Recent Content Related to Biodiversity & Cultural Diversity

Regulate Synthetic Biology Now: 194 Countries

SynBio industry’s wild west days are numbered
20 October 2014
PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA– In a unanimous decision of 194 countries, the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) today formally urged nation states to regulate synthetic biology (SynBio), a new extreme form of genetic engineering. The landmark decision follows ten days of hard-fought negotiations between developing countries and a small group of wealthy biotech-friendly economies. Until now, synthetic organisms have been developed and commercialized without international regulations; increasing numbers of synthetically-derived products are making their way to market.

Northern “Syn Bio Club” Blasted for Impeding UN Talks Progress

Synthetic Biology States vs. the Rest of the World
15 October 2014
- For immediate release -
 
PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA–Tensions are rising at UN talks concerning oversight of synthetic biology technology, sometimes called extreme genetic engineering. A small club of wealthy nations with powerful biotech industries, (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, Brazil and the European Union) have been clashing with developing countries from Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean over the need for international governance frameworks for synthetic biology. 
 

Why Genetically Modified Crops Pose a Threat to Peasants, Food Sovereignty, Health, and Biodiversity on the Planet

14 August 2014
A Summary of Scientific Arguments

Introduction

Almost twenty years of genetically modified crops… What have we gained?

Contrary to what companies promised, official statistics from the United States—the leading producer of genetically modified (GM) crops in the world—demonstrate that the truth of GM crops is that they produce less per hectare than the seeds that were already available on the market, but have resulted in an exponential increase in the use of agritoxins.

Case Study: Rubber and Synthetic Biology

03 July 2014
Rubber and Synthetic Biology: A New and Emerging Issue for CBD

This case study illustrates recent developments in synthetic biology that could impact the $35 billion natural rubber market and disrupt the livelihoods of producers. These developments impact the sustainable use of biodiversity and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the genetic resources associated with rubber production. Natural rubber has already lost half of its market to petroleum-based synthetics. If production challenges are resolved, production via synthetic biology could erode the remaining half. Using synthetic biology, three different commercial teams are working to produce a biosynthetic isoprene that could soon impact Asia’s exporters; other companies are producing biosynthetic butadiene and isobutene, also crucial to the manufacture of rubber.

Case Study: Saffron and Synthetic Biology

03 July 2014
Ingredients, Flavours, Fragrances and Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology could impact the $22 billion global flavour and fragrance market and the livelihoods of producers of natural commodities. The world's largest producers of food ingredients, flavors and fragrances are all now partnering with Synthetic Biology companies to develop biosynthetic versions of key high value natural commodities such as saffron, vanilla, vetiver and patchouli - replacing botanical sources. These in turn are just a few our of hundreds of economically important natural plant compounds whose production may be switched to synthetic biology production in a very short time frame.

Case Study: Vetiver and Synthetic Biology

03 July 2014
Ingredients, Flavours, Fragrances and Synthetic Biology

Known for its musty, woody scent, vetiver oil is also know for its fixative qualities, which means that it helps a fragrance to last longer after it is applied to the skin. Vetiver oil can be detected in the “base notes” of many perfumes or colognes. A synthetic biology company has engineered microbes to produce chemical compounds aimed at replacing traditional Vetiver production, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of farmers in Haiti, Indonesia, China, India, Japan and Brazil, among others.

Open Letter to Ecover / Method

02 June 2014
re: decision to use ingredients derived from Synthetically Modified Organisms
02 June 2014
 
Philip Malmberg, CEO
Ecover 
Industrieweg 3
Malle, 2390 Belgium
 
Adam Lowry, Co-Founder
Method Home
637 Commercial Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 9411
USA
 
Dear Philip Malmberg and Adam Lowry,
 
RE: Ecover and Method’s decision to use ingredients derived from Synthetically Modified Organisms (SMOs) in its products
 

Case Study: Squalene and Synthetic Biology

30 April 2014
Synthetic Biology - A New and Emerging Issue for CBD

New developments in synthetic biology could have far-reaching impacts on the market for biodiversity-derived natural products and the livelihoods of those who produce them. Cosmetic giants like Unilver and L’Oreal can source squalene from plant sources (olive oil, amaranth seeds, wheat germ, etc.) instead of harvesting the livers of 6 million deep sea sharks per year. This is a positive development. Now, Amyris is producing squalene from engineered microbes in fermentation tanks that are fueled by biomass – up to two million tons of crushed sugarcane annually. Who decides what is the most sustainable and socially just use of biomass and farmland?

No inter-governmental body is addressing the potential impacts of synthetic biology on the conservation and use of biodiversity and on the livelihoods of those who depend on agricultural export commodities (including high-value flavors, fragrances, cosmetics, essential oils, etc). The Convention on Biological Diversity is the most appropriate forum to address this new and emerging issue.

Suicide at the Carnaval? Terminator is back in the Brazilian Congress

Push to Pass Suicide Seeds Legislation Could Come While Deputies Dance
28 February 2014

Push to Pass Suicide Seeds Legislation Could Come While Deputies Dance

Sign the petition to stop it!

Brazilian civil society organizations warned yesterday that a 2007 bill to end Brazil’s ban on Terminator seeds could soon be on the move (again) in the Brazilian Congress. While two bills have been on the congressional agenda for several years, a 2007 bill (PL 268/2007, filed by Rep. Eduardo Sciarra – PSD party) began moving through the Congress last July and came to a head last October. The legalizing of Terminator in Brazil would have global implications, including as a violation of the United Nations moratorium on Terminator technologies, in place since 2000 at the Convention on Biological Diversity.

World Food Day Marked by Brazilian Legislation to Introduce Terminator Seeds and Prizes for Monsanto and Syngenta

15 October 2013

As the United Nations celebrates World Food Day October 16, in Brazil, a Constitutional Commission is slated to rule on pending legislation that would permit the use of Terminator technology (a.k.a. suicide seeds), upending the country’s 8 year-old ban and violating the international moratorium on the quintessential anti-farmer technology. Meanwhile, on October 17, in Iowa (USA), scientists from Syngenta and Monsanto, two companies that both have Terminator patents, will receive the World Food Prize for their “breakthrough” achievements in developing genetically modified crops.

Update on Proposed Terminator Legislation in Brazil

Update on Proposed Terminator Legislation in Brazil
09 October 2013

Yesterday, ETC Group reported on the scheduled meeting of Brazil's Judicial Commission to rule on the constitutionality of a bill that would allow the planting of Terminator plants (i.e., plants engineered to be sterile in the second generation) in Brazil. While the Judicial Commission did meet, it postponed the discussion on the Terminator bill until next week.

Brazil Set to Unleash Terminator Threat

Fast-tracked Legislation to Allow Sterile Seeds Would Harm Farmers, Food Security
07 October 2013

Today Brazil’s Judicial Commission is slated to rule on the constitutionality of a proposed bill that will allow genetically engineered sterility in seeds, known as Terminator Technology. If the bill gains the approval of the Commission, it could quickly come to a vote in Congress. Brazil’s national law to ban Terminator has been under threat since it was enacted 8 years ago, but this most recent congressional action has caused the most serious alarm since it could swiftly overturn the ban.

Yet another UN report calls for support to peasant farming and agroecology

It's time for action
23 September 2013

La Via Campesina, GRAIN and ETC welcome a new UNCTAD report which states that farming in rich and poor nations alike should shift from monoculture towards greater varieties of crops, reduced use of fertilizers and other inputs, greater support for small-scale farmers, and more locally focused production and consumption of food.

Who Will Feed Us? Text and poster

The Industrial Food Chain or the Peasant Food Webs?
06 September 2013

The Food Systems We Don’t Know We Don’t Know – Fifty years ago, at the first World Food Congress in June 1963, the UN was told that, “We have the means, we have the capacity, to wipe hunger and poverty from the face of the earth in our lifetime – we need only the will.” These words have been the mantra of every food conference since. Yet governments still face major gaps in their knowledge about our food supply and consumption. This became horribly apparent in 2007 when governments failed to recognize that a global food crisis was at hand. Fifty years after policymakers committed to end hunger they need to sort out why governments don’t have the means, the capacity, or the will to end hunger.

Related Issues: 
strengthening diversity
Seeds & Genetic Diversity
Farmers' Rights & Food Sovereignty
Biodiversity & Cultural Diversity
Genomics & Biotechnology
Climate & Geoengineering
Corporate Monopolies
Related Fora: 
Biodiversity: CBD, SBSTTA, IPBES
Food and Agriculture: FAO, CGIAR, CFS
Sustainable Development: Rio+20, CSD

Case Study: Vanilla and Synthetic Biology

03 July 2013
Ingredients, Flavours, Fragrances and Synthetic Biology

Recent developments in synthetic biology could impact the $22 billion global flavour and fragrance market and the livelihoods of producers of natural commodities. These developments impact the sustainable use of biodiversity and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the genetic resources that produce natural plant products. The worlds largest producers of food ingredients, flavors and fragrances are all now partnering with Synthetic Biology companies to develop biosynthetic versions of key high value natural commodities such as saffron, vanilla, vetiver and patchouli - replacing botanical sources.

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