Bangladesh Bt brinjal farmers demand compensationFarmers in Bangladesh who were given Bt brinjal plants to plant have demanded compensation for huge losses they incurred cultivating the GM crop. British pro-GMO campaigner Mark Lynas had presented the Bt brinjal as a success, claiming that reports about its failure were false "scare stories" put about by anti-GMO activists. The director of the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), which oversaw the failed GMO experiment, reportedly became "furious" when asked whether BARI had conducted any research to find out whether Bt brinjal would harm human health. He admitted that no independent health tests were done on Bt brinjal and called the country's GMO labelling requirement "ridiculous".
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LOBBYWATCHCornell gets $5.6 million to "depolarize" GMO debateCornell University is embarking on a campaign to “depolarize the charged debate” around GMO – supported by a $5.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and with the GMO industry as its partners. Biofortified's "big list of studies" misleads the public on GMO safetyThe pro-GMO lobby group Biology Fortified, Inc (BFI or Biofortified) has launched its new database of GMO studies, GENERA – but much of what's being said about it is demonstrably false, says GMWatch's Claire Robinson. Biofortified's co-founder and co-executive editor Dr Anastasia Bodnar responded to Claire's critique but her response sells the science short and continues to mislead the public. Keith Kloor: Trash-talking the enviros – or just talking trash?Blogger Keith Kloor tries to discredit environmentalists by putting them in the same "anti-science" box as climate denialists, but science and logic don't support the tactic, writes GMWatch's Jonathan Matthews. US politician took money from Monsanto/Forbes publishes advertorialA prominent Hawaiian politician has taken money from Monsanto, and part of Forbes magazine's content is paid advertorial. The latter point perhaps explains why Jon Entine can use the magazine to publish vitriolic attacks on those who threaten the interests of the GMO industry. British think tank tells Africans to grow and eat GMOsA report from the British foreign policy think tank Chatham House on agricultural biotechnology in Africa claims that GM "offers advantages over conventional plant-breeding approaches". But the report is highly misleading, as GMWatch's Claire Robinson explains. NGO backlash to Chief Scientific Advisor position growsMore European NGOs have thrown their weight behind a call for the European Commission to scrap the untransparent position of the chief scientific advisor in a new letter sent to the incoming EU president, Jean-Claude Juncker. Dr Michael Warhurst of ChemTrust, one of the signatory organisations to the original letter asking for the chief scientific advisor position to be scrapped, explained that science policy is about debate and discussion – not one person working in secret, in the style of the current incumbent, Anne Glover. Prof Jack Heinemann on vaccines, climate, power, and GMOsProf Jack Heinemann challenges Monsanto PR woman Janice Person's suggestion that opposition to GMOs is comparable to opposition to vaccines and explains why opposition to GMOs is not equivalent to "climate denial". He also takes on the pro-GMO blogger Keith Kloor over his attacks on Reuters journalist Carey Gillam, who covers both sides of the GMO debate. Responses to Michael Specter's pro-GMO article in the New YorkerRaj Patel and Aruna Rodrigues point out misleading notions in Michael Specter's article promoting GMOs.
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