Calls for Precaution on “Gene Drives” at Biodiversity Meeting

Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), at a subsidiary meeting, have called for precaution when addressing organisms containing engineered gene drives. […]

Agroecology Beats Land and Water Scarcity

With agroecology providing innovative water and production techniques, small farms in Brazil have been able to thrive despite drought. […]

Impressive Yield and Income Increases from SRI Project in West Africa

A project implementing the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in West Africa has benefited some 50,000 rice farmers with yield increases of 54-153% and an average income gain of 41% compared to conventional farmers. […]

Reboot on GMO Risk Assessment Work Under Biosafety Protocol

Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, at a subsidiary meeting in Montreal, have breathed some life back into the risk assessment work that is critical to the implementation of the Protocol. […]

Extensive Phenotypic Differences Between GE and Non-GE Cultivated Plants

A meta-analysis of genetic data on wild, GMO and non-GMO cultivated varieties of rice, canola, maize, sunflower, and pumpkin found significant and unintended phenotypic effects, suggesting consequences of genetic modification beyond the target trait(s). […]

Unapproved GM Wheat Found in Canada, Imports Suspended by Japan and South Korea

Unapproved GM wheat from field trials conducted 20 years ago has been found growing in Canada, prompting Japan and South Korea, two major importers of Canadian wheat, to suspend imports. […]

How Sustainable Food Production Can Change Developing Countries

Sustainable food production is key to building a better world for today and the future. Farmers in developing countries need the resources to make their operations more sustainable. […]

Informational Materials on Synthetic Biology and Sequence Information

New informational materials about the important emerging area of synthetic biology and associated topic of digital sequence information on genetic resources are now available at www.synbiogovernance.org […]

Using CRISPR-Cas9 to Engineer Virus Resistance in Cassava Triggers Evolution of Novel Virus

This study found that using CRISPR-Cas9 to engineer resistance to geminiviruses in cassava resulted in the emergence of a CRISPR-resistant mutant virus, highlighting the potential for CRISPR-systems to trigger the evolution of new viruses. […]

Swiss Ethics Committee Defends Precautionary Principle in Regulating New Biotechnologies

A report by the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology shows that the precautionary principle and the precautionary measures to which it gives rise can be justified ethically with respect to regulating new biotechnologies. […]