GM Potato Controversy - A case with disturbing implications for present day science

Editor's note: We thank Dr. Arpad J. Pusztai very much for his article. Dr. Pusztai has been directly involved as a principal investigator in the researching of GM potatoes and what he told here is absolutely an insider story.

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Interview: Jonathan Matthews from GM-Watch on Channel 4's 'Animal Farm'

This week marked the start of Channel 4's three-part documentary, 'Animal Farm'. We asked Jonathan Matthews, founder and editor of the GM-Watch website, whether Channel 4's reporting was fair.

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Is Monsanto Going to Seed?

Many people like to consider Monsanto (NYSE: MON) part of the brave new world of biotech. However, the company has long been shrouded in controversy, and there could be more in store.

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GMOs unfit for consumption

The work of press agents consists of not just getting the media to carry news favorable to their clients, but also to suppress information inimical to their business. Jargon in the traditional newsroom has an aptly descriptive phrase for it: “Kill story!”

One story that has suffered down play—as of this writing—comes from a scientific study, which found that genetically modified (GM) corn approved by Philippine authorities shows signs of toxicity to mammals. The giant agribusiness multinational Monsanto markets the GM corn in several countries, including ours, for animal feeds, food processing and human consumption.

That the issue has a direct bearing on public health should be apparent. Yet many major news organizations failed to give it the prominence it obviously deserves—if they ran the story at all.

The study, written by a panel of three scientists in France, showed that laboratory rats fed with GMO corn Monsanto (MON) 863 YieldGard Root­wom displayed kidney and liver toxicity.

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GM starch potato: still no cultivation in 2007

The Amflora potato, developed by BASF Plant Science with an altered starch composition, apparently may not yet be cultivated this year in the EU. As reported by the magazine Agrar Europe, the European Commission has requested an opinion from the European Medicines Agency, EMEA, as prerequisite to an approval decision.

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Mixed reaction to DEFRA GM potato trials announcement

DEFRA has published details of a proposed site for a genetically modified potato trial in Yorkshire.

The site, which will test the effectiveness of the GM potato's resistance against UK strains of late potato blight, has been proposed by agrochemical company BASF. It is needed, the company says, to replace a site in Derbyshire that pulled out in December 2006.

It will now have to undergo an approval procedure with DEFRA. This has begun with the department calling for any interested parties to make representations about "the risk of environmental damage posed by the GM trial".

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Growers fight plan to hold GM potato crop trial in region

CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to fight attempts to hold a genetically modified potato trial in East Yorkshire. Crop development business BASF Plant Science wants to carry out a five-year trial of a potato modified to resist the devastating fungal disease late blight at a farm in the Hedon/Preston area, after a Derbyshire farm pulled out.

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