Stronger Plants, Stronger Science, and Stronger Communication
Peruvian Biologist’s Defamation Conviction Overturned– Lucas Laursen, Nature, January 12, 2011A defamation case that hinges on a dispute over the presence of genetic modification in Peruvian maize crops, and that has attracted international attention, has moved back to square one – with a twist.Biologist Ernesto Bustamante Donayre was last April found guilty of defamation –…
Read More “The Bustamante Affaire reaches Nature magazine” »
Here at GMO Pundit we are taking the opportunity celebrate 2000 blog posts with the fantastic news that a legal victory has been obtained in Peru that is also a victory for those who value their own personal freedom to express scientific criticism. The scientific method is dead if we do not give full licence…
GMOs have been blamed by anti-GM activists for bee colony collapse disorder. But there are other likely explanations for bee colony losses — including viruses that affect insects, and which spread in pollen. Consider this news on the topic: Public release date: 22-Dec-2010Public Library of ScienceMovement and threat of RNA viruses widespread in pollinator community…
Sloppy seed-sorting main culprit in GM crop escapes(Press release about a free access PLoS ONE article linked below)María Elena Hurtado17 December 2010 IMAGE: Honey bees transmit GM pollen to non-GM fields, but human error plays a bigger role in GM contamination Careless handling of seeds may be the key reason for the unintended spread of…
Read More “Production-chain management is key issue in GM crop escapes” »
Review article The role of transgenic crops in sustainable development Julian Raymond Park, Ian McFarlane, Richard Hartley Phipps and Graziano Ceddia School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, UK Summary The concept of sustainable development forms the basis for a wide variety of international and national policy making. World population…
Sunday November 14, 2010Genetically-modified mozzie test shows promiseBy TAN SHIOW CHINstarhealth@thestar.com.my PETALING JAYA: The first-ever release of genetically-modified (GM) male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes into the wild in the Cayman Islands has shown promising results. Researchers from the country’s Mosquito and Research Control Unit found that there was an 80% reduction of the A. aegypti population…
Global Harvest Initiative GAP report 2010 A new report has come out which explains why agricultural innovation is important for conserving resources and benefiting the global environment.It does this by showing that we need improvements in what economists call total factor productivity of agriculture to meet the demands on the farm output that will rise…
Read More “A sustainability gap needing to be filled by farm innovation” »
GMO Pundit participated in a session running in parallel with the conference of parties (COP) biodiversity discussions that occurred last week in Nagoya, Japan. He had an opportunity to frame some points to make to the delegates who are interested in conserving biodiversity, an issue the Pundit is passionate about too. He does worry that…
ASA Withdraws From Leonardo Academy’s Sustainable Ag Standard Development Process Press Release — ST. LOUIS, MO — October 19, 2010 — The American Soybean Association (ASA) today announced that it is withdrawing from the Leonardo Academy’s initiative to develop a sustainable agriculture standard for American National Standards Institute. While ASA supports the goal of a…
The EU Ranks as the World’s Biggest Net Importer of Agricultural Produce While Neglecting Critical Investment in Agricultural ResearchPress ReleaseBERLIN, October 13, 2010 /PRNewswire/ —– International Competition for Agricultural Production Land is Rising Dramatically The food situation in poor countries continues to deteriorate. On World Food Day, October 16th, the number of starving people worldwide…