GMO Research
Abstract: Approval for glyphosate-based herbicides in the European Union (EU) is under intense debate due to concern about their effects on the environment and human health. The occurrence of glyphosate residues in European water bodies is rather well documented whereas only few, fragmented and outdated information is available for European soils. We provide the first …
Abstract: The acreage of genetically modified (GM) crops decreased in the European Union by 12% in 2009, as compared to the preceeding year, corresponding to 0.7‰ of the world GM crop production. Within the EU, national moratoria on sowing given GM crop varieties were announced in Austria (1999), Hungary (2005), Greece (2005), Poland (2006), Italy …
Abstract: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs Programme identifies chemicals, drugs, mixtures, occupational exposures, lifestyles and personal habits, and physical and biological agents that cause cancer in humans and has evaluated about 1000 agents since 1971. Monographs are written by ad hoc Working Groups (WGs) of international scientific experts over a period …
Abstract: Genetically modified plants (GMP) as well as derived feed and food have to undergo a risk assessment prior to market authorisation in the EU. The particular requirements for risk assessment have been and still are particularly contested issues and only recently attempts were begun to specify requirements in greater detail. Against this backdrop the …
Abstract: Background: MON89788 was the first genetically engineered soybean worldwide to express a Bt toxin. Under the brand name Intacta, Monsanto subsequently engineered a stacked trait soybean using MON89788 and MON87701—this stacked soybean expresses an insecticidal toxin and is, in addition, tolerant to glyphosate. After undergoing risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), …
Summary: In 2000 the EEA established a special project for the European Parliament, on the dissemination of research results from technologies characterised by scientific complexity and uncertainty, such as GMOs and chemicals, and on the use of such results by the public and their representatives in their governance, including the use of the precautionary principle. …
Abstract: The rapid adoption of transgenic crops in the United States, Argentina, and Canada stands in strong contrast to the situation in the European Union (EU), where a de facto moratorium has been in place since 1998. This article reviews recent scientific literature relevant to the problematic introduction of transgenic crops in the EU to …
Text: Honey producers may be forced to test for exposure to genetically modified (GM) pollen after a decision from the high court of the European Union (EU) in Luxembourg. The court ruled in September that honey found to contain traces of pollen from GM corn must receive regulatory approval before it can be sold in …
Text: I am writing in response to the Editorial in the December issue entitled “Label without a cause,”1 which contained factual errors. The statement “Perhaps Vermont’s legislators should consider ‘may contain’ labels for radioisotopes, mercury, cadmium, bird feces, microbial poisons and explosives—ingredients that are present in all foods, albeit at undetectable levels” is wrong on …
Abstract: A 2-year rat feeding study with genetically modified NK603 maize sparked an international scientific and public debate as well as policy responses by the European Commission. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) evaluated the study as defective based on conceptual and methodological shortcomings by retroactive application of the recommendations of its recent guidance on …
Abstract: According to the current legal background for the regulation of genetically modified plants (GMPs) in Europe, an environmental risk assessment (ERA) has to be performed considering i) the crop plant, ii) the novel trait relating to its intended effect and phenotypic characteristics of the GM crop plant and iii) the receiving environment related to …
Abstract: Politics of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture must remain in reasonable compliance with the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union. We have to bear in mind that, as of now, Poland is obligated to reduce production in many branches of agriculture. Thus, there is no requirement to increase productivity by implementing GMO technology. In …
Abstract: Before a genetically modified plant (GMP) can be placed on the market in the European Union (EU), an environmental risk assessment has to be conducted according to EU‐Directive 2001/18/EC or Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council. However, no harmonized concept for ecotoxicological testing is available today that considers …
Abstract: EU member states on 9 November again failed to agree on a license renewal period for the controversial herbicide glyphosate, used in the Monsanto product Roundup, despite the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) advice. Glyphosate is the most widely produced herbicide in the world. It is used extensively in agriculture and is also found …
Abstract: The controversy surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been a highly politicized issue in Europe. While opponents of GM crops maintain that scientific risk assessments are not sufficient to address potential long-term hazards for health or the environment, proponents have criticized the current regulatory framework for being influenced by political and other non-scientific interests. …
Abstract: The major growth seen in the biotechnology industry in recent decades has largely been driven by the exploitation of genetic engineering techniques. The initial benefits have been predominantly in the biomedical area, with products such as vaccines and hormones that have received broad public approval. In the environmental biotechnology and industrial ecology sectors, biotechnology …
Abstract: Purpose Since more than 25 years, public dialogues, expert consultations and scientific publications have concluded that a comprehensive assessment of the implications of genetic engineering in agriculture and food production needs to include health, environmental, social and economical aspects, but only very few legal frameworks allow to assess the two latter aspects. This article …
Abstract: Purpose. The prevailing controversies on the potential environmental risks of genetically modified organisms [GMOs] still fuel ongoing discussions among European Union [EU] member states, risk assessors, applicants and scientists, even several years after the commercial introduction of GMOs. The disagreements mainly derive from the current risk assessment practice of GMOs and differences in the …
Text: Is ‘rare’ rare enough to be acceptable? Increasing microbial resistance to antibiotics is a wellestablished threat to human health and so there is a need for a global strategy to combat this increase (1). In the past, attention has mostly been paid to create a holistic strategy for usage of these drugs in prophylactic …
Abstract: The European Union (EU) safeguards the quality of the origin and the production processes of food farming products. Italy has the most number of recognized denomination products: 244, over a total of 1,098. Inspite of the high number, this section is dominated by products of animal origin, which make up 90% of its economic …
Text: In a lawsuit over genetically modified (GM) modified rice, jury members in an Arkansas circuit court ruled in March in favor of Riceland Foods of Stuttgart, Arkansas, a rice milling and exporting company, and against Bayer CropScience of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Monheim, Germany. The jury recommended that Bayer pay Riceland $136.8 …
