News releases and comments from GM Freeze are listed below.
For more information, images and interviews, please contact Liz O’Neill on 07811 211 404 or liz[at]gmfreeze.org
Immediate release (8 Feb 2012)
Monsanto has applied to increase the EU’s permitted Maximum Residue Level (MRL) for its best-selling herbicide glyphosate in lentils. Proposals before the EU would mean increasing the current legal residue level by 100-150 times. [1] The chemical is widely used …
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Immediate release (7 Feb 2012)
Today’s annual International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) report Global status of Commercialized biotech/GM Crops once again trumpets the “success” of GM farming, but this year has to peddle fast to gloss over the problems the technology …
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Immediate release (25 Jan 2012)
Monsanto has announced that they will not be selling seeds for their GM maize MON810 in France [1] this year following an announcement last week that the French Government would seek to extend their ban [2] on its cultivation despite …
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Immediate release (17 Jan 2012)
GM Freeze welcomed the confirmation from the French Government it intends to continue its ban on cultivating Monsanto’s MON810 GM. [1] ***correction 30 Jan 2012: Bulgaria also bans GM cultivation, brining the EU total to seven countries. Apologies for this …
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Immediate release (11 Jan 2012)
Spanish researchers have confirmed that the weedkiller glyphosate applied to GM crops can leach into groundwater. [1] EU Member States are due to meet with the Commission this week to discuss approving two more controversial GM crops designed to use …
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Immediate release (9 Jan 2012)
Research sponsored by the Food Standards Agency (FSA, published today [1]) has found very strong support for comprehensive labelling on all genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the food chain, including labels for meat, milk, eggs and fish from animals reared …
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Immediate release (19 Dec 2011)
The European Commission has revealed that four illegal GM rice traits have been found in Chinese consignments at EU ports. [1] Three years after the illegal imports of Bt63 rice were first detected in EU rice products in 2008 the …
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Immediate release (13 Dec 2011)
The European Food Safety Authority GMO Panel’s new opinion on Pioneer Hybrid/Mycogen Seed’s insect resistance GM maize (known as 1507) acknowledges the crop puts non-target species at risk, including iconic butterflies, but disregards both these risks and big gaps in …
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Immediate release (7 Dec 2011)
A review by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) [1] describes Monsanto’s insect resistance monitoring strategy for Bt maize in the US Midwest as “inadequate and likely to miss early resistance events”. It also highlights how the crop itself …
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Immediate release (22 Nov 2011)
GM Freeze today described Rothamsted Research’s proposal to attempt to increase wheat yields using GM as a “high risk and potentially costly mistake”. Rothamsted’s new five year science strategy, published last week, includes an aim to increase wheat yields to …
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Immediate release (10 Nov 2011)
GM Freeze today published a review of insect resistance to Bt toxins in GM maize and Bt cotton crops around the world. It shows how, contrary to promises from GM companies, pesticide use is increasing to keep up with insects …
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Immediate release (31 Oct 2011)
Gates plan spends 40% of R&D funding on risky “silver bullet” GM projects with DFID help As the world population reaches 7 billion GM Freeze says in a new report published today [1] that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s …
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Immediate release (19 Oct 2011)
Superweed spreading “exponentially” in GM cotton – Monsanto tells farmers they are on their own Herbicide resistant weeds are winning the pesticide “arms race” in US Roundup Ready crops, and Monsanto has no intention of shouldering responsibility for rising weed …
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Immediate release (17 Oct 2011)
Contamination of Canadian flax seed with the untested GM flax CDC Triffid is still being detected, yet industrial flax is again being imported into the EU. [1] The GM flax is not authorised for import anywhere in the world [2], …
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Immediate release (16 Sep 2011)
GM Freeze today described Defra’s decision to approve a GM wheat trial at Rothamsted Research as “a big mistake and premature”. The consent [1], issued today, includes provision to prevent the GM wheat crossing with couch grass and to stop …
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Immediate release (7 Sep 2011)
In a landmark judgement yesterday the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that honey contaminated with GM pollen must go through full GM food authorisation before it can be marketed in the EU. [1] The case was brought by …
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Immediate release (31 Aug 2011)
Monitoring by the US Geological Survey (USGS) has revealed that glyphosate and its breakdown product Aminomethylphosphonic acid (known as AMPA) are frequently found in rainfall and rivers in the Mississippi Basin, where most GM crops tolerant to glyphosate are grown. …
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Immediate release (17 Aug 2011)
GM Freeze has called on Defra Ministers to reject an application from Rothamsted Research [1] to field trial GM wheat in Hertfordshire in 2012 and 2013. The group has also requested Ministers to hold a public consultation on the use …
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Immediate release (1 Aug 2011)
GM Freeze today welcomed the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report recommendation that data used in peer reviewed scientific publications should be made public. The presumption must be that, unless there is a strong reason otherwise, data should …
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Immediate release (15 Jul 2011)
The decision by Rothamsted Research to close three major departments central to their agroecological research base has been described by GM Freeze as, “Swimming against the tide of scientific opinion across the world.” The closures, which will affect the Departments …
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