AGRIBUSINESS: Tanzania Orders Destruction of Monsanto/Gates Foundation GMO Trials.

AGRIBUSINESS: Tanzania Orders Destruction of Monsanto/Gates Foundation GMO Trials. Tanzanian civil society organisations (CSOs) welcome the decision of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Mathew Mtigumwe, to bring an immediate stop to all ongoing GMO trials taking place in the country. These are under the auspices of the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project which includes Monsanto, the Gates Foundation and national research centres.

South Africa Government Rejects Monsanto’s GMO Triple Stacked Maize.

South Africa Government Rejects Monsanto’s GMO Triple Stacked Maize.The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has welcomed the decision of the South African biosafety authorities, rejecting Monsanto’s application for the commercial release of its GM drought tolerant triple stacked maize: MON 87460 x MON 89034 x NK 603. At its meeting on the 2nd October 2018, the Executive Council: GMO Act, refused to authorize the GM maize for commercial growing as it found that the data provided by Monsanto was insufficient to demonstrate the claimed drought tolerant and insect resistant efficacy of the GM event. In particular, the EC found that the drought tolerant field trial data presented by Monsanto for trials conducted over a period of 5 years (2014-2018) in Hopetown, Orania, Lutzville and Malelane, were sorely wanting.

Genetically Modified Children: New Film Unveils the ‘Monstrous’ Child Deformities Caused by Agrochemicals in Argentina.

Genetically Modified Children: New Film Unveils the ‘Monstrous’ Child Deformities Caused by Agrochemicals in Argentina. The shocking film "Genetically Modified Children" unveils the horrors of decades of chemical-intensive agricultural practices in Argentina, where the majority of crops are genetically modified (GM) and routinely doused in dangerous agrochemicals, and the chokehold big tobacco companies such as Philip Morris and chemical and seed giants have on poverty-stricken farmers desperate to earn a living. The film, produced by Juliette Igier and Stephanie Lebrun, shows the devastating health effects the region's agricultural sector is having on children,1 an increasing number of whom are being born with monstrous physical deformities. Some of the children's cases are so severe that, without a medical intervention, will result in death before the age of 5. The film begins with the crew traveling from North Argentina in the Province of Misiones to the Brazilian frontier, an agricultural region that was one of the nation's first to begin growing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the mid-'90s. Featured in the film is Ricardo Rivero, regional head of the local electricity company. He learned that the reason families cannot pay their bills is because often they are taking care of a sick or handicapped child, and receive no assistance from the Argentinian government. The film shows them visiting the humble home of a tobacco farmer where they meet Lucas Texeira, a 5-year-old boy with an incurable genetic skin disease. The family believes it was caused by the mother's exposure to Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller early on in her pregnancy. No one told her it was toxic, she says. The genetic mutation that caused her son's condition left him with no pores in his skin, which means he doesn't perspire. The heat from his body stays inside, causing him severe and painful itching that leads to frequent crying spells. Mr. Texeira expresses his sadness over Lucas' condition, as well as his fears that he could have another child in the future with a similar deformity.

New Australian Study Shows GM Crops Cause Leaky Stomachs in Rats.

New Australian Study Shows GM Crops Cause Leaky Stomachs in Rats.A ground breaking new study from Australian experts has shown that so-called “Bt proteins”, produced by some GM crops, may not be as safe as previously assumed. Any two cells that line the stomach are normally held tightly against each other to form a “tight junction”. This stops any bacteria, viruses or food particles from leaking out from the stomach into the tissues of the body. The study found that the rats fed the GM corn had gaps in their tight junctions. This is called “poor apposition”. On average, this was five times greater in rats fed the GM corn diet. Poor apposition should not occur in normal, healthy stomachs. Yet every stomach section seen in rats fed the GM diet had these gaps between a number of cells. Dr. Judy Carman, one of the lead scientists involved in the study, said: “This means that there is a risk that eating GM maize could cause leakage of substances from the stomach and therefore increase the risk of developing allergies, or infections from the microbes in the food you eat or the water you drink.” In addition, the lining of the stomach has microscopic pits in it. Cells in the pits produce mucus to protect the stomach from stomach acid. The bottom of each pit divides into two long, straight glands. These glands produce stomach acid to help digest food. While the researchers saw some dilated (i.e. swollen) glands in rats fed the GM diet and those fed the non-GM diet, the rats fed the non-GM diet had smaller swellings and the cells lining the glands looked normal. In contrast, the glands in the GM-fed group were much more swollen, they often contained debris or mucus, and the cells lining the glands were often abnormal. For example, some cells were stretched or longer than they should have been. More than six times as many rats had glands that were both swollen and lined with elongated cells in the GM-fed group. While every rat on the GM diet showed at least one gland that looked like that, none of the rats fed the non-GM diet showed this pathology.

Monsanto sued small farmers to protect seed patents.

Monsanto sued small farmers to protect seed patents, report says.The agricultural giant Monsanto has sued hundreds of small farmers in the United States in recent years in attempts to protect its patent rights on genetically engineered seeds that it produces and sells, a new report said on Tuesday. The study, produced jointly by the Center for Food Safety and the Save Our Seeds campaigning groups, has outlined what it says is a concerted effort by the multinational to dominate the seeds industry in the US and prevent farmers from replanting crops they have produced from Monsanto seeds. In its report, called Seed Giants vs US Farmers, the CFS said it had tracked numerous law suits that Monsanto had brought against farmers and found some 142 patent infringement suits against 410 farmers and 56 small businesses in more than 27 states. In total the firm has won more than $23m from its targets, the report said.