News

This report summarises the key findings and suggestions from four focus workshops on ‘Who should communicate with the public and how?’ held in Warsaw, Brussels, Copenhagen and Madrid respectively from Autumn 2002 to Spring 2003.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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More crop per drop was one of the many catching slogans in Dr. Ismail Serageldin’s dazzling presentation on Tuesday 26 August in Basel. The European Congress on Biotechnology succeeded through the past Vice-President of the World Bank to demonstrate the links between plant biotechnology, waste water treatment, genomics, pharmaceutical innovations, society issues, business development and the importance of patenting. He clearly showed that investing in Developing Countries is business and will be crucial to implement and market our future innovations!

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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BBC Newsline programme in Northern Ireland did research on if people would prefer genetically modified blight resistant potatoes rather than conventional crops which rely on frequent spraying with fungicides. Almost half of the consumers who voted said they would prefer genetically modified crops to the use of chemical sprays in conventional food production.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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Today the European Commission published guidelines for the development of strategies and best practices to ensure the co-existence of genetically modified (GM) crops with conventional and organic farming. They are intended to help Member States to develop workable measures for co-existence in conformity with EU legislation. The guidelines set out the general principles and the technical and procedural aspects to be taken into account, and provide a list of possible actions that could be tailored for implementation at national or regional or local level.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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Rome: The Codex Alimentarius Commission, the UN food standards agency today adopted three sets of standards on safety of genetically modified food (GMOs) that support strong regulations for these foods.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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'Designer baby' controversy rages after couple circumvent British laws on embryo selection to help son beat his life-threatening illness The birth of every baby is an emotional moment for the parents, but the delivery of 7lb 10oz Jamie Whitaker at a Sheffield hospital on Monday resonated far beyond his close family.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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The 'new' UK Environment Minister Elliot Morley said that GM foods have never been shown to pose any risk to human health. He said this a day after the 'old' UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher warned the government against rushing the debate on GM food. According to him the the studies on the effects of GM foods on human health had been "scientifically vacuous". Read the story by BBC news

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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Farmers in India seem to have no problems at all with with genetic modification in cotton plants. But instead of using Monsanto's insect-resistant cotton, they are creating new GM varieties by illegally cross-breeding Monsanto's products with local plants. Read the whole article by BBC news on:

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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Genetically modified (GM) crops have the potential to improve agricultural processes, increase food security and reduce poverty in developing world, according to two recently published reports. Read the news article on these 2 reports by respectively the International Council for Science and the UK's Nuffield Council on Bioethics, on the Cordis website.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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Ernst & Young's 10th Annual European biotech report, "Endurance" published 7 May 2003, reveals that after a decade of 30-40% year on year growth in revenues and 10-20% increases in employee numbers, the European biotech sector stalled in 2002. Revenues fell by 2% to €12.9 billion and employee numbers fell by 6% to 82,100.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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On the 23-24 May 2003 the 2 international practical workshop for science teachers took place in Heidelberg. The series of European Workshops are organized by the European Molecular Biology Organization in cooperation with the EFB and EMBL. The workshop was a great success, more then one hundred participants visited the workshop in Heidelberg

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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The debate is meant to reach out to ordinary people up and down the country, engaging the public on the subject of genetically modified crops. The first of the public debates on whether or not Britain should push ahead with GM crops began in Birmingham yesterday. But what the government is describing as "a national discussion like no other" and "a unique experiment to find out what ordinary people think",started with the absence of actual ordinary people.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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The British Medical Association is reconsidering there advice on the health risks of genetically-modified foods. According to the Head of Science and Ethics, 'no evidence' has been seen of a possible threat to the Human Health.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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In a number of important respects, the common position agrees with the proposals made by Parliament at first reading. The principal provisions of the common position are as follows:

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher addressed an historic gathering at which dozens of prominent scientists launched themselves as an Independent Science Panel (ISP) to counteract what they see to be a concerted campaign by the government and the scientific establishment to promote genetic modification (GM) under the guise of ‘sound’ science.

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• Published: 23-May-2004

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