Archived News

August 2005

Monsanto Wins EU Backing for Genetically Modified Rapeseed
31 August 2005 Bloomberg
Monsanto Co., the world's largest developer of genetically engineered crops, won European Union backing for import of a modified rapeseed [GT73].

No Allergy Problems from GM Corn or Soy: Portugal Study
31 August 2005 Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology via Reuters Health
Despite concerns from some critics of genetically modified crops that the foods may raise consumers' risk of allergic reactions, a new study finds no evidence that this is the case.

New Hope for Green Biotechnology in Germany
31 August 2005 Handelsblatt via CheckBiotech.org
Politicians from the German Christian Democratic and the Liberal Parties announced that they want to correct the current rigid policy regarding green biotechnology.

Commission Authorises Import of GM-Oilseed Rape for Use in Animal Feed
31 August 2005 European Commission
The European Commission authorised today the placing on the market of the genetically modified oilseed rape known as GT73 for import and processing.

Roundup Ready Alfalfa Now Available to Producers
31 August 2005 Farm & Ranch Guide
Most of the regulatory hurdles have been cleared and Roundup® Ready (RR) alfalfa seed is now available for producers.

Experts Stress for Awareness about GM Food Crops
31 August 2005 Bangladesh News
A group of Biotechnology experts on Monday stressed the need for awareness among the people about genetically modified crops, which are safe for consumption.

Nutritional Impact of Monsanto's New Low Linolenic Soy Beans Now Being Harvested in the United States
31 August 2005 Monsanto UK
Vistive low linolenic acid soybean oil is a new soybean oil that does not require hydrogenation to be used in many types of processed foods.

'No Evidence to Show GMO a Danger'
30 August 2005 iAfrica
There is no scientific peer proven evidence anywhere in the world to show that food from GM crops poses a danger to humans or animals and to the environment.

GMO Farming Offers 'Immense Economic Advantages'
30 August 2005 Mail & Guardian
South Africa planted 400,000 hectares of GM crops, and a large percentage was grown by smallholder emergent farmers.

GM Crop that Holds on to its Seeds Offers Higher Yields
30 August 2005 SciDev.Net
Researchers have found a way of boosting the yield of a major crop by stopping its seedpods from bursting open.

Artist Takes a Bite out of Apple
29 August 2005 The Guardian
GM crops are widely seen as unacceptable in the west but may be the difference between starvation and survival in the developing world.

Biotechnology Holds Plenty of Promise for Agriculture
29 August 2005 Farm Bureau
Imagine food and feed crops that tolerate drought better and corn that converts to ethanol more easily and efficiently – these are just two of the breakthroughs expected from biotechnology research.

This Is One GM That’ll Be the Boss
29 August 2005 The Economic Times
Environmentalists will cry murder but the coming decades may well belong to genetically modified crops in major parts of the world as higher yields and lower costs turn sentiment and farmers in most rural areas across the world benefit.

Monsanto Donates K124m for Relief Food
29 August 2005 Nation Online
Maize seed maker Monsanto Malawi through the worldwide Monsanto Fund on Friday donated $1 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) for the provision of emergency relief food aid to the poor and drought-affected population in the country.

USAID Project to Promote GM Crops
29 August 2005 Financial Express
The consortium partners propose to boost food security, nutrition and environmental quality in Africa, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Philippines.

Transgenic Bt Technology: 4. Variation in Gene Expression
29 August 2005 Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education
No crop variety, either conventional or genetically engineered, can be expected to perform uniformly throughout the entire area, or history, of its cultivation.

Large EU Project Has Been Launched: Improving Health by Exploiting the Whole Grain
29 August 2005 eFinland
Novel cereal foods can be a meaningful tool in the fight against metabolic syndrome related diseases.

Transgenic Bt Technology: 3. Expression of Transgenes
27 August 2005 Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education
It is necessary to know how a Bt gene is expressing in a transgenic variety, in order to evaluate its effectiveness against the targeted pest.

Fact Sheet on Biotech Crops in India
26 August 2005 Crop Biotech Net
There are now 14 biotech crops under development in India as of 2005.

G&D-Rockefeller Fellowships for Enhancing the Careers of East African Women Scientists
26 August 2005 CGIAR
G&D is proud to announce the first 11 awardees of a new fellowship program for women crop scientists working in national research institutes (NARIs) and universities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Workshop Report Details Sorghum Genome Research
26 August 2005 Crop Biotech Net
Workshop participants proposed a three-stage strategy to complete the sequencing of the sorghum genome.

CORDIA to Host DTI Round-Table on Biotechnology
26 August 2005 Cordia Convention
The UK Department of Trade and Industry has chosen this year’s CORDIA Biotechnology Convention (London, Oct 9th-13th) to hold an international Round-table on Biotechnology.

Iowans Talk Biotech with Chinese
26 August 2005 Truth About Trade & Technology
Biotechnology will be critical to feeding China’s growing population, said a key government official at a forum with Iowa farmers in Beijing.

Research Could Alter Perception of GMOs
26 August 2005 Farmers Guardian
A team of American scientists has discovered a plant gene that may alter research and production of genetically modified crops as well as public opinion of the technology worldwide.

Poplars Long for Zinc
25 August 2005 Checkbiotech.org
Poplars are now proposed as efficient cleaners of soil containing high concentrations of zinc.

Monsanto Readies Distribution of New GM Corn
25 August 2005 Sun Star
Seed giant Monsanto Philippines will begin over the commercial distribution here of a genetically-engineered corn variety that could resist both the destructive Asiatic corn borer and herbicides used to eliminate field weeds.

Bacteria Are Key to 'Green' Plastics, Drugs
24 August 2005 Rice University
Developed at Rice University, the technology uses a genetically modified form of the bacteria E. coli that metabolizes glucose and produces almost pure succinate.

Small but Powerful
24 August 2005 Checkbiotech.org
Plants are a promising system for the production of pharmaceutical proteins.

Chinese Potato Link in Scottish Sights
24 August 2005 The Courier
There is, according to Dr Wei, no consumer resistance to GM crops in China, which will widen their options for an accelerated breeding programme.

Corn Research Digs Deeper into Fundamental Traits
24 August 2005 Iowa Farmer Today
Corn research is reaching deeper into the fundamentals of what drives yield in a plant.

Research Aimed at Drought-Resistant Corn
24 August 2005 Iowa Farmer Today
University and seed industry researchers are busy working to find a combination of traits in corn that could minimize yield losses during dry periods.

'Green' Radicals Shun Science
24 August 2005 The Daily Oklahoman
Genetically enhanced crops reduce chemical pesticides, boost yield and reduce soil erosion.

Top of the Crops
23 August 2005 The Guardian
The world's population is expanding by 86 million a year - but GM rice can save us from famine.

U.S. Farms Could Yield Bumper Crop of Energy
23 August 2005 USA Today
The fact that glues, inks, paints, plastics and fuels can be made with soybeans is for most people merely a fascinating bit of science.

Fears of Genetically Modified Crops Are Unfounded, Panel Says
22 August 2005 Lincoln Journal Star
Eating products made with genetically modified crops is not a risky venture, despite fears such scientific tinkering generates, a panel of experts said Saturday.

Forum Touts Benefits of Genetically Modified Crops
22 August 2005 AP via Sioux City Journal
Misleading information in the public domain about risks often drowns out the positives of genetically modified crops, such as reducing the need for pesticides and adding vitamins and minerals.

Toxic Scare Stories Help Raise Funds
22 August 2005 The Calgary Herald
In a curious way, those same groups, by condemning GM plants, are encouraging the continued and increased use of pesticides.

Sorghum to Be the Second Cereal Crop Sequenced
22 August 2005 National Grain Sorghum Producers
The National Sorghum Producers (NSP) announced that sorghum will be the second cereal crop genome to be sequenced.

Scientists Hope to Ease GM Fears
21 August 2005 BBC
US scientists have developed a new method for genetically modifying crops which they believe may remove some concerns over safety.

Britain's Organic Food Scam Exposed
21 August 2005 The Observer
Britain's organic food revolution was facing its first serious test last night after an Observer investigation revealed disturbing levels of fraud within the industry.

GM Coco to Boost RP Market Position
21 August 2005 Manila Bulletin
The Philippines is developing a genetically modified (GM) coconut with increased lauric acid to equal at least canola's 60 percent content to enable it to keep a leadership in the world's vegetable oil export market.

AIT Holds Seminar on Crop Biotechnology
20 August 2005 China Post
Dr. Chassy called for "distinguishing fact from fiction" to increase public awareness of the safety of GM crops.

All GM Crops Have to Pass Hundreds of Safety Checks
18 August 2005 The Daily Express
The biotech companies involved in the development of GM crops are obliged to adhere to a strict regulatory regime.

The Future of Agriculture is Now
18 August 2005 AgWeb
Biotechnology is rapidly becoming the 'new conventional'.

Study Points the Way to More Nutritious Animal Feed
17 August 2005 Duke University
Their studies indicate that it is feasible to engineer such plants to significantly improve their quality as animal feeds -- a potentially important boon to the hog and poultry industries, said the researchers.

Genetically Modified Trees, Plants Clean Up
17 August 2005 AP via The Post Standard
On the site of a former hat factory in Danbury, Conn., a stand of genetically altered cottonwood trees sucks mercury from the contaminated soil.

Roundup Ready Corn Acreage Up 40% Over Last Year
17 August 2005 Agriculture Online
Growers planted the Roundup Ready® Corn 2 System on more than 24 million acres in 2005, a record level.

Monsanto Dismisses GM Maize "Loophole" Claims
17 August 2005 Society of Chemical Industry via Checkbiotech.org
Reports that UK farmers can exploit a GM loophole to grow their own GM maize are wildly exaggerated, according to Monsanto.

The Benefits of GM Crops
17 August 2005 Online Opinion
These transgenic cottons put important management constraints on farmers - to preserve the value of the impacts of the new technologies.

Ghana Drafts GM Safety Legislation
17 August 2005 SciDevNet
If the Ghanaian cabinet approves the environment ministry's biosafety legislation, it will go to parliament for ratification.

More Crop for the Drop
17 August 2005 The Washington Times
Gene-splicing, sometimes called genetic modification (GM), offers plant breeders tools to make old crop plants do spectacular new things.

Cocoa Research Could Guarantee Crop Quality and Yield
16 August 2005 Food Navigator
A new research project aimed at improving the quality and yields of cocoa crops through a better understanding of the plant’s genetic make-up is being undertaken by the UK’s University of Reading.

Greenpeace Anti-GM Campaign Doomed
15 August 2005 Online Opinon
It really is time for Greenpeace to move on and accept the opportunities presented by the new GM technology - accept that their campaign is doomed.

Philippine Corn Acreage May Increase With Transgenic Seed
15 August 2005 Dow Jones via Yahoo! Singapore
Philippine corn acreage is expected to increase with commercial availability of a new corn variety resistant to the Asiatic corn borer, the Department of Agriculture said Monday.

Genetically Modified Crops Used to Find Gold
15 August 2005 Azonano via Checkbiotech.org
In the future, industrial nanoparticles may not be produced in a laboratory, but grown in fields of genetically engineered crops - what might be called “particle farming.”

Please Be Careful
15 August 2005 Legal Times
The enshrinement of the precautionary principle sets Europe down a path that will wreak havoc on the economy and public health of not only itself but also its trading partners.

No: Much of It Is Risky to Eat and -- Gasp -- Produced by Big Corporations Anyway
15 August 2005 Duluth News Tribune
The romantic dream of better, organically grown food coming exclusively from a local family farm is just that -- a dream, an illusion.

Still Hungry
14 August 2005 The Observer
Many agronomists and even some NGO lobbyists now admit that bio-technology has to be allowed to play its part in providing for the world's future.

Long-Sought Flower-Inducing Molecule Found
13 August 2005 The Swedish Research Council
Researchers at the Umeå Plant Science Centre at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden, report about a breakthrough in our understanding of how plants control their flowering.

My Favorite Things Or What’s in the Biotech Pipeline?
12 August 2005 Truth About Trade & Technology
Biotechnology has transformed our lives. The transformation will not only continue but the pace of change will actually quicken.

Statement RE: My Sadness at the Privatisation of Iraq
12 August 2005 Monsanto UK
The law does not prohibit Iraqi farmers from using or saving "traditional" seeds.

Bt Cotton Study Doesn't Raise Doubts Over its Effectiveness
12 August 2005 The Hindu Business Line
Mr Keshav Kranthi has said that - contrary to reports - his study on Bt cotton "has not raised any doubts about the Bt toxins ability to kill bollworm.

Agriculture and Intercultural Dialogue: World Food Day 2005 Theme
12 August 2005 FAO
'Agriculture and intercultural dialogue' is the theme of this year's World Food Day, FAO said today.

Work on Advanced Rice Variety
12 August 2005 Times of India
Scientists in India are raring to start work on creating an advanced rice variety which would be pest resistant, have higher nutritional value and be able to survive in dry, almost drought-like conditions.

'US$15 Billion Needed' for African Crop Research
12 August 2005 SciDevNet
Some $15 billion will need to be spent on agricultural research in sub-Saharan Africa over the next 20 years if efforts to tackle hunger and malnutrition are to succeed.

Enriched Lysine Plants to Fight Malnutrition
11 August 2005 Checkbiotech.org
In order to decrease the problem of malnutrition, various studies have been carried out to obtain a better understanding of the biosynthesis of lysine.

Call to Adopt Modern, Improved Technology to Boost Crop Output
11 August 2005 Financial Express
Agriculture Minister MK Anwar has underscored the need for adopting modern and improved technologies in agriculture to increase crop production in marginal land of the country.

India Seen Heading for Record Cotton Crop
11 August 2005 Reuters
Yields were expected to be better this year with the growing popularity of genetically modified cotton, which was introduced in the country in 2002.

Area Farmers Boost Use of Biotech Corn Types
11 August 2005 Kansas City Business Journal
Missouri and Kansas farmers increased their use of all biotech varieties of corn in 2005 compared with 2004, according to results of a survey by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

How Barley Deals with Aluminium
10 August 2005 Checkbiotech.org
By genetically engineering barley, researchers have now been able to make it more tolerant to an acidic environment.

Revelations of Rice
10 August 2005 University of Arizona
The complete genetic code of the rice plant has been deciphered by researchers at The University of Arizona's plant sciences department and UA's BIO5 Institute and other members of an international consortium.

Health Professionals Hold Positive Attitudes Toward Biotechnology
10 August 2005 Truth About Trade & Technology
Attitudes toward GE were positive...All groups supported the use of genetic engineering to produce human medicines and the current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling policy.

International Research Team Announces Finished Rice Genome
10 August 2005 The Institute for Genomic Research
TIGR scientists say first complete crop genome will improve agriculture.

'Worst GM Pollution Incident' Vanishes
09 August 2005 The Telegraph
What was billed by the media as the world's worst incident of pollution by genetically-engineered crops, one that provoked a row among scientists, has vanished, says a study published today.

Genetically Modified Maize Not Found in Southern Mexico
09 August 2005 Ohio State University
After analyzing tens of thousands of seeds from maize crops grown in 2003 and 2004, researchers from Mexico and the United States found no evidence of transgenes in these indigenous varieties.

Duh.... No GM Genes in Mexican Corn
09 August 2005 AgBioWorld
Mexican and U.S. scientists have now positively confirmed that biotech traits are not present in native landraces of maize in Oaxaca.

CHS To Process Monsanto’s Vistive™ Low-Linolenic Soybeans
09 August 2005 Monsanto Co.
Monsanto announced today that CHS will be a participating processor of Monsanto’s VISTIVE™ low-linolenic soybeans in 2006 and will market VISTIVE oil for use by the food industry.

No Evidence' GM Genes Are Still In Local Mexican Maize
09 August 2005 SciDevNet
Research published today says that there is no evidence to support controversial claims made in 2001 that genetically modified (GM) maize had 'contaminated' local varieties of the crop in Mexico.

GMOs: Commission Authorises the Import of GM Maize MON 863 for Use in Animal Feed
08 August 2005 EUROPA
The European Commission authorised today the placing on the market of the genetically modified maize MON 863 for import and processing as animal feed.

Popularity of Monsanto's Triple-Stacked Variety Grows
08 August 2005 The Philadelphia Inquirer via Checkbiotech.org
Midwest farmers turned this year to a Monsanto Co. seed that works with a popular weed-killer and fends off two potentially devastating pests.

Hutton Wants Media to End 'Scare Stories' on GM Crops
08 August 2005 The Independent
A cabinet minister has revealed that the Government is launching a charm offensive to stop the media reporting scare stories about GM crops.

John Hutton: 'The Media Are Entitled to Be Sceptical but the Scientific Context is Important'
08 August 2005 The Independent
The Monday Interview: Cabinet Office Minister

Najib Calls for More R&D in Biotech
08 August 2005 The Edge Daily
The Malaysian government has called for more research and development in the field of biotechnology.

GM Rice 'Could Reduce Reliance on Phosphate Fertiliser'
08 August 2005 SciDevNet
Chinese scientists have genetically modified rice to grow well in soil that has low levels of the mineral phosphate.

Biotechnology: Zimbabwe Must Learn from China
08 August 2005 New Zimbabwe
When Mugabe travels to Beijing again, China should remind him that its wealth has been accrued from modern biotechnology.

Government Urged to Scrap Duty on Biofuels and Drive Biodiesel Cars
06 August 2005 The Irish Examiner
The Green Party has urged the Government to scrap excise duty on biofuels and has called for the State’s fleet of ministerial cars to be converted to run on biodiesel.

China Documents Bt Cotton Experience
05 August 2005 Crop Biotech Net
Bt cotton, the first biotechnology crop approved for commercialization in China, now accounts for more than 60 percent of the total acreage of cotton in the country.

Islam and Biotech Addressed in Malaysia
05 August 2005 Crop Biotech Net
Essentially, there is no paradox between the Islam faith and biotechnology.

EBC Slated for November 2005
05 August 2005 Crop Biotech Net
The European Biotech Crossroads (EBC) is a professional event in Europe's biotechnology sector.

Towards ‘Stacked’ Traits – Prospects for Multi-Gene Manipulation in Plants
05 August 2005 Information Systems for Biotechnology
A variety of conventional and more novel methods for multi-gene manipulation are currently being developed or tested, presenting the hopeful prospect of soon overcoming one of the major challenges currently facing plant biotechnology.

A Lesson in Time
05 August 2005 Truth About Trade & Technology
The process continues today--and the miracle of biotechnology makes it possible for plant breeders to do in a short amount of time what it took early farmers millennia to accomplish.

Transgenic Seeds - the White Hope of Brinjal Growers
05 August 2005 The Hindu Business Line
Farmers burdened by yield losses in brinjal crops due to fruit and shoot borer insect pest now have a ray of hope.

Breakthrough: Structure Of Membrane Protein Described By Hebrew University, German Researchers
05 August 2005 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Membrane protein research is at the forefront of modern biological study, with great potential consequences for development of new medicinal treatments and genetic engineering of plants.

Transgenic Bt Technology: 2. Bt Crop Varieties
05 August 2005 Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education
Specific Bt toxin encoding genes were isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis to develop transgenic Bt varieties, using complex yet elegant procedures of genetic engineering.

Research in France Opens Light on Protein Oxidation
05 August 2005 Biotech Week via Checkbiotech.org
Recent research from France has defined the patterns of protein oxidation in Arabidopsis seeds and during germination.

Scientists Give Thought for Food at 2005 Biotechnology Conference
05 August 2005 Texas A&M University AgNews
The new agriculture is very much consumer-driven. They want their food to be safe, healthy, high quality, low cost and for it to not trash the environment.

Is Bt Cotton Unsuitable?
05 August 2005 The Hindu
Bt cotton is the most potent and best available option for bollworm management in the country.

Trapped Genes Show How Flower Development is Controlled
04 August 2005 Yale University
Scientists at Yale and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory report the first large-scale survey of patterns of gene expression in flowers.

Soybean Farmers Developing Less Fatty Cooking Oil
04 August 2005 Scripps Howard News Service
Soybean farmers are battling to keep their market dominance in cooking oils with a new generation of plants that don't produce the transfats that are linked to heart disease.

Publish or Be Damned
04 August 2005 The Guardian
So often with "science by press release", newspapers will cover a story, even though the scientific paper doesn't exist, assuming it's around the corner.

Building Public Confidence in Agricultural Biotechnology
03 August 2005 Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education
Biotechnologists, product developers and those who believe in technology should rise to the occasion and lift agricultural biotechnology from the current morass.

Philippines Approves Planting of 4th Biotech Corn
03 August 2005 Reuters via CheckBiotech.org
According to Reuters, the Phillipines has approved a fourth genetically modified (GM) corn, developed by Monsanto, for sale and planting.

Janis Discusses Agricultural Intellectual Property Law With Farm Bureau
03 August 2005 University of Iowa
Among other topics, he criticized news stories about intellectual property rights in agriculture as frequently alarmist.

Make Use of BT Revolution
03 August 2005 Business Standard
Joint research director of Mehyco Usha Jehra has stressed the need to benefit from the biotechnology revolution which has been raging the world over in order to meet the future challenges.

Report Recommends Tasmania Pursues GM Foods
01 August 2005 ABC (AU)
A report commissioned by the Tasmanian Government recommends that the state lead the way nationally in producing and selling genetically modified [GM] foods.

Trapping Genes That Control Flower Development
01 August 2005 American Society of Plant Biologists
Scientists use molecular "gene trap" to identify dozens of genes involved in the regulation of flower development.

New Molecule May Aid in Production of Biofuels and Fungi-Resistant Plants
01 August 2005 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
This new molecule could eventually aid in the engineering of fungi-resistant plants and could also lead to the discovery of similar molecules that can be used in cellulose-based biofuel production.