Nagpur: Two years after a special investigation team (SIT) to probe smuggling of illegal herbicide tolerant (HT) cotton seeds in the state was formed, the two-member team has prepared only a rough draft of its report. The SIT, which was formed in February, 2018, was supposed to submit its report …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is evaluating whether or not to take action in the case of a Washington state farmer whose alfalfa crop was contaminated with a genetically modified trait that some export customers will not accept, a spokesman said on Monday. "We're still in discussion with the Washington …
Do you think only ‘Monsanto’ (or any multinational seed company) has the capacity to develop transgenic crops? The answer is a clear ‘no’. Indian scientists, working with public sector research institutions and universities, too have developed many genetically engineered varieties which, in fact, could not move beyond lab or ‘restricted’ …
A group of U.S. farmers, seed companies and others challenging patents on genetically altered crops held by biotech seed giant Monsanto Co. on Thursday appealed their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The group, made up of 73 organic and conventional family farmers, seed companies and public advocacy interests, sued …
Registering strong protest on the consistent false statements by the Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, to promote GM crops, the Coalition for a GM Free India urged the Members of the Parliament to challenge Pawar for repeatedly misleading the Parliament. This was in response to answers given by the Union …
Celebrating the 67th year of Independence, India is slowly losing her seed sovereignty, even as environmentalists and farmers’ organisations fight in vain. “Dependence on foreign seeds is as good as selling our land. The government is blind while framing new laws,” Rajesh Krishnan, co-convenor, Coalition for Genetically Modified (GM) Free …
On the eve of the 67 th Independence day, Safe Food Alliance, Tamil Nadu which is one of the constituents of the Coalition for a GM-free India and ASHA (Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture) urged the TN Chief Minister Dr. J.Jayalalithaa to hoist a national flag made of non-Bt …
A wrangle over growing genetically modified crops in France flared anew today as the country's top administrative court overturned a government ban on growing GM corn sold by the US giant Monsanto. In the second legal setback to French restrictions on MON810 corn in five years, the Council of State …
A group of biotech seed companies on Monday launched an online forum to combat mounting opposition to genetically modified foods among consumer groups and activists. The website, www.GMOAnswers.com, is designed as a "central online resource" for information on genetically modified organisms and their use in agriculture and food production, the …
Faced with widespread concerns in Europe over its genetically modified foods, US agro-chemicals giant Monsanto said Thursday it was giving up on plans to grow new GM crops in the EU, which has held up approval for years. “We will no longer be pursuing approvals for cultivation of new biotech …
Three Italian ministries have signed a decree banning the cultivation of a type of genetically modified maize, citing environmental concerns, the agriculture ministry said on Friday. The decree, which still needs to be published in the official gazette to become binding, targets Monsanto's MON810 maize, one of two genetically modified …
This is the first judgement citing Section 3(j) that says plants & animals aren’t patentable India’s patent appeals board has denied Monsanto a patent for a genetically-engineered method of increasing climate resilience in plants. The decision is significant not only for Monsanto’s loss of possible exclusivity in an increasingly important …
It is a prize from Monsanto to Monsanto, says one NGO A selection committee chaired by M.S. Swaminathan awarding the World Food Prize for 2013 to three scientists including American multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation Monsanto’s chief technology officer, despite prevalent controversies and concerns over the technology of genetically modified organisms, …
The Coalition for GM Free India along various farmer unions and political parties launched a nation-wide campaign demanding that the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, 2013 be withdrawn immediately. The campaign was launched at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and attended by farmers, civil society activists and political leaders …
We will oppose the Bill in Parliament, says Yechury Cutting across party lines, several political leaders participated on Tuesday in a joint campaign with civil society groups and farmers’ organisations against Genetically Modified crops and the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill at Jantar Mantar here. Participating in the …
The environment ministry's Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has cleared field trials for genetically modified rice, wheat, maize and castor for the Kharif season of 2013. The clearances - some of them extension of existing clearances that stood to lapse with state governments opposing field trials and others for relocating …
An agricultural dragnet has found no cases of unapproved genetically engineered wheat outside of a 123-acre field in Oregon after two months of an ongoing investigation, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday. The discovery of the wheat, not approved for cultivation anywhere in the world, shook the global market …
Monsanto Co. on Monday won another round in a legal battle with U.S. organic growers as an appeals court threw out the growers' efforts to stop the company from suing farmers if traces of its patented biotech genes are found in crops. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal …
Monsanto, with an annual turnover of around 13.5 billion US dollars last year, is the largest seed company in the world. Based out of St. Luis in the USA, it also leads the Genetically Modified seed sector globally. Monsanto in India exists as Monsanto India Ltd, Monsanto Holding Pvt Ltd, …
American wheat farmers and a food safety advocacy group filed a lawsuit Thursday against biotech seed developer Monsanto Co, accusing the company of failing to protect the U.S. wheat market from contamination by its unauthorized wheat. The petition, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, …
Anti-GM lobby alleged that Paroda has a clear case of conflict of interest because he was a part of organisations which don't only have representatives of seed companies Ahead of the presentation of the report of the high-powered Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on genetically modified (GM) crops to the Supreme …
