1.New Book on International Regimes and the Management of Crop Genetic Resources
2.Seeds and Power: Governing Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
3.Scientific and Technical Contribution to the Development of an Overall Health Strategy in the Area of GMOs – JRC
4.Online bibliography of assessment studies on GE crops
5.EFSA consultation – deadline 21 September!

NOTE: Items 1&2 are linked – paper and book by same author. As noted before the JRC (item 3) is pro-GM in outlook (as is the EFSA, item 5, and the IFPRI, item 4) and its reports are known to be influenced by the European Commission.

COMMENT on item 5 from Dr. Brian John: This [EFSA] consultation is being done in conditions of considerable secrecy. We certainly weren't informed about it or invited to comment – in spite of our known interest in such matters. So much for EFSA's new attempts to be open and transparent, and all-inclusive. . . Note that comments have to be in by 21 September 2008.    There is some important stuff in this doc – not least the ongoing dependence on Substantial Equivalence (lines 563 – 584).
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1.New Book on International Regimes and the Management of Crop Genetic Resources
Summary posted by Meridian on 9/16/2008
Source: FNI
http://www.merid.org/fs-agbiotech/more.php?id=7037

A new book by Regine Andersen, a senior fellow at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) in Norway, is said to provide the first comprehensive analysis of how international agreements affect the management of crop genetic resources in developing countries. The book argues that that the interaction of the agreements has produced largely negative impacts, despite good intentions.

The result is "an emerging anti-commons tragedy: A situation where multiple actors have the possibilities to exclude each other from the use of plant genetic resources in agriculture." The book argues that not only is the current situation a threat to the conservation and sustainable use of crop genetic resources, but it may also seriously affect food security and the outlook for combating global poverty. The book suggests "entry points" for the improvement of agrobiodiversity governance.
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2.Seeds and Power: Governing Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/5/1/0/2/p251027_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript

Abstract: This paper [by Regine Andersen, author of the book above - item 1] analyses the power structures behind the current management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA).

Access to diverse genetic resources is vital to modern plant breeding, as it provides the genetic traits required to deal with crop pests and diseases, as well as with changing climate conditions.

It is also essential for traditional small-scale farming, on which approximately 1.4 billion people worldwide depend for their livelihoods. Thus, it is an indispensable factor in the fight against poverty.

However, the diversity of domesticated plant varieties is disappearing at an alarming rate. At the same time, interest in the commercial use of genetic resources has increased with the growing economic stakes of bio-technologies, followed by demands for intellectual property rights and other forms of regulations pertaining to seeds and propagating material.

From the South has come considerable protest against intellectual property rights, along with demands for protecting the rights of farmers and indigenous peoples and ensuring a fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of these resources.

The result of all these developments is an emerging anti-commons tragedy: a situation where multiple actors have the possibilities to exclude each other from the use of these vital resources.

The paper provides an overview over the aggregate effects of the international regimes pertaining to the management of PGRFA (ITPGRFA, CBD, TRIPS, UPOV, OECD Seed Schemes), as well as regional and bilateral trade agreements pertaining to the issue. It analyses the driving forces behind these agreements relevant for the management of PGRFA, and discusses the developments with a particular view to a structural power perspective. Finally, lessons are derived with regard to potentials for improving the legitimacy of the international processes pertaining to PGRFA management.
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3.Scientific and Technical Contribution to the Development of an Overall Health Strategy in the Area of GMOs
Source:JRC
http://www.merid.org/fs-agbiotech/more.php?id=7035

This report from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission says, "no demonstration of any health effect of genetically modified (GM) food products submitted to the [EU's] regulatory process has been reported so far". "Yet," it notes, "little is known about the potential long term health effects of any food, including novel food." The report on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and human health emphasizes the conditional nature of all food-related risk assessment, stating, for instance, that "the safety of a GMO derived product is established relative to its conditional counterpart and is, therefore, not absolute." The overall results of the JRC study are said to show that: 1) there is already a comprehensive body of knowledge sufficient to assess the safety of present GM products; 2) future developments in biotechnology, such as the development of nutritionally enhanced GM crops, will require much additional safety assessment capacity; 3) future research and
development efforts "need to be firmly inscribed in an international context;" and 4) a forum is needed in which stakeholders can meet regularly to share expertise, identify areas for improvement, forecast upcoming developments, and anticipate needs for scientific and technical efforts. The report considers a number of scientific issues related to human health and the consumption of GMOs but is not intended as an exhaustive exploration of the subject, or as a representation of the views of the European Commission. The 25-page executive summary can be viewed online at the link below.
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_20080910_gmo_study_en.pdf
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4.Online bibliography of assessment studies on GE crops
ISB News, 16 September 2008
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/becon/becon.asp [via agnet]

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has compiled a web-based bibliography of peer-reviewed applied economics literature called bEcon, to assess the impact of genetically engineered (GE) crops in developing economies. bEcon contains 190 articles organized under four major themes that address the different areas of impact: advantages to farmers, consumer preferences and willingness to pay, size and distribution of benefits, and international benefits of trade. The literature is searchable by author, year, and keyword. bEcon is updated every three months, and a CD-ROM is produced on an annual basis for those with limited or no internet access. For more information on bEcon, visit http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/becon/becon.asp
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5.Open Consultations
Updated guidance document of the Scientific Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)for the risk assessment of genetically modified plants and derived food and feed
Deadline: 21/09/2008
Document  (1.3Mb)
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Call_Consultation/gmo_consult_gmfoodfeed_updated_guidance.pdf?ssbinary=true

EFSA's GMO Panel regularly reviews its guidance to take account of scientific developments and of experience gained through the risk assessment process. When doing so the Panel, in line with EFSA’s policy on openness and transparency, and in order to allow the scientific community and stakeholders to comment on its work, consults the public on key issues.

In 2008 the Panel updated its guidance document, originally adopted in 2004, in the light of several years of experience in the risk assessment of GMO applications and of the outcome of the Panels’ self-tasking activities. Currently the updated guidance document forms the basis for the establishment of legal EC Guidelines by the Commission and the Member States. In the frame of enhancing that process, the outcome of this consultation will be directly forwarded to the Commission and the Member States. EFSA will publish an evaluation report on the comments received and be consulted prior to the adoption of the legal framework.

Interested parties are invited submit written comments by 21 September 2008. [!!]

Please exclusively use the electronic template provided with the documents to submit comments and refer to the line numbering. Comments submitted by email or via surface mail cannot be taken into account.

Note: No consultation is launched for the sections of the guidance concerning environmental risk assessment. Additional consultation on these sections is foreseen after their update on issues such as assessing potential long-term environmental effects of GMO cultivation, following a mandate from the Commission’s DG Environment and the outcome of activities that EFSA has initiated on assessing potential risks to non-target organisms by traits such as insect-resistance in GM plants.
Publication date: 21/07/2008