Maurizio Sacconi would like her country to lift the ban on genetically modified crops (GM) in his country.

Sacconi told an international food forum recently that Italy needed to apply the European principle of co-existence of different production technologies. The principle lays out clear guidelines on how organic and GM [...]

South Africa approves biotech sorghum

South Africa has made another step forward in the field of crop biotechnology. After a rancorous debate over whether genetically engineered sorghum should be grown in greenhouses, the South African government has given its nod to the project.

The decision was a huge blow to anti-GMOs activists in South Africa, led by the South African [...]

Maize yields in Europe declining?

I speak and comprehend a little French. There’s this video that features Klaus Ammann saying corn yields in Europe have gone down. David Tribe of GMO Pundit has picked up the issue on his blog.
Let me mention something small about David. He is a characteristically mercurial scientist. I must admit I’ve not come across a [...]

African scientist honored for her work in agriculture

An African scientist has been honored for her work in promoting sustainable agriculture in Africa. Prof. Florence Wambugu, who heads the Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation, last week scooped the 2008 YARA prize for the African Green Revolution.

Prof. Wambugu was recognized for promoting the use of tissue culture in banana farming in mainly Kenya. The technology [...]

Prince of Wales under fire for his anti-GMOs stance

The Prince of Wales is in hot soup for claiming genetically modified crops have set the word on course for “the biggest disaster, environmentally, of all time.”
In an interview with the Telegraph, last week, Prince Charles sensationally accused “gigantic corporations” of meddling with nature and urged them to spare the world the cataclysmic repercussions that [...]

Extra-judicial protests on GMOs decried

An article appearing elsewhere on this blog, and which has been adapted from the Australian-based ABC News, reports that Gene Ethics, a nongovernmental organization opposed to crop genetic engineering, has mapped farmers growing genetically modified canola.
The map lists their names and location of their farms. The Victorian Farmers Federation has issued a press statement condemning [...]