Archived News

October 2002

Biotechnology could Lessen Effects of Drought
31 October 2002 Life Sciences Network
The impact of the prolonged drought in Australia could be mitigated by the judicious use of biotechnology, said Australian Director of the Life Sciences Network Dr Wendy Craik.

Children go Hungry as GM Food Rejected
30 October 2002 Glasgow Herald
The teachers at Mankodi primary school keep a wallchart listing each month's problems - broken windows, a shortage of exercise books, and the likes. The entry for October reads "hunger", reported the Glasgow Herald.

Academics Say Africans Going Hungry Because of Activist Scare Tactics
30 October 2002 biotech knowledge center
A new report by European and American scholars challenges the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection's support for Zambia's refusal of food aid containing genetically modified corn.

US: Comprehensive Review on Biotech Released
29 October 2002 Life Sciences Network
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a Chicago-based, international, not-for-profit scientific society, has published a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence related to biotechnology and foods.

Welcome to the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II
29 October 2002 Cornell University
The Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSPII) focuses on the safe and effective development and commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops as a complement to traditional and organic agricultural approaches in developing countries.

FAO Releases Biotech Documents
28 October 2002 CropBiotech
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released three reports on biotechnology- related topics.

Plant Biotechnology Improves Wildlife Habitat, Water Quality
28 October 2002 Council for Biotechnology Information
No-till conservation practices have increased 35 percent since biotech crops came on the market in 1996, reported Council for Biotechnology Information.

The Link Between Conservation Tillage and Crop Biotech
28 October 2002 CropBiotech
The Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) study "Conservation Tillage and Plant Biotechnology: How new technologies can improve the environment by reducing the need to plow" links crop biotechnology and no-till.

GM Cotton Will Cut Pesticide Use Even More
28 October 2002 The Cotton Research and Development Corporation
Chemical use on Australian cotton farms would fall dramatically if more genetically modified crops were approved, The Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) has found.

Europe's Biotech Madness
28 October 2002 Washington Post
For four years the European Union has refused to license new genetically modified crops. It has pursued this policy even though Americans eat biotech products every day without apparent ill effects; even though European tourists arriving in America do not generally bring suitcases full of non-modified food with them.

Study Says Biotech Crops Help Environment
25 October 2002 Life Sciences Network
As scientists and farmers continue to debate whether biotech crops are healthy for humans, a conservation group is announcing that the genetically modified plants are a benefit to the environment.

Biotechnology in Agriculture
24 October 2002 Nigeria Daily Times
Biotechnology is a new and promising technique for crop improvement and novel uses of plants, animals and micro-organisms.

Benefits of Plant Biotechnology: Powerpoint Presentations
23 October 2002 Whybiotech.com
The 50-slide PowerPoint presentation attached at the bottom of this document provides an overview of what plant biotechnology is and the benefits it provides.

Biotechnology A Tool To Help Improve The Quality Of Life For Women Monsanto Executive Says
23 October 2002 Monsanto Co.
Speech at International Business Conference Highlights Benefits of Plant Biotechnology for Women in the Developed and Developing World.

Interview with Lord Sainsbury, Minister of Science and supporter of GM technology
22 October 2002 The observer
The target: scion of the supermarket dynasty, the third richest man in Britain (according to the Sunday Times 'Rich List'), Labour donor and friend of Tony, Science and Innovation Minister and advocate of genetically modified foods.

Sijbesma Aims for Double Goal in Biotechnology
21 October 2002 Financial Times
Feike Sijbesma, newly elected chairman of EuropaBio, the European association of biotechnology companies, says he has two priorities.

'Accept GM Foods or Starve'
19 October 2002 Sunday Independent
Investment in new agricultural technology, particularly biotechnology, is the only way to lift Africa out of its "vicious cycle" of poverty, African food experts said to The Sunday Independent.

New Rules for Biotech Products in EU
18 October 2002 CropBiotech.net
New rules governing the safety approval of field trials and the growing of genetically modified (GM) crops in the European Union (EU) have just come into force.

Context and GM Crops
18 October 2002 CropBiotech
Joseph deVries, Associate Director of Food and Security at the Rockefeller Foundation, believes that much of the global debate on GM crops is about context.

GM Technology and Nutrition
18 October 2002 CropBiotech
While general nutrition has been greatly enhanced through increases in the intake of calories, the availability of micronutrients remains a serious problem for many in the developing world.

EU Authorizes GMOs
17 October 2002 Europa
New GMO Directive taking effect on October 17 provides more transparent and effective system for authorisation of GMOs, says European Commission.

Time For The EU To Say Yes To Agricultural Biotechnology
16 October 2002 Cropgen
Professor Vivian Moses, Chairman of the CropGen panel said: "We deserve a choice on GM crops. We have had enough of hampering our agriculture, damaging our economy and frustrating our scientists. It is time for the UK to move forward.”

It's Official: GM Food "Safe": A committee of Top Canadian Scientists Also Says Mandatory Labelling is not Needed
15 October 2002 The Report Newsmagazine
A blue-ribbon committee of Canadian scientists suggested concerns about the dangers of GM food are more science fiction than science fact, according to The Report Newsmagazine.

Ministers Press for End to GM Ban
13 October 2002 Independent
British ministers will press this week for a Europe-wide go-ahead on new GM crops and foods.

Golden Rice Production may Start within 3 Years: Researcher
10 October 2002 The Times of India
The commercial plantation of the much talked about vitamin-enriched `golden rice` will, according to The Times of India, start in India within the next three years.

Crops on Trial
10 October 2002 Life Sciences Network
The Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission has published a detailed report evaluating the experience of the UK with Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs).

Enormous Environmental Benefits in GM Crops
08 October 2002 The Canberra Times
Adrienne Clarke told The Canberra Times that the facts clearly show that concerns about the use of gene technology in agriculture are unfounded.

Europe Farmers Show more Interest in Biotech
07 October 2002 AgriNews
Agriculture policy reform taking place in Europe seems to be slowly but surely changing farmers’ attitudes there about biotechnology, according to several U.S. participants of the World Corn Congress held in Pau, France Sept. 17-19.

Technology Helps Farmers Boost Profits While Aiding Environment
06 October 2002 Star Tribune
Gary Wagner's combine, according to this story, rolled over a dying patch of Canada thistle, the purple-flowered weed that farmers fight.

Kornberg: Temper Promise of Biotech With Management of Resources
04 October 2002 CropBiotech.net
Nobel Laureate of Medicine Arthur Kornberg said that the age of genetic engineering and biotechnology is a golden era in science.

South Africa To Produce First GMO White Corn In 02-03 Season
04 October 2002 Dow Jones
South Africa will for the first time produce genetically modified white corn in the 2002-03 summer grain season which gets underway this month, a grain industry told OsterDowJones.

Biotechnology and Genetically Modified Crops at the World Summit on Sustainable Development
04 October 2002 CropBiotech.net
Biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) crops were not listed as topics on the formal agenda of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), however they received considerable attention.

Biotechnology Essential
03 October 2002 The StarPhoenix
Crystal Wallin of Saskatoon writes in this letter that biotechnology is an essential tool for progressive development of agricultural practices.

Of Famine and Food Aid: GM Food Internationally
03 October 2002 The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
A new and somber aspect of the global debate about the acceptability of GM foods came to international attention when a number of African countries suffering famine recently refused U.S. food aid because it included genetically modified (GM) corn.

Response to the U.K. Soil Association's, "Seeds of Doubt: North American Farmers' Experiences of GM Crops"
03 October 2002 University of Saskatchewan
The report released by the U.K. Soil Association contains numerous inaccuracies and leaves the reader with an impression that does not reflect documented benefits from biotechnology and GM crops.

GM foods: Support Grows Internationally
03 October 2002 Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
This growing international support largely stems from the recognition that GM crops can fight off pests and weeds and help increase yields.

Explaining Restricted Approval and Availability of GM Crops in Developing Countries
02 October 2002 AgBiotechNet
Agricultural food and feed crops improved through recombinant DNA are grown widely on farms in wealthy countries such as the USA and Canada, but are scarcely grown anywhere in the poor developing world.

Biotechnology Seen as Cure for Food Crisis
02 October 2002 High Yield Conservation.org
Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, 88, was cited as saying that high-yield agriculture and the use of genetically modified foods have a crucial role to play in boosting farm productivity to end hunger

Bt Cotton in South Africa: Adoption and Impact on Farm Incomes Amongst Small- And Large-Scale Farmers
02 October 2002 CropBiotech.net
South Africa is one of few developing countries, and the only one in Africa, that has adopted genetically modified crops for commercial production.

Dow Agrosciences And Monsanto Reach Agreement Enabling Broader Worldwide Licensing Of Biotechnology Events
02 October 2002 Monsanto Co.
Dow AgroSciences LLC and Monsanto Company announced agreement on a series of licenses and options related to insect-protected corn and Roundup Ready corn, soybeans, cotton and canola.

ERMA Decision Preserves Opportunities
01 October 2002 Life Sciences Network
The Environmental Risk Management Authorities' approval of AgResearch's application to conduct contained research trials on cows is a positive outcome for agriculture and the New Zealand economy, says Federated Farmer's National Vice Chairman Charlie Pedersen.