Review 598: GMOs in General, Part I

Welcome to Part I of our GMOs in General Review, which covers GMO FAILURES, RESISTANCE, RESTRICTIONS AND BANS, and FOOD AND SEED SOVEREIGNTY. Part II will follow soon.

GMO FAILURES

Court declares GMO wheat parent company bankrupt

On 24 March Fernando Mécoli, a judge in the Civil and Commercial Court of Rosario, Argentina, ruled that bankruptcy proceedings should be initiated against Bioceres SA, the Argentine parent company of Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp., which markets the herbicide-tolerant and supposedly drought-tolerant GMO wheat known as HB4. The court must now appoint liquidators. Bioceres has been torn apart by a rift between two groups of shareholders, with both sides filing legal complaints against each other. It’s hard to know what will finally emerge from the insolvency and the legal battles around it. But even if Bioceres’ HB4 GMO wheat were to go down with the parent company, there would be little to mourn. An analysis of official government data by eminent Brazilian and Argentine researchers noted that claims by Bioceres that HB4 wheat gave higher yields than other varieties were false. On the contrary, it yielded 17% less than the national average. The researchers also concluded that “The drought tolerance, announced by Bioceres and endorsed by officials from regulatory agencies, was not evident in the field.” But that hasn’t stopped the US government, among others, from approving it – for more on GMO wheat, see RESISTANCE, RESTRICTIONS AND BANS.

India: Pest resistance increasing in Bt cotton, says Minister
Pest resistance has been increasing in Bt cotton in India, according to Ramnath Thakur, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Though the Bt toxin produced by genetically modified plants has continued to control one major cotton pest (American bollworm), the pink bollworm has developed resistance to the Bt toxin and is becoming a major pest in all cotton-growing areas. Sucking pests are also surging, the Minister said. In the northwestern state of Haryana, the devastation has been so great that cotton farmers are said to only be hanging on by a thread, as yields are slashed and profits are squeezed to the point where many farmers are ditching cotton for rice.

Bt cotton creating more robust longer-lived pests
A recently published study in the journal Nature shows pink bollworm larvae feeding on Bt cotton gain greater weight and have increased longevity. It seems the physiological stress the larvae undergo on Bt cotton “delays development but allows extended feeding and compensatory growth”, resulting in more robust pests.

Studies show Bt crop cultivation allows pests to spread more quickly
Several recent studies show that pests can spread more quickly if they feed on Bt plants. According to the studies, the offspring of the surviving insects have a changed wing shape that facilitates longer flights and faster spread. This poses risks for the environment and agriculture. The pests include pests, such as corn earworm, fall armyworm, beet armyworm and western corn rootworm, which are a significant problem in the cultivation of crops such as corn, soybeans and cotton, amongst others.

Struggling gene therapy industry hopes regulations will weaken on gene editing
MIT Technology Review journalists have been writing about the gene-editing technology CRISPR since 2013, calling it the biggest biotech breakthrough of the century. But the publication’s new article on gene-edited drugs says: “So far, there’s been only one gene-editing drug approved. It’s been used commercially on only about 40 patients, all with sickle-cell disease. It’s becoming clear that the impact of CRISPR isn’t as big as we all hoped. In fact, there’s a pall of discouragement over the entire field – with some journalists saying the gene-editing revolution has ‘lost its mojo’.” In response, the industry is hoping for lighter regulation.

RESISTANCE, RESTRICTIONS AND BANS

Kenya: Anti-GMO activists hold protests
Anti-GMO activists have held protests in Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city. “We’re going to fight GMOs in the streets, in court and in every other way until GMOs are banned in this country,” said farmer and farmers’ advocacy leader Mary Kathomi. Kathomi described the introduction of GMOs as “food colonisation” and accused the government of forcing GMOs on Kenyans instead of supporting indigenous seeds. “You legalise GMOs and at the same time list the Kenya Seed Company for privatisation, what are you doing to the Kenyan people?” she asked.

Kenya: Legal battle continues over lifting of GMO ban
The Kenyan Peasants League’s legal battle to stop the lifting of Kenya’s GMO ban is expected to result in a judgement in the High Court on 24 April. If the judgement goes against them, KPL say they are ready to fight on to the Supreme Court.

Nigeria: Biosafety agency orders suspension of new GMO cotton varieties
Nigeria’s National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has ordered the suspension of four new transgenic cotton hybrid varieties after identifying compliance abnormalities concerning their registration. It says field trials and related activities involving these GMOs were conducted without prior authorisation, inspection, or regulatory oversight by the agency in violation of national biosafety regulations. In the meantime, an editorial in The Guardian (Nigeria), the country’s most respected newspaper, has called for an end to “Nigeria’s fixation with genetically modified foods”. The paper points to the history of contradictory statements on GMO safety made by the country’s regulators and says the government should stop putting Nigerians in harm’s way. It says Nigerians believe “the government should be proactive in promoting safe food production, given the country’s vast arable land for organic food production to feed the nation and guarantee food security”.

Ukraine bans GMO crops as farmers race to meet EU standards by 2028
Ukraine has banned cultivation of GM crops and begun overhauling its agricultural regulations to align with EU production standards, First Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said. Legislation fully implementing EU GMO standards enters into force in September 2026, banning GMO corn and temporarily prohibiting GMO sugar beets and rapeseed. “Ukraine has already adopted the European regulatory model for GMOs and is moving toward GMO-free country status,” Vysotskyi said. “For EU exports, only non-GMO products are used.”

Swiss anti-GMO initiative gathers enough signatures for a vote at the ballot box
An initiative to continue to protect Swiss food from GMOs, backed by 137,000 supporters, submitted to the Federal Chancellery in Bern, will force a nationwide vote on the issue after surpassing the threshold of 100,000 signatures. The initiative calls for continued strict controls once the current moratorium on GM crops expires in 2030. “People in Switzerland want to continue to decide for themselves what goes on their plate,” said Martin Graf, president of the Association for GMO-Free Food. The initiative is also intended as a rebuttal to draft legislation on genetic engineering put forward by the Federal Council last year. Campaigners argue that the government’s proposal does not adequately protect people, animals or the environment.

US pushback on GMO wheat

Friends of the Earth US has issued a new report warning that HB4 GMO wheat – recently approved by the US government – poses serious risks to public health, the environment, and farmers’ livelihoods. Among its drawbacks is the fact it is engineered to tolerate glufosinate, a highly hazardous herbicide banned in the EU because it’s toxic to reproduction. Research links it to premature birth, miscarriage, stillbirth, and birth defects in offspring. As a result, a coalition that includes FoE US, Beyond Pesticides, and like-minded others has launched a petition asking major food processors and mills to reject the use of GMO wheat.
TAKE ACTION: Tell food companies to reject GMO wheat! Sign the petition here.

Argentina: 30 years of GMO soy have been devastating but resistance continues to grow

The journalist Dario Aranda reports on how the first introduction of GMO soy in March 1996 marked a turning point in Argentina’s agricultural model and served as a beachhead for GM crops in South America. Over three decades of the GM model, he writes, thousands of families have been evicted from their lands, millions of hectares of land have been ravaged, and epidemics of diseases caused by agrochemicals have burgeoned. But resistance and the determination to sow the seeds of a different model of agriculture continue to grow. Among the greatest successes was the successful four-year struggle in Córdoba against the planned construction of a major Monsanto complex. The site was blockaded and construction halted by protesters, and Monsanto was eventually driven out, amidst the rallying cry “No to Monsanto in Córdoba and Latin America”. Read Dario’s article for more of the victories against agribusiness.

Indian farm group close to Modi wary of GM products in US deal
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s close ally in the farm sector has raised concerns about GM products entering India after the interim US trade deal, as resistance to the pact builds among domestic agricultural groups. “We are not comfortable with the import of cheaper GM soybean oil and animal feed processed from GM corn,” said Mohini Mishra, the head of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. On 12 February, thousands of farmers gathered across the country from Punjab to Tamil Nadu to demonstrate against the pact.

FOOD AND SEED SOVEREIGNTY

The battle over seeds in Latin America
Corporate encroachment is increasingly disguised as legal protection. Under laws that allegedly safeguard seeds, doors are opened for their registration, certification, or privatisation. Faced with this encroachment, Indigenous and rural communities defend their seeds as if they were a living territory. What is at stake is not just agriculture, but an essential pillar of Latin American societies, reports GRAIN, which works to stop peasant seeds being appropriated by large corporations.

World’s food system in hands of small corporate core
In an interview with Jacobin, Pat Mooney, who has spent half a century studying agribusiness monopolies, biotechnology, seed patents, and the global food system, talks about the dangers of relying on multinational seed corporations for our seed supply. Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta, and BASF now control roughly 60 percent of the world’s commercial seed and pesticide markets, an unprecedented level of consolidation. “Seed is the first link in the food chain,” Mooney points out. “If you control the seed, you control the entire food system. And that control now rests in the hands of four or five global corporations. They’ve consolidated not just seeds but the agricultural chemicals tied to them – and they’re pushing into other sectors of the food chain. Once this control is lost, your soil is effectively under occupation. You become dependent on external supplies, and they decide what you grow, what you pay, and how you sell it.”

US farmers “looking for a way out” of Big Ag extortion
In a short video interview, regenerative farmer Zach Lahn breaks down how Big Ag is “extorting our farmers”. Some quotes:
“We are seeing the hollowing out of our rural communities.”
“In the last 10 years… the top five agriculture companies have made $150 billion in profit.”
“At the same time, we’ve lost 200,000 family farms.”
“I just yesterday had a meeting with 70 traditional farmers… just north of my farm here.”
“Farmers actually do not like these companies in the first place.”
“For many years, these companies have been buying up all the smaller companies, reducing competition and creating monopolies.”
“If you ask any farmer what their biggest issue has been over the past couple years, they’re not gonna talk about tariffs. What they’re gonna talk about is that input companies keep driving their prices up and they have no choice of where to go to buy something different.”
“Farmers are looking for a way out.”

European farmers, small breeders and seed diversity organisations call on MEPs to defend agrobiodiversity
In March, farmers, small breeders, seed savers and conservation organisations sent a clear message to policymakers: Europe’s new seed marketing laws – Regulation of Production and Marketing of Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) – must safeguard cultivated plant diversity, implement farmers’ rights, and support small-scale and organic breeders. The existing PRM marketing directives have favoured uniform, standardised varieties, making it difficult for heterogeneous and locally adapted varieties to access the market and restricting farmers’ rights. The new PRM regulation must correct this, by:
* Recognising farmers’ rights on seeds and other PRM.
* Guaranteeing real market access for non-uniform and organic varieties.
* Providing strong support for the dynamic conservation of cultivated plant diversity.
* Designing proportionate rules that do not exclude small operators from the market through excessive administrative burden.

Images (except for wheat petition image): Shutterstock (licensed purchase)

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