News
Archives
For an archive
of previous itemsby month, follow the links below
March
2001
February 2001
January 2001
2000
1999
1998
January 2001
Horn
Of Plenty Or 'Frankenfoods'?
28/1/2001, Fort Worth
Star-Telegram
Depending on who's doing the
talking, genetic engineering is either
the wave of the future, yielding bountiful
harvests and health benefits to an ever-demanding
world, or the curse of "Frankenfoods"
bearing unknown threats to humankind
and nature in general. What has been
lost in the debate is the irony that
many researchers seek the same ends
as their critics.
Scientists
Crack Gene Code Of Rice - Mapping Could Lead To Hardier
Plants, Relieve Malnutrition
28/1/2001, Associated Press
Scientists have decoded the genetic blueprint
of rice, a staple for half the world’s population, in
a breakthrough that could lead to hardier varieties
and ease malnutrition.
NFU
Expresses Grave Reservations About Supermarket GM Moves
26/1/2001, National Farmers' Union
The NFU has expressed grave reservations about
the latest moves by some of the major supermarkets to
sell meat and animal products from animals reared on
non-GM animal feed. The move - which the NFU believes
is not based on any scientific evidence - threatens
to put a major cost burden on already hard-pressed farmers.
Organic
Farming: From Messianics To Marketing
24/1/2001, Agriculture Committee,
House Of Commons
The organic industry must develop its ability
to market its products effectively so that they appeal
not to sentiment but to proven benefits. This is the
central conclusion reached by MPs in a report published
today by the Agriculture Committee. The foreword to
the Report, reproduced below, sets out the position
of the Committee and the steps which should be taken
by the Government and by the organic sector to retain
consumer confidence in their products.
Organic
Farming vs. The Environment
24/1/2001, Center for Global Food
Issues
By 2050, when world population is expected to
reach nine billion, the world will need three times
its current food harvest. Under an all-organic regime,
farmers would have to plow virtually every bit of available
land to get it. So what's the solution? Biotech.
Poor
Nations 'Losers' In GM Food Ban
20/1/2001, The Age (Australia)
The battle over genetically modified food is threatening
to unleash a new form of colonialism between developed and developing
countries, a world agriculture expert said yesterday. Per
Pinstrup-Andersen, the director-general of the International
Food Policy Research Institute, said the GM policies of the
European Union were a form of imperialism.
Fighting
Famine In The Far East
17/1/2001, Lancashire Evening Telegraph
A Bolton scientist has pioneered a way to stop thousands
of people starving from famine -- with a genetically modified radish.
Cooperation
Can Stop Starvation
15/1/2001, Successful Farming
Scientists not only are standing in support of biotechnology
but also are urging that its benefits be extended to the people
who need it most: hungry people in the developing world.
Benefits
Of Genetically Modified Crops Continue In 1999
10/1/2001, NCFAP
U.S. farmers continued to experience increased yields, decreased
costs and the ease of management offered by genetically modified crops
in 1999, according to a new report by the National Center for Food
and Agricultural Policy (NCFAP). The new study is an update of earlier
estimates by NCFAP of benefits accrued by farmers in 1997 and 1998.
Northern
Chief Backs GM Food
7/1/2001, Sunday Business
Northern
Foods chairman Lord Haskins is reported as urging consumers and manufacturers
to reconsider their opposition to genetically-modified food, even though
his own company pledged to phase out GM ingredients 18 months ago.
Are
Green Activists The New Imperialists?
7/1/2001, Times of India
The old Christian crusade for supposedly saving souls has given way
to the new Green crusade for supposedly saving the earth. This new imperialism
needs to be resisted as sternly as the old Christian-colonial one. Its
professed aim is to save the environment, but its practical effect in
many instances may be ruinous for poor countries.
Mr
Green Thumb
4/1/2001, Times of India
Peter H Raven, President, American Association for the Advancement of
Science, and TIME's 'Hero of the Planet', has devoted his life to biodiversity
and environment studies. Raven speaks to Narayani Ganesh on depletion
of biota worldwide, the importance of promoting co-evolution of plants
and animals to conserve biodiversity, the recent breakthroughs in biotechnology
and what it holds for sustainable development.
Dr.
Strangelunch
2/1/2001, Reason Magazine
Opponents of crop biotechnology can’t stand the fact that it will help
developed countries. New technologies, whether reaping machines in the
19th century or computers today, are always adopted by the rich before
they become available to the poor. The fastest way to get a new technology
to poor people is to speed up the product cycle so the technology can
spread quickly.
Knowledge Centre, which contains other background reports and studies in addition to the news items archived here.
Monsanto
in the UK | Biotech Primer | Knowledge
Centre | Discussion
About Monsanto | Links | Comments & Questions | Home | News
Copyright Monsanto Company