Russia has suspended the import and use of an American GM corn following a study suggesting a link to breast cancer and organ damage. Separately, the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA), has ordered its own review in to the research, which was conducted at a French university. The decision by Russia could be followed by other nations in what would be a severe blow to the take-up of the controversial technology.
The Committee has launched a new inquiry into the impact of insecticides on bees and other insects. On 18 September, Defra published an analysis of the results of its review of research done earlier in the year on the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on bees. It concluded that the studies did not justify changing existing regulations, but also that it was undertaking further research itself and would produce a new risk assessment for bees by the end of 2012. The Committee will examine the basis on which Defra decided not to take action at this stage and whether such a course is justified by the available evidence. The Committee invites organisations and members of the public to submit written evidence, setting out their views on these issues. More wide ranging responses are also welcome. Submissions should ideally be sent to the Committee by Friday 2nd November, although later submissions may be accepted. Guidance on preparing submissions is set out below.
Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food as conventional farming on the same amount of land—according to new findings which refute the long-standing assumption that organic farming methods cannot produce enough food to feed the global population. Researchers from the University of Michigan found that in developed countries, yields were almost equal on organic and conventional farms. In developing countries, food production could double or triple using organic methods, said Ivette Perfecto, professor at U-M's School of Natural Resources and Environment, and one the study's principal investigators. Catherine Badgley, research scientist in the Museum of Paleontology, is a co-author of the paper along with several current and former graduate and undergraduate students from U-M. "My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you can’t produce enough food through organic agriculture," Perfecto said. In addition to equal or greater yields, the authors found that those yields could be accomplished using existing quantities of organic fertilizers, and without putting more farmland into production.
L'étude avait fait grand bruit. Conduite par Mickaël Henry (Institut national de la recherche agronomique, INRA) et publiée en avril dans Science, elle montrait qu'une bonne part des abeilles butineuses ne retrouvaient pas le chemin de leur ruche après avoir été exposées à de faibles doses de Cruiser – le pesticide récemment interdit sur le colza en France. Revenant sur cette affaire, la revue Science publie, vendredi 21 septembre, un "commentaire technique" de chercheurs britanniques contestant les conclusions de M. Henry et ses coauteurs. Banale dispute académique ou cas emblématique de l'influence discrète de l'industrie sur la science ?
El informe adjunto, presentado por la Dra. Rosemary Mason y Palle Uhd Jepsen proporciona evidencia de que, inconscientemente o no, una estrategia a largo plazo ha existido con el objetivo de situar a la industria de los plaguicidas a cargo de la salud humana y la biodiversidad. En los últimos 20 años más o menos, una serie de nuevos productos han sido autorizados por las autoridades reguladoras de todo el mundo. Dos en particular, los insecticidas neonicotinoides sistémicos y cultivos de ingeniería genética han causado contaminación excesiva del medio ambiente. Estos productos son los destructores silenciosos de la salud humana y la biodiversidad global. Los cultivos transgénicos están siendo autorizados a tal velocidad en todo el mundo que no es posible que hayan sido adecuadamente probados por sus efectos a largo plazo.
Range-wide, bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) have declined an estimated 80 percent over the past 40 years, said Don McKenzie, director of the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, a University of Tennessee-based consortium of 25 state wildlife agencies, conservation groups and research institutions launched in 2007 to form a unified strategy for saving bobwhites. "It's hard to overstate how serious the problem is. It's becoming really severe," McKenzie said. "All 25 bobwhite states have experienced short, medium and long-term declines." Moving in lockstep with the decline is a steep falloff in Texas quail hunting, a cultural touchstone for generations of hunters and a once-powerful economic generator. In 1960, 321,000 Texas quail hunters bagged 98 million birds. In 2010, there were fewer than 50,000 hunters and the harvest was around a half million quail. Hunters fear their children will never know what they're missing.
Die Konferenz der Akademie Fresenius für die agrochemische Industrie widmete sich in diesem Jahr im Schwerpunkt der EU-Verordnung EG 1107/2009 über das Inverkehrbringen von Pflanzenschutzmitteln, neuen Erkenntnissen in der Ökotoxikologie und bei Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfungen (Environmental Risk Assessment, ERA) sowie dem Management und der Minderung bestehender Risiken. Das Fachtreffen von Experten aus Industrie, Forschungseinrichtungen und Regulierungsbehörden unter dem Titel „Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecotoxicology and Risk Management“ fand am 27. und 28. November 2012 in Mainz statt. Auf der Konferenz wurden Neuigkeiten zur Bienengesundheit, mechanistischer Effektmodellierung und verfeinerten Expositionsszenarien vorgestellt. Weiterhin beschäftigte sich die Veranstaltung mit zeitabhängiger Toxizität von Pestiziden, Verträglichkeitsprüfungen bei Pestiziden und Bioziden sowie der Wirkungsbeurteilung von Insektiziden. Hinsichtlich der Verordnung EG 1107/2009 wurden Schnittstellen zur Richtlinie zum nachhaltigen Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln aufgezeigt, der derzeitige Stand zum Leitfaden über zonale Zulassungsverfahren in Nordeuropa sowie weitere Dokumente in Vorbereitung diskutiert. Die Konferenzsprache war Englisch. Der Vortrag des Toxikologen und Autors Henk Tennekes in der Beilage.
Steeds meer wetenschappers geven aan dat vlees en melk buitengewoon inefficiënte voedingsmiddelen zijn omdat voor de productie zodanig grote hoeveelheden water en graan noodzakelijk zijn dat de wereldbevolking daarmee binnen afzienbare tijd niet meer gevoed zal kunnen worden. De plantaardige eiwitten die aan dieren worden gevoerd –op dit moment bijna de helft van de wereldgraanvoorraad– wordt door de dieren goeddeels omgezet in lichaamswarmte en mest, en slechts voor een gering deel in dierlijke eiwitten. Daarom is er een voedselrevolutie nodig. Het dier moet uit de voedselketen, waarmee plantaardige eiwitten rechtstreeks door mensen geconsumeerd kunnen worden. Voortschrijdend inzicht zorgt ervoor dat we vleesvervangers kunnen maken met dezelfde structuur, smaak en bite als vlees, van dezelfde grondstoffen, zonder dat er dieren aan te pas komen. Het is een vorm van landbouwvernieuwing waarvan je zou mogen verwachten dat Wageningen Universiteit daarin voorop zou lopen.
Anlässlich des in Brüssel angekommenen „Good Food March“ und des parallel dazu in Wien stattfindenden „Bäuerlichen Protest-Picknick“ stellt der Landwirtschaftssprecher der Grünen, Wolfgang Pirklhuber, klar: „Dieser Marsch ist die größte zivilgesellschaftliche Aktion in der 50-jährigen Geschichte der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik. Die OrganisatorInnen repräsentieren in ihren jeweiligen Ländern hunderttausende KonsumentInnen, UmweltschützerInnen und Bäuerinnen und Bauern. Alle fordern einen Kurswechsel in der Landwirtschaftspolitik. Die derzeitige Agrarpolitik ist unfair, nicht nachhaltig, undemokratisch, ungesund und bürokratisch, sie muss neu aufgestellt werden.“
This year, the conference by Akademie Fresenius for the agrochemical industry focussing on EU regulation (EC) 1107/2009 about the placing of plant protection products on the market, covered new findings in ecotoxicology and environmental risk assessment (ERA) as well as risk mitigation and management. The expert meeting “Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecotoxicology and Risk Management” with representatives from the industry, research facilities and regulatory authorities took place from 27 to 28 November 2012 in Mainz (near Frankfurt)/Germany. The conference introduced news concerning bee health, mechanistic effect models and refined exposure scenarios. Furthermore, the meeting dealt with time-dependent toxicity of pesticides, environmental risk assessment of pesticides and biocides and effect assessment of insecticides. In regard of regulation (EC) 1107/2009, interfaces with the Sustainable Use Directive were pointed out. On top of that, the current state of the zonal authorization procedure Guidance Document in Northern Europe and other documents in preparation was discussed at the conference. The programme and the lecture by Dutch toxicologist and author Dr. Henk Tennekes are attached.