Agnet Dec. 19/03 -- II
Uproar as GM
canola approved
Paradigm
genetics signs three-year, multi-million dollar crop trait collaboration with
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Company to use its GeneFunction Factory(R)
platform to identify plant genes that influence crop traits
India plans
network project on 12 transgenic crops
Monsanto
Canada will wait to register GM wheat
GM food
concentrated in three provinces
Genetically
modified tomato may provide enterovirus vaccine
Biotech
debate gets Vatican attention - Forum held for church to decide if genetically
altered food is moral
Saltcedar;
availability of an environmental assessment
how to subscribe
Uproar
as GM canola approved
December 20, 2003
The Age (Australia)
Shane Wright
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/19/1071337160623.html
Australia
A new genetically altered canola crop was approved for commercial use in
Australia yesterday amid claims it would boost crop yields by up to 40 per cent,
but opponents were cited as saying the decision by the Office of the Gene
Technology Regulator to approve Monsanto's GM canola could jeopardise important
Australian markets.
Gene technology regulator Sue Meek was cited as finding there were no
environmental or health reasons to prevent the commercial release of Monsanto's
canola, which has been altered to make it resistant to the most commonly used
broadacre herbicide, glyphosate. The most popular glyphosate in Australia is
Roundup, produced by Monsanto.
Dr Meek was further cited as saying the canola was already approved for growing
and food use in Japan, Canada and the US and that her organisation's study had
found no impediments to its use in Australia, adding, "The comprehensive
risk assessment has demonstrated to me that the commercial scale release of
Roundup Ready canola will not pose a risk to human health and safety or the
environment.”
Food Standards Australia New Zealand has already assessed and approved for human
consumption oil from the GM canola.
Monsanto Australia managing director Terry Bunn was cited as saying trials of
the genetically modified canola showed yield improvements of between 20 and 40
per cent against the most commonly grown canola in Australia.
Julie Newman of the Network of Concerned Farmers was cited as criticizing Dr
Meek's decision, arguing that it failed to take into account the economic harm
Australia might face because of the GM canola, calling for an immediate
parliamentary inquiry and a review of Dr Meek's decision.
The story adds that a series of bans and moratoriums throughout the states and
territories mean genetically modified canola is unlikely to be grown
commercially for at least the next two years.
Victoria Farmers Federation president Paul Weller was cited as saying he
welcomed the decision, adding, "Our members want the opportunity to use the
technology and we would encourage the State Government to lift its
moratorium."
Paradigm
genetics signs three-year, multi-million dollar crop trait collaboration with
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Company to use its GeneFunction Factory(R)
platform to identify plant genes that influence crop traits
December 19, 2003
From a press release
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Paradigm Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDGM), a
biotechnology company, today announced that it has signed a collaboration
agreement with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a subsidiary of DuPont
headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, to identify plant genes that influence
important crop traits for use in Pioneer's crop variety development program.
For this collaboration, Paradigm will use its high throughput GeneFunction
Factory(R) platform to analyze genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, a model organism,
and identify those genes that will enable Pioneer to accelerate the product
breakthroughs and improvements it brings to its customers worldwide.
"We are delighted to collaborate with Pioneer as we strive to provide high
throughput, cutting edge research results to our agricultural partners. Pioneer
is a leader in commercializing agricultural biotechnology, and we are proud to
utilize our GeneFunction Factory(R) as part of their genomics-based trait
discovery process," said Heinrich Gugger, Ph.D., president and CEO of
Paradigm Genetics. "This collaboration demonstrates that our strategy for
expanding and extending our agricultural customer base of partners is both sound
and effective. It also demonstrates our continuous efforts to improve our
multiple technology platforms for obtaining a greater understanding of
biological systems are paying off."
"We are pleased to collaborate with Paradigm and use its functional
genomics capabilities," said Bill Niebur, vice president of research,
product development for Pioneer. "We believe that discoveries made through
this collaboration will complement our established trait discovery programs and
will allow us to continue to develop new products that bring value to our
customers."
India
plans network project on 12 transgenic crops
December 18, 2003
NewKerala
http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=2876
NEW DELHI -- India is, according to this story, planning a project to develop 12
transgenic crops to improve their resistance to diseases and pests, biotic
stresses and extend shelf life.
Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh was quoted as saying here Thursday that,
"A network project on transgenics, covering 12 crops is on the anvil. The
proposed research project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
will cover maize, pigeonpea, chickpea, soybean, cotton, brassica, tomato,
brinjal, banana, papaya, potato and cassava."
The project will focus on specially targeted trait improvement such as
resistance to insect pests, fungal diseases and viral diseases, tolerance to
abiotic stresses like cold and drought and extended shelf life for the 12 crops.
Monsanto
Canada will wait to register GM wheat
December 19, 2003
Crop Decisions.com
Monsanto's Canadian division will not ask an annual industry meeting in February
to recommend its genetically modified wheat be registered in 2004. Instead,
Monsanto will continue to test its wheat until it becomes more accepted by the
industry, the company said.
Monsanto has completed three years of field tests on several lines of GM wheat,
designed to withstand its Roundup weedkiller.
Under Canadian rules, it could ask an industry body, the Prairie Registration
Recommending Committee for Grains, to review its agronomic data. The committee
is responsible for advising the federal government on what varieties of grain
should be registered for commercial use in Canada.
"However, Monsanto does not intend to bring forward any of our current
lines for recommendation at the 2004 annual meeting," wrote Curtis Rempel,
who heads the GM wheat project for Monsanto Canada, in a memo to the committee,
which is scheduled to meet on Feb. 24 to Feb. 26.
Meanwhile, Canadian government regulators who reviewing food, feed and
environmental safety data on GM wheat have not yet approved the crop for
release.
The Canadian Wheat Board has said it worries registering the wheat could turn
many of its foreign buyers off Canadian wheat because of consumer concerns in
other countries about GM crops.
The decision to hold off asking for registration "has no commercial impact
on this project," Rempel said in the memo, noting the company remains
committed to selling GM wheat when it can prove it can be kept separate from
traditional wheat and has customers lined up to buy it.
GM
food concentrated in three provinces
December 19, 2003
Business Day
South African Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza was cited as saying that the
growing of genetically modified (GM) cereal seed crops is concentrated largely
in three provinces of South Africa - the Free State, Mpumalanga and western
KwaZulu Natal, and that according to the crop estimates committee of the
directorate of agricultural statistics in her department 2.8% of the total area
planted with white maize and 17.3% of the total area planted with yellow maize
was grown from genetically modified seed.
They were insect resistant and herbicide tolerant white and yellow maize crops.
Asked whether these crops were harvested and stored separately from the other
crops, she said this was "not a regulated process and storage depends on
(the) trader."
Genetically
modified tomato may provide enterovirus vaccine
December 17, 2003
TaiwanHeadlines
http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/20031217/20031217s5.html
Chang Yu-chiang of National Taiwan University's agriculture department was cited
as announcing on Tuesday the development of a genetically modified strain of
tomato which may lead to an oral vaccine for enterovirus.
Chang was cited as finding that mice fed on these tomatoes showed five times the
resistance to enterovirus infection as normal mice, and that the enterovirus
antigens are found in the leaves and fruit of the tomato plants, adding that the
tomatoes can be grown from seed and are suitable for large-scale cultivation.
Chang tested the genetically modified tomatoes by feeding them to mice.
Biotech
debate gets Vatican attention - Forum held for church to decide if genetically
altered food is moral
December 18, 2003
Detroit News
Nicole Winfield
http://www.detnews.com/2003/religion/0312/18/a06-323021.htm
VATICAN CITY -- Two Jesuits were cited as telling a Vatican biotech conference
Tuesday that tinkering with God's creation by making new plant species went
against church teaching, adding a moral voice to a debate dominated by
scientific, political and economic interests.
The story says that a paper by the Rev. Dr. Roland Lesseps and the Rev. Peter
Henriot, Americans based in Zambia, was presented to the final session of a
two-day meeting on genetically modified organisms that was designed to help the
Roman Catholic Church formulate a position on whether biotech foods can
alleviate world hunger.
Conference organizer, Cardinal Renato Martino was cited as saying that no date
has been set for when the Vatican might come out with its pronouncement, and
that it could possibly take years. But in his final remarks, he indicated he
remained favorable to the technology and encouraged scientists to keep working.
Saltcedar;
availability of an environmental assessment
December 19, 2003
[Federal Register: (Volume 68, Number 244)]
[Page 70755-70756]
[DOCID:fr19de03-23]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
[Docket No. 03-110-1]
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service has prepared a draft environmental assessment relative to the control of
saltcedar (Tamarix spp.). The draft environmental assessment considers the
effects of, and alternatives to, the release of a nonindigenous leaf beetle,
Diorhabda elongata, into the environment to reduce the severity of saltcedar
infestations in 14 western States. We are making the draft environmental
assessment available to the public for review and comment. DATES: We will
consider all comments that we receive on or before January 20, 2004.
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