U.S. Representative supports expediting approval process for Genetically Modified (GM) crops

According to The Commercial Appeal, Rep. Stephen Fincher from Tennessee has introduced a bill to streamline the approval process for GM crops, which he says are necessary to help feed a rapidly growing population.

The Expediting Agriculture Through Science (EATS) Act would require regulators to speed up the approval process for these advanced crops. “We need to streamline, make sure it’s a more thorough process, one that’s responsible, transparent and accountable,” Rep. Fincher said. Read more.

Gates Foundation funds GM rice to improve yields of African small farmers

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding the creation of GM rice to help Africa’s small farmers increase yields and withstand higher temperatures, BBC reports.

“Unfortunately these poor farmers are going to be facing warmer climates because of global warming so I think it is appropriate to employ whatever tools we can use that are safe and affordable for them,” Mr. Gates said.  “I absolutely think that, in some of those cases, genetic modification is how we will get them the new seeds.” Read more.

 GMO Research aims to prevent spread of banana disease

According to an article in The New Yorker magazine, GMO research aims to prevent the spread of a soil-borne disease, called Tropical Race Four, that threatens to wipe out a widely exported and commonly sold variety of banana called Cavendish. Robert Borsato, a fruit farmer in Australia who, like others, has witnessed the tens of millions of dollars’ worth of damage in lost jobs and revenue caused by Tropical Race Four, said, “The only way to keep going is to breed a disease-resistant variety, one with commercial potential.” A team led by James Dale of Queensland University of Technology in Australia is working on genetically modified Cavendish. Read more. 

Secretary Vilsack proposes co-existence for biotech alfalfa, Reuters reports

USDA Secretary Vilsack addresses farm groups

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack encouraged the largest U.S. farm group to find a way for traditional and genetically modified crops to co-exist, Reuters reports. “Every farmer ought to be able to do what he or she wants to do on their land, so we are going to continue to have that conversation,” Vilsack said at the annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). His proposed solution addressed the USDA’s deliberation between total deregulation and partial deregulation with isolation standards for biotech alfalfa. The article points out that Secretary Vilsack has acknowledged that the biotech alfalfa is safe. Read more.

Unproven claims against GM products similar to opposition to MMR vaccine, FT says

 A Financial Times article compares previous opposition to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and current opposition to GM products to show that opponents’ arguments in both cases are unsubstantiated by peer-reviewed scientific research. Falsified information about the health hazards of MMR was later discredited only after causing considerable damage from a measles epidemic. The article points out that while the food debate raises different issues, independent research and food safety authorities in the EU have similarly reviewed opposing arguments to find, “Organic food does no harm. But then neither, it seems, does non-organic food.” Read More.