For the past decade or more, GMO promoters have been proclaiming the GM debate over, claiming it was only ever driven by ill-informed or idle opposition from the well-fed. But as our latest Reviews show, far from being dead, the battles over GMOs, and the pesticide deluge that almost invariably accompanies them, are raging fiercely on every continent, amidst resistance to punitive seeds laws, regulatory capture, the lack of evidence of safety, and the denial of consumer choice, not to mention damage to biodiversity, to the livelihoods of farmers, and to the well-being of rural people (see our reports from AFRICA, ASIA, THE AMERICAS, and EUROPE).
And the stakes in some of these battles couldn’t be higher. As one of the articles among our reports on the MEXICAN GMO CORN BAN notes, “The outcome of the US-Mexico trade dispute over GM maize could have global ramifications: if the panel rules in Mexico’s favour, it could set a legal precedent. That, in turn, could encourage other countries to ban GM crops. And that is the last thing the world’s agrochemical giants want.”
We also have some fascinating stuff towards the end on GMO ANIMALS, SYNBIO, TECHNO-FOODS, and RESEARCH ON ALTERNATIVES.
THE AMERICAS
Peru again rejects any lifting of its GMO ban
The Peruvian Congress has again said no to GM crops and moved to protect the country’s food sovereignty and regulatory autonomy. Bill 7752/2023-PE sought to modify Peru’s GMO moratorium, which bans the use of living modified organisms until 31 December 2035. The government of Dina Boluarte claimed GMOs were needed. But opponents pointed out that the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation is developing and providing improved seeds without resorting to GMOs, helping farmers to sustainably improve productivity. Peru is recognized worldwide for its megadiversity. It’s the centre of origin of such important crops as potatoes, tomatoes, cocoa and quinoa. And its diversity is regarded as not only a precious heritage but a competitive advantage in export markets, where organic and GMO-free products are highly valued.
Poison unleashed: Almost 80 GMOs approved in Argentina
Nearly 80 GMOs have now been approved in Argentina, unleashing a pesticide deluge, reports investigative journalist Patricio Eleisegui. Recently the government released a variety of Corteva GM corn that tolerates four different pesticides. On top of all the approved GMOs, Claudio Dunan, an ex-director of Bioceres, the “Argentine Monsanto” behind GM wheat, acknowledges that illegal varieties of GM cotton are also being planted. History suggests, writes Eleisegui, that regulators will rush to approve them to keep the agribusiness bosses happy.
Brazil’s new pro-agribusiness pesticide law threatens Amazon biodiversity
Brazil’s new pro-agribusiness pesticide law, the so-called Poison Bill, eases restrictions on the sale and use of a wide range of agrochemicals – many of them sprayed on GM soy plantations – that are dangerous to humans and the environment. In the past 10 years, Brazil has increased its pesticide consumption by 78%, particularly in the Amazonian areas where the agricultural frontier is advancing. To experts, the Poison Bill is catastrophic: As well as increasing the risks to Indigenous people, riverine communities and small farmers, the legislation can devastate the Amazon Rainforest biodiversity. “Pesticides are especially harmful at the edge of the Amazon Rainforest, where they affect an intact biodiversity, which suffers more to adapt,” said Ricardo Theophilo Folhes, a researcher in geography and environmental sciences at the Center for Advanced Amazonian Studies at the Federal University of Pará. “Studies show that soil and water contamination is long-lasting, affecting entire chains.”
Pesticide-related declines of butterflies in US Midwest coincided with adoption of (GMO) corn and soybean seeds treated with neonics
Glyphosate eradicates all kinds of weeds, including milkweed – the only food source for monarch caterpillars – and its use is widely considered a cause of overall monarch declines. But a new study has shown that that damage had been done by the early 2000s – Roundup Ready crops, which intensified glyphosate use, were introduced in 1996. That’s when neonicotinoids kicked in to continue inflicting harm. Neonicotinoids are widely used on GM corn and soybean seeds and they can leach into the surrounding environment. Insecticide-related declines began in 2003, coinciding with the appearance and quick adoption of corn and soybean seeds treated with neonicotinoids throughout the Midwest. Overall, the study found that while glyphosate is still anchoring monarchs at much lower population levels than in the past, neonicotinoids, more than herbicides, land use and climatic conditions, are what is now continuing to drive their numbers down. See also this article on the study in The New York Times by one of the researchers, and this from Environment America.
MEXICAN GMO CORN BAN
Mexico stands firm on GMO corn ban
After Claudia Sheinbaum was elected as Mexico’s new President in a landslide victory, Mexico’s incoming Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Julio Berdegué, confirmed that neither the cultivation of GM corn nor imports for human consumption will be allowed in its national territory. He did, however, say that Mexico will continue to allow imports of yellow corn for animal feed from the US, while focusing instead on maintaining self-sufficiency in non-GM white corn, which is commonly used in the country’s staple tortilla.
After a 4-year legal battle, Monsanto drops lawsuit against Mexico’s GMO corn ban
In a significant victory for Mexico, Monsanto has withdrawn its legal challenge against Mexico’s 2020 presidential decree aimed at banning glyphosate and GM corn for human consumption. Mexico’s National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies (Conahcyt) heralded the decision as “a triumph for life, health and food sovereignty”. However, what has not been abandoned and is still progressing is the trade dispute settlement panel requested by the US government over Mexico's plan (see the linked article and the following items). Its conclusions could have global ramifications.
The US-Mexico tortilla war
Do nations have the right to determine their own food policies? If sovereignty means anything, the answer to these questions is yes. Defending food supplies is an ancient cornerstone of the social contract, one enshrined in 21st century trade pacts including the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the successor to NAFTA. In December 2023, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador invoked this right when he banned GM corn for human consumption and proposed phasing out the use of glyphosate, GM corn’s signature herbicide. If GM corn and glyphosate pose health risks to humans, as suggested by a growing body of research, then those risks are magnified in Mexico, where the national diet revolves around minimally processed white corn. But Mexico’s assertion of food sovereignty was not welcomed in Washington, where the Biden administration joined industry in crying foul.
Experts warn of toxins in GM corn amid US-Mexico trade dispute
Friends of the Earth US has released a briefing backing Mexico’s ban on GM corn for human consumption, which they recently submitted to the dispute settlement panel charged with considering the US government's challenge to the policy. The briefing explains that since the commercial introduction of GM corn in 1996 “and event-specific approvals in the 1990s and 2000s, dramatic changes have occurred in corn production systems. There has been an approximate four-fold increase in the number of toxins and pesticides applied on the average hectare of contemporary [GM] industrial corn compared to the early 1990s. Unfortunately, this upward trend is bound to continue, and may accelerate.” In addition, the US statement's assurances about risks from Bacillus thuringiensis or vegetative insecticidal protein (Bt/VIP) residues “are not based on data and science”, the briefing warns.
Activists call on tribunal panel to defend Mexican native maize against GMOs
More than 100,000 activists signed a letter calling on the panellists appointed to the GM maize controversy to defend Mexico’s native grains in its dispute with the US over the GM maize treaty. The Campaña Nacional Sin Maíz no hay País [National Campaign: No Maize, No Country] sent their message to the panellists, who will decide the trade dispute over the ban on GM maize in Mexico.
AFRICA
South Africa: GMO contamination of local seed systems and farmers’ fields now common
Starting back in the apartheid era, South Africa became the first country in Africa to adopt GM crops. Recent research has found GMO contamination of local seed systems and farmers’ fields is now common there, with a whole series of negative consequences. There is also a risk of trans-border transgene flow. Many GMO farming activities straddle the borders of South Africa and Eswatini, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. This is likely to have multiple consequences for affected smallholder communities.
Zimbabwe: Ban on GMOs being subverted
Like some other African countries, Zimbabwe has had a long-standing ban on GMOs. But a row has broken out recently over test results allegedly showing a disproportionately high level of GMO content in some Zimbabwean food. In this context, apparently reassuring headlines have popped up, such as Zimbabwe moves to strengthen GMO regulations and Drafting of GMO regulations vital in public health protection. But those reading further down these articles may be surprised to be told that “It is crucial that as regulators we create an enabling environment” and that Zimbabwe “has embraced genome editing and GMO technology”.
Kenya: Blow to government as High Court extends ban on GMOs
Efforts by the Kenyan Government to have the orders barring the importation, distribution and adoption of GMO products in Kenya lifted failed after a Kenyan High Court extended the ban up to October 2024. President William Ruto’s government authorized the import and cultivation of GMOs, banned in Kenya since 2012, in October 2022, just after coming to power. But that authorisation has been blocked by legal challenges brought by the Kenyan Peasants League and other civil society groups.
Kenya: Farmers challenge punitive seed law
The ongoing legal action by Kenyan farmers against the Seed and Plant Varieties Act, which criminalises the sharing, sale, and exchange of “unregistered” seeds, has its latest hearing scheduled for 24 July in the High Court of Kenya at Machakos. Kenya’s seed law stops smallholder farmers from exchanging indigenous seeds. Those who carry on this age-old tradition can even face a prison sentence of up to two years or a fine of up to 1,000,000 Kenyan shillings (approaching 8,000 US dollars). Please show solidarity by signing the Greenpeace Africa petition calling for the abolition of the punitive seed law. For how Kenya’s law is part of a much wider effort to tighten intellectual property laws on farms throughout Africa, so undermining farmer-managed seed economies and forcing farmers into the “value chains” of global agribusiness, see this incisive feature article from September 2023 in The Nation.
Nigeria: GM Tela maize controversy a threat to health, environment, sovereignty and food security?
The Federal Government’s decision to introduce GM Tela maize to Nigerian farmers has sparked intense controversy, as concerns about the crop’s impact on human health, environmental sustainability, and the nation’s agricultural future continue to mount. The well-known Nigerian environmentalist Nnimmo Bassey has called it “unacceptable” that “the country is exposing its citizens to products of risky technologies without adequate, independent and/or long-term assessment on their impacts on human and environmental health… We are also concerned that there is no way to label or inform our farmers that they are planting GMO maize.”
Nigeria: Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control says GMO food not safe for human consumption
According to Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, Director General of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), GMO food is not safe for human consumption because lots of necessary research has not been done. Speaking on national television, Prof Adeyeye said that until NAFDAC gets very convincing data to show the safety of GMO consumption, “it is not safe for us”. Needless to say, Prof Adeyeye and NAFDAC came under immediate attack from GMO promoters, most notably Nigeria’s National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), which in a leaked memo called for NAFDAC to retract the comments. NBMA has long been criticised for making GMO regulation “synonymous with promotion”. The previous Director-General of the NBMA once described critics of his agency’s approval of GM TELA maize as terrorists.
Ghana: Groups including ActionAid condemn commercialisation of GM products
ActionAid Ghana, the General Agricultural Workers Union, the Peasant Farmers Association, and Ghana Journalists for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture are among the diverse organisations that have condemned the commercialisation of 14 GMOs – a mix of GM maize and soybean varieties, 13 of them belonging to Bayer/Monsanto and one to Syngenta. In a press release, ActionAid Ghana said the “decision to lift restrictions on GMOs poses significant risks to food security, biodiversity, and the well-being of vulnerable communities”. The international development group also said the decision “lacked proper consultation, denying Ghanaians the right to voice their opinions on what they consume. We believe that the National Biosafety Authority (NBA), which should act as a neutral regulator, has actively promoted GMOs, compromising its independence and Ghana’s national interest.”
Ghana: Court orders National Biosafety Authority to label all GMO foods
After nine years fighting the commercial release of GM cowpeas through the courts, Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG) and its allies have finally had their case dismissed. But FSG were delighted with one part of the ruling, where the judge directed that all foods and feed containing GMOs must be labelled to afford Ghanaians the right to make informed decisions.
Ghana: Promulgate laws against GMO soybean commercialisation – Soya Value Chain Association
The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana has warned that the commercial cultivation of GMO soybean seeds will lead to loss of Ghana’s non-GMO soybean niche market, collapse the domestic market driven by consumer preference for non-GMO soybeans, and push smallholder farmers out of business.
Ghana: GMOs would not provide food security – peasant farmers
The National President of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Wepia Addo Awal Adugwala, has reminded policy makers that the problems bedevilling Ghana’s agricultural sector will not be solved by GMOs. Awal Adugwala identified irrigation, agriculture mechanisation, bad roads, and access to markets as some of the pressing issues militating against agriculture and food security.
ASIA
India: Skin allergies from GMO cotton but not organic
A revealing comment about GM cotton was made at a recent exhibition in Hyderabad of woven textile designs (known as Sonthanga) on raw unbleached cotton fabric. Durga Manikanta, who has been spinning cotton for the past 12 years, told the reviewer of the collection for the English-language daily The Hindu that “Spinners used to get skin allergies with (GM) Bt cotton but not with the organic cotton used in Sonthanga.” There have been reports since soon after its introduction of allergenic reactions among those handling GM Bt cotton, and there are several studies indicating that immune responses are triggered by the Bt toxins involved.
Philippines: Farmers and citizens win court case against GM Golden Rice and Bt eggplant
Back in April the Philippines Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the applicants – farmer/scientist group MASIPAG and others – and against the Philippine Government's actions that granted permits for the commercial propagation of GM Bt brinjal (eggplant) and GM Golden Rice. The judges ruled that there was no scientific consensus on the risks of GMO rice and eggplant to humans and the environment, that the precautionary principle must be upheld, and that proper risk assessment procedures must be adhered to, but were not, in the cases of these GMOs. The court ruled all commercial production must stop until the relevant government agencies “submit proof of safety and compliance with all legal requirements”.
Expert: Blaming Greenpeace for blocking Golden Rice is “sleazy sleight of hand”
With the Philippines court decision blocking the further planting of GM Golden Rice in the country, pro-GMO advocates have renewed their attacks on Greenpeace, the local branch of which, together with the farmer-scientist network MASIPAG and others, brought the lawsuit. GM Golden Rice is engineered to contain the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene and is targeted at poor people, especially children, suffering from vitamin A deficiency (VAD). The Observer’s science editor Robin McKie published an article accusing Greenpeace of causing “a catastrophe” by bringing the court case. The Observer also backed that up with an editorial headlined, “When modified rice could save thousands of lives, it is wrong to oppose it”. However, experts on Golden Rice have roundly debunked the claims, with one pointing out that blaming Greenpeace for blocking the GM crop is “a sleazy sleight of hand to hide the fact that after 30 years of development, Golden Rice is still not ready”. Glenn Davis Stone, Research Professor of Environmental Science at Sweet Briar College, also points out that there is no evidence that Golden Rice can improve vitamin levels in its target population and that farmers may not be prepared to even plant it without special inducements to do so.
Golden Rice: why has it been banned and what happens now? – podcast
Glenn Davis Stone and Robin McKie both feature in a Guardian podcast on the latest twist in the long and controversial journey of Golden Rice. The Guardian’s podcast is much more balanced than the pieces published in the Guardian’s sister paper, The Observer, with Prof Stone pointing out such problems as Golden Rice’s still unstudied health impacts, that it has been developed in a now obsolete variety of rice that farmers would not normally choose to plant, and that its beta-carotene content is unstable.
Philippines' farmer-scientist network bites back on hyping of Golden Rice
The Philippines has local and indigenous crops that are naturally beta-carotene-rich, says farmer-scientist network MASIPAG. Yet they're going to waste while GM Golden Rice enjoys limitless resources from government, the International Rice Research Institute, and corporations. MASIPAG also points out that official data show that the yields of Golden Rice are below average, meaning that if advocates get their way and the crop is eventually widely planted, this will result in “a decrease of 750,000 metric tons of rice or roughly a reduction of 4% in the national rice productivity rate of the country – 750, 000 metric tons of rice which can sufficiently feed more than four million Filipinos for an entire year”.
EUROPE
Swiss petition to curb genetic engineering gets nearly 25,000 signatures
A petition in Switzerland to extend a moratorium on genetic engineering, or GM technology, for a fifth time has been handed in with 24,780 signatures. The petition was submitted in Bern, with authors calling for a transitional arrangement until the implementation of the planned Food Protection Initiative. This is set be launched in the autumn and will introduce strict rules for genetic engineering. Behind the petition is the Association for GMO-Free Food, which is worried that the current moratorium on genetic engineering, in place since 2005, is set to expire at the end of 2025. Genetic engineering companies want the Swiss authorities to lift the moratorium, which states that GMOs can currently only be cultivated in Switzerland for research.
GMO crops continue their downward spiral in Europe
Only one GM crop is authorised for cultivation in the EU (Bayer’s MON810 maize) and the latest figures show that the tiny amount being grown – limited to Spain and Portugal – continues its downward spiral, shrinking by as much as a third in the last year for which figures are available. In Germany, the cultivation of MON810 has been banned for the last 15 years.
Bayer’s GMO insecticide-producing maize produces invasive transgenic wild plants
At Bayer’s annual stockholders’ meeting in Germany, Testbiotech called for an end to the cultivation in the EU of its GM maize MON810, which produces an insecticidal (Bt) protein. It flagged up research published by Spanish scientists that had found that the GM maize has crossed with teosinte, a related wild plant species. and transferred its insecticidal protein. The resulting GMO hybrids are now spreading and showing signs of increased invasiveness. In addition, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently expressed concern about signs of resistance developing in insects (the European corn borer) in Spain, which the GM maize is meant to combat. Resistance to Bt toxins among pests has also been a growing problem in the US, where the EPA recommends phasing out many of the Bt crops on the market due to pest resistance, including stacked trait varieties introduced to try and overcome resistance to single trait varieties.
ADM in Germany wants to replace Ukrainian soybeans with local ones
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is looking for suppliers of non-GMO soybeans for its oil extraction plant in Mainz. Currently, soybeans remain a niche crop in Germany – last year soybeans were grown on 45 thousand hectares in the country, which is half as much as the area under vineyards. At the same time, ADM sees a growing demand for non-GMO soybeans grown in Europe.
GMO ANIMALS
GM salmon firm AquaBounty agrees to sell Indiana salmon farm for $9.5m
Wisconsin-based salmon and leafy greens producer Superior Fresh has agreed to buy GM salmon producer AquaBounty’s land-based salmon farm in Albany, Indiana, for $9.5 million, AquaBounty said in a market filing. Portions of the proceeds of the sale are expected to be used to reduce AquaBounty’s debt, the company said. Unlike AquaBounty, Superior Fresh doesn't see the advantage of genetic engineering, even in plants, and states on its website that its fish eat a non-GMO, organic diet. It says its fish contain twice the omega-3 content of other salmon, and “are not fed like most farmed fish, which are too often fed with formaldehyde, pesticides, antibiotics, and GMOs”. AquaBounty put its 1,200-tonnes-per-year Indiana facility on the market in February to raise cash. The company is building a 10,000-tonne RAS facility in Pioneer, Ohio, but paused work last year due to rising costs which had increased to nearly $485-$495 million.
Why genetically modifying wild animals is not a good option
There is currently debate about whether humans should genetically engineer wild animals to improve their welfare. A new paper, subtitled "Why genetically modifying wild sentient animals is not a good option", emphasises that a) the benefits of genetic engineering are overestimated and at the same time harms from its development and use are underestimated, b) the assumption that genetic engineering is an appropriate "last resort" tool is wrong, c) many arguments in favour of genetic engineering are based on an inadequate understanding of ecology and biotechnological processes, and d) the debate downplays the importance of self-determination for wild animals. The authors recommend "a more respectful attitude towards and treatment of non-human individuals and the ecosystems in which they live. To achieve this, other measures should be investigated and used than genetic engineering."
SYNBIO, TECHNO-FOODS
Synthetic biology firms in retreat
Synthetic biology ("precision fermentation") firms, like Ginkgo Bioworks, Amyris, LS9 and Solazyme, have sucked in billions of investor money with talk of engineering bacteria to produce biofuels, plastics, foods, textiles, and more. But three have now gone to the wall, with Amyris the most recent to file for bankruptcy, and Ginkgo is in retreat. Ginkgo is to lay off as many as 400 employees, more than a third of its workforce, as part of a broader restructuring aimed at radically reducing costs. When Ginkgo was preparing to begin trading as a much sought after public stock in 2021, an article for MIT Technology Review commented, “To skeptics... Ginkgo is a company with modest scientific achievements and little revenue, and its greatest talents lie in winning glowing press coverage and raising money.”
Whole Foods betrays its non-GMO roots: The Impossible Foods controversy
In a stunning move that has left health food advocates shaking their heads, Whole Foods Market, long celebrated as a paragon of organic and non-GMO foods, has partnered with Impossible Foods, a company that brazenly embraces GMOs, and even at times synthetic biology, in its “plant-based” meat products. This alliance not only contradicts Whole Foods’ carefully cultivated image but also raises serious concerns about the potential health risks posed by Impossible Foods’ offerings.
Fake meats ruthlessly patented by Impossible Foods and “small number” of others
Impossible Foods holds more than half of the plant-based-meat related patents in both the US and the EU, according to a Stanford University investigation in 2023. And in both regions of the world, the Stanford investigators found that nearly all plant-based meat patents were published by just “a small number of private companies or individuals”. Ruthless patenting inevitably leads to intellectual property (IP) lawsuits. And since March 2022, Impossible has been engaged in one against Motif Foodworks and Ginkgo Bioworks, which spun off Motif in 2019, over the production of heme proteins (which give fake meat a “bleeding” appearance, like rare-cooked real meat) via synthetic biology using a genetically engineered yeast strain.
Lab-grown meat’s biggest player axes employees, cites economic uncertainty
The billion dollar startup Upside Foods is dismissing some of its workforce and ending the production of the “whole-cut chicken” that helped prompt suggestions that the company could be the next Theranos – the biotech startup that imploded due to fraud. More on how Upside helped lab-grown meat be declared “one of the worst technology failures of 2023” here.
RESEARCH ON ALTERNATIVES
Organic farming leads to adaptations in plants' genetic material
Plants adapt genetically over time to the special conditions of organic farming, becoming more resilient than conventionally grown seed to stresses such as disease or a lack of nutrients or water, a long-term study conducted at the University of Bonn shows. Using the same barley seed but growing it in either organic or conventional farming conditions, the organically farmed barley became more genetically heterogeneous (varied) year upon year, whereas the conventionally farmed barley became more genetically uniform over time. The study shows the importance in organic farming of saving seed on-farm and replanting it year after year, to enable the seed to progressively adapt to the local conditions.
New report: Agroecological Intelligence – Establishing Criteria for Agroecologically Appropriate Technology
Agroecological farmers and growers are not anti-technology, but they are suspicious of top-down, developer-driven technology which is often removed from their interests and a distraction from the wider reforms needed for a more sustainable, fair and resilient food system. They are, however, enthusiastic about agri-innovations which have been designed and developed with them, their values and needs in mind. These are some of the findings from the 18-month Agroecological Intelligence Project from A Bigger Conversation which draws on extensive and in-depth workshops with UK agroecological farmers and growers. The final report has just been published and includes a guide to help practitioners assess agricultural technologies for their compatibility with agroecology as well as recommendations for significant changes in the way agritech is developed, regulated, financed and promoted. In GMWatch’s view, this is a much needed and important report that gives a voice to the people best placed to make judgments on appropriate technology for agroecological systems – agroecological farmers themselves.
..................................................................
We hope you’ve found this newsletter interesting. Please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you!