On Monday, a group of U.S. scientists, The Center for Genetics and Society (CGS), and the activist group Friends of the Earth called for a global ban on gene editing of human embryos just a day before a major international meeting in Washington, D.C., to tackle the policy and ethical issues surrounding the technology.
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recently did an interview with CBS revolving around agriculture. Sanders has not yet elaborated on his claims, but he reportedly attests that a scheduled interview with CBS was cancelled because “Monsanto threatened to sue” the network.
During a town hall meeting, a citizen asked Sanders what he thought of GMOs and Monsanto. Sanders reportedly says:
Scientists at the University of California say they’ve created a new strain of mosquito that could help wipe out malaria. It’s an interesting development, as mosquitoes are known for spreading the disease. But is it safe?
In recent years, scientists have edited bacteria within mosquitoes in an effort to kill the malaria they carried. The newest malaria-fighting insects have been genetically modified, however.
The federal government has decided that Americans don’t need to know what’s in their food. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said recently that it would not require labeling of genetically modified plants that have been approved for sale.
In the US we are still swimming from the FDA’s approval of GM salmon, while across the world, member states of the EU, Hungary, and Austria team up to make sure genetically modified food isn’t getting into their countries.
Hungary Today reports:
If you want to know how Monsanto gets trade agreements in foreign countries without a truly democratic or legal process, you can look no further than South America for answers. Using antiquated laws and the North American Free Trade Agreements (NAFTA), one of the ‘most hated companies’ in the world has forced its wares into multiple South American countries without considering farmers’ rights, indigenous seed, or food sovereignty for millions of people.
With the ink barely dry on the FDA’s approval of GM salmon, and several watch-dog groups threatening to sue, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, joins consumer groups wary of the genetically modified fish.
The Senator joined consumer groups who voiced concern on Capitol Hill last week, stating:
“I believe strongly that the consumers have a right to know.”
The biotech firm Editas Medicine says that humans who have had their DNA genetically modified could exist within the next 2 years. The company announced that it will soon start the first trials of what it calls a groundbreaking new technique.
Basing their decision on evaluations of hundreds of thousands of women and minorities, Fortune Magazine has named Monsanto one of the ‘50 best places to work’ based on diversity. But can a workplace be all that great when its main objective is to genetically manipulate nature and leave the planet a genotoxic, pesticide-riddled, soil-ruined mess.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said on Thursday that glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer in humans, despite the World Health Organization’s declaration in March that the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Adding insult to injury, the agency proposed a higher exposure limit on the daily amount of glyphosate residue.
