Biotech // Current

Lobbyists Wrote Health Care Script For Lawmakers

E-mail messages obtained by the New York Times show that statements by dozens of... more

The_Global_Report
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2 days ago
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Biotech crops cause big increase in pesticide use-report

And just how much of it is in your stomach? These companies don't care. The only thing... more

JanforGore
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5 days ago
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8 comments

Joe Wilson And Other Reps Caught Lifting Speeches Directly From Lobbyists

Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by... more

atomiclegion
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7 days ago
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6 comments

15 Improbable Bionic Upgrades to the Human Body

by Adam Frucci, For this week's Photoshop Contest, I asked you to imagine some... more

KSirys
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11 days ago
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6 comments

Babies begin learning language in the womb

Science Daily reports findings from a new study which suggest that infants begin... more

Tyrannous
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15 days ago
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13 comments

Monsanto's False PR Campaign On Public Radio

Monsanto’s money buys the “truth” even on public radio so that it too spreads... more

GMOJournal
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18 days ago
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1 comment

Toyota Develops New Flower Species To Reduce Pollution

Toyota has created two flower species that absorb nitrogen oxides and take heat out of... more

Tyrannous
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21 days ago
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18 comments

GM Peas - Now On Our Side of the Atlantic

German researchers have successfully transferred a fungal resisting gene found in... more

GMOJournal
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25 days ago
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Bad seeds: the broken promises of agricultural biotech

Rural biotechnology has been promoted as a key tool to combat global hunger and... more

JanforGore
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1 month ago
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4 comments

African farmers & environmentalists speak out against a new green revolution in Africa

Oakland, CA: A new report from the Oakland Institute, Voices from Africa: African Farmers & Environmentalists Speak Out Against a New Green Revolution in Africa, issues a direct challenge to Western-led plans for a genetically engineered revolution in African agriculture, particularly the recent misguided philanthropic efforts of the Gates Foundation's Alliance for a New Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and presents African resistance and solutions rooted in first-hand knowledge of what Africans need.

The report finds a lack of accountability, transparency, and stakeholder involvement in philanthropic efforts such as AGRA. "Despite the Gates Foundation's rhetoric of inclusion and the claim that their investment in agricultural development benefits the growing majority of the world's poor who rely on agriculture, a leaked Gates Foundation confidential report on their Agricultural Development Strategy for 2008-2011 actually emphasizes moving people out of the agricultural sector," said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute and the editor of the report. "Their intention is to reduce dependency on agriculture, but their strategy report does not specify where or how this new 'land mobile' population is to be reemployed," she continued.

AGRA claims to be an "African-led Green Revolution," and features Kofi Annan at the helm as its chairman; however, African civil society has rejected the idea that one man can speak on behalf of over 50 countries and 680 million people. It is also not apparent from the foundation's Agricultural Development Strategy report whether--or how--the Gates Foundation consulted with African farmers before launching their multi-million dollar development strategy for the continent. Some of the foundation's external advisors have long partnered with biotech companies: for example, Ruth Oniang'o is featured on Monsanto's website claiming that there is an urgent need for food biotechnology in Africa, and Gates Foundation potential grantee Calestous Juma has urged the G8 to put biotechnology on the agenda for for Africa and discard the application of the precautionary principle because it interferes with the development of new technologies.

"Africa does not need dumping of food aid by rich countries that destroys local efforts to produce. Not the imposition of industrial-style agriculture based on chemicals and 'high-yielding' seeds, with the paradoxical outcome of greater production of a few food crops accompanied by even worse hunger and environmental degradation," said Diamantino Nhampossa, a contributor to the report and Executive Coordinator of the União Nacional de Camponeses (National Peasants Union) in Mozambique and member of the Via Campesina's International Coordinating Committee for the Africa Region.

The battle over genetic engineering is being fought across the world, between those who champion farmers' rights to seeds, livelihood, and land, and those who seek to privatize these. While promotional campaigns for technological solutions to hunger regularly feature a handful of African spokespeople who drown out the genuine voices of farmers, researchers, and civil society groups, there is widespread opposition to genetic engineering and plans for a New Green Revolution for Africa. Voices From Africa is based on the essays and statements of leading African farmers, environmentalists, and civil society groups, and brings to light the real African perspectives on technological solutions to hunger and poverty on the continent--and the solutions that the people on the ground believe would bring true development.

end of excerptOakland, CA: A new report from the Oakland Institute, Voices from Africa: African... more

JanforGore
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1 month ago
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Check out the New Official Paul Stamets youtube channel!

Direct video from the mycologist Paul Stamets as seen in these current.com posts:... more

Tyrannous
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1 month ago
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Anti-consumer safety quote of the week: they eat them like Skittles

Heath says, plucking one of the bulbs and popping it in his mouth...

NonGMOTalk
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1 month ago
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1 comment

US court rules against Monsanto's GMO sugarbeets

* Court finds USDA failed to evaluate risk * Orders environmental impact report... more

mae37
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2 months ago
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3 comments

Anticancer Nanotech

Technology.am (Sept. 17, 2009) — Tiny particles of albumin, a protein found in the... more

Anyother
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2 months ago
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Gene Therapy Cures Color-Blind Monkeys

After receiving injections of genes that produce color-detecting proteins, two... more

Tyrannous
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2 months ago
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1 comment

Gates and Monsanto-strong-arming Africa

Superb must-read article on the Gates Foundation - Africa's ultimate "strong-man" with... more

JanforGore
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3 months ago
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Attractive Women Make Men Temporarily Stupid

The Telegraph reports that men who spend even a few minutes in the company of an... more

Tyrannous
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3 months ago
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1 comment

LIA Prescribes 100% Non-GMO Diet

Therese Yang, MD, FAAFP, a specialist in Lyme Disease, says, “I am very concerned... more

NonGMOTalk
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3 months ago
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2 comments

U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis criticizes Clinton/Vilsack Kenya bio-tech tour

On the eve of an upcoming visit to the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Representatives Donald Payne and Nita Lowey, the U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis today challenged the Obama Administration’s plans to fund a new “Green Revolution” in Africa in tandem with the Gates Foundation. The Working Group believes a new approach to agriculture research is needed instead of the broken status quo that emphasizes biotechnology and industrial agriculture models.

The U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis, comprised of religious, anti-hunger, family farm and farmworker, food justice, environmental, labor, consumer and international development groups, urges a new approach towards addressing food security based on the findings of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report. The IAASTD is a landmark study conducted by over 400 scientists and development experts sponsored by the United Nations and the World Bank that emphasized the importance of investing in agroecological methods and warned that chemical-intensive production continues to have adverse health and environmental effects, while “modern biotechnology” (genetically engineered seed) has so far contributed few verifiable positive impacts on equitable and sustainable development.

In the 1990s, USAID, together with Monsanto, helped spearhead a 14-year, $6 million project through the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) to develop a genetically modified, virus-resistant sweet potato. The project has proven to be a failure. Local varieties outperformed GM varieties in field trials. Researchers in Uganda developed a virus-resistant hybrid through conventional breeding techniques at a tiny fraction of the cost. KARI continues to collaborate with the Monsanto Corporation and USAID researching biotechnological projects, advocating a model of agricultural development that relies upon a top-down approach and unproven, expensive investments.

Ben Burkett, president of the National Family Farm Coalition, a member of the international farmers movement La Via Campesina, cautioned, “As an African American farmer who has visited farmers in Africa many times, I am deeply concerned that much of the Obama Administration’s pledge to spend $1 billion on agriculture research will be wasted on biotech research that benefits Monsanto more than it does small-scale farmers. While I applaud the renewed focus on helping Africa feed itself, our taxpayer money is doomed to be wasted if it continues to fund business as usual. Secretary Clinton and Secretary Vilsack need to learn from previous disastrous biotechnology experiments such as the Kenyan GM sweet potato project. Many Kenyan farmers resent the U.S., Monsanto and the Gates Foundation for continuing to shove unwanted biotechnology down their throats.”

The U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis’s vision for reforming agriculture policy to help end the global food crisis calls on governments to:

Re-regulate commodity futures markets to end excessive speculation
Halt expansion of industrial agrofuels in developing countries
Stabilize commodity prices through international and domestic food reserves
Establish fairer regional and global trade arrangements
Direct farm policy, research, education and investment toward agroecological farming practices

Dr. Molly Anderson, a coordinating lead author of the IAASTD report, said, “The IAASTD is the most authoritative and broad-based resource available on the full impacts of past investment in agricultural development and future options. It shows that conventional agricultural practices are endangering the planet, and just increasing productivity and yields will not rectify the hunger of millions or improve the status of small-scale landholders, landless and women farmers who make up the majority of the world’s poorest...On the eve of an upcoming visit to the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) by... more

JanforGore
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3 months ago
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1 comment

New website exposes myths and propaganda of biotech industry

GMWatch has just launched its new website: http://www.gmwatch.org, which replaces the... more

JanforGore
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4 months ago
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11 comments

tagged w/ Biotech

Lobbyists Wrote Health Care Script For Lawmakers

Biotech crops cause big increase in pesticide use-report

Joe Wilson And Other Reps Caught Lifting Speeches Directly From Lobbyists

15 Improbable Bionic Upgrades to the Human Body

Babies begin learning language in the womb

Monsanto's False PR Campaign On Public Radio

Toyota Develops New Flower Species To Reduce Pollution

GM Peas - Now On Our Side of the Atlantic

Bad seeds: the broken promises of agricultural biotech

African farmers & environmentalists speak out against a new green revolution in Africa

Check out the New Official Paul Stamets youtube channel!

Anti-consumer safety quote of the week: they eat them like Skittles

US court rules against Monsanto's GMO sugarbeets

Anticancer Nanotech

Gene Therapy Cures Color-Blind Monkeys

Gates and Monsanto-strong-arming Africa

Attractive Women Make Men Temporarily Stupid

LIA Prescribes 100% Non-GMO Diet

U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis criticizes Clinton/Vilsack Kenya bio-tech tour

New website exposes myths and propaganda of biotech industry

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