Between BlackRock and a Hard Place
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Is the Industrial Food Chain Unravelling... or Rewinding?
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Immediate stop to climate geoengineering
Submitted by Veronica Villa on
Demand by 110 civil society organizations and popular movements
Collective press release by ETC Group, the Indigenous Environmental Network, Friends of the Earth International, La Via Campesina, Climate Justice Alliance and BiofuelWatch.
In a widely-supported Manifesto released today, 23 international organizations, six “Alternative Nobel Prize” recipients, and 87 national organizations from five continents called for a halt to testing and political consideration of climate geoengineering.
Hands Off Mother Earth!
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Manifesto Against Geoengineering
110 civil society organizations and popular movements denounce geoengineering and demand an immediate stop to all open-air experiments. If your organization would like to join the fight against geoengineering and endorse the HOME Manifesto, please send an email to manifesto@geoengineeringmonitor.org.
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Patagonia’s bet on biotech fabrics may threaten livelihoods and ecosystems
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
Farmers and environmentalists sound the alarm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OAKLAND, CA — The fashion and technology sectors alike have been abuzz about high-tech fabrics derived from genetically engineered microorganisms. Most notably, Patagonia Inc. – noted in the past for its support of organic textiles and its opposition to genetic engineering – has surprisingly teamed up with Bay Area based biotech startup Bolt Threads to help propel genetically engineered clothes to market.
Genetically-Engineered Clothes
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
Synthetic Biology's New Spin on Fast Fashion
A new generation of genetically engineered fabrics have been hyped as ecologically friendly and sustainable, but revelations in this new report show the profoundly negative impacts they could have on the environment and farmers’ livelihoods worldwide.
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Leading African Biodiversity Advocate Denied Canadian Visa Days Before UN Forum
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As international debate on gene drive technology heats up, Canadian immigration officials deny a key voice
MONTREAL, July 4, 2018 - United Nations biodiversity negotiations are underway in Montreal, but a key African expert is missing from the fray. Ali Tapsoba, President of the organization Terre à Vie in Burkina Faso, was planning to speak at two events on behalf of Burkinabé civil society who oppose the release of gene drive mosquitoes, a controversial new biotechnology, in their communities.
His visa application was denied without explanation by the Canadian embassy in Dakar on Friday.
Movements of Millions Say No to Gene Drives as Brazil Attempts to Legalize Genetic Extinction Technology
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Regulatory change would spread modified genetic traits to wild organisms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONTREAL, MEXICO CITY, SÃO PAULO, February 22, 2018—The largest rural movements in Brazil, representing well over a million farmers, are protesting a new Brazilian regulation that would allow release of gene drives, the controversial genetic extinction technology, into Brazil’s ecosystems and farms.
The Gene Drive Files
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Disclosed emails reveal military as top funder; Gates Foundation paying $1.6 million to influence UN expert process
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Over 1,200 emails released under open records requests reveal that the U.S. military is now the top funder and influencer behind a controversial genetic extinction technology known as “gene drives” – pumping $100 million into the field.
“Bleeding” veggie burger has “no basis for safety,” according to FDA
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Documents show that makers of the “Impossible Burger” ignored FDA’s warnings about safety of burger’s key GMO ingredient
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Creators of a fake-meat burger made with a high-profile genetically engineered ingredient may have landed their experimental industry in a sizzling food safety mess, casting doubt on a Silicon Valley foodtech investor bubble. Joint Press Release from ETC Group and Friends of the Earth.
Why SRM experiments are a bad idea
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
Solar Radiation Management (SRM) describes a set of geoengineering techniques that aim to counter human-made climate change by artificially increasing the reflection of heat from sunlight (solar radiation) back into space. Some advocates have started using the term “solar geoengineering” – but these techniques are not related to solar power production.
Trump Administration Inflates Geoengineers’ Balloon
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Harvard scientists in Washington talk up stratospheric geoengineering experiments that would violate UN decision
Washington, DC – The Trump administration’s repudiation of the UN’s 2015 Paris agreement on climate change and its rollback of the EPA and other US agencies on monitoring and mitigating global warming has created an unexpected opportunity for a rogue group of climate researchers to seek support for an alternative climate change strategy.
Four Steps Forward, One Leap Back on Global Governance of Synthetic Biology
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UN Biodiversity Convention grapples with threats posed by extreme biotech industry
CANCUN, MEXICO — This week, 196 countries meeting at the 2016 UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) Conference of the Parties made progress on the global governance and oversight of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology (syn bio) has become one of the most fiercely debated topics at the Biodiversity Convention, almost 7 years after civil society first brought the need for precaution and regulation of the new set of biotechnologies to this UN body.
UN Convention still says “No” to manipulating the climate
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
UN Convention on Biological Diversity reaffirms its moratorium on climate-related geoengineering
CANCUN, MEXICO – The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which gathered at its 13th Conference of the Parties (COP 13) in Mexico from December 4-17, decided to reaffirm its landmark moratorium on climate-related geoengineering that it first agreed to in 2010.
COP 13 Gene Drives FAQ
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
On Thursday, December 15, 2016 the Civil Society Working Group on Synthetic Biology circulated a short fact sheet to help clear up four of the most common questions arising about gene drives.
1. Are gene drives naturally occurring?
In brief: the engineered gene drives being discussed at COP 13 are NOT naturally occurring elements.
170 Global Groups Call for Moratorium on New Genetic Extinction Technology at UN Convention
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
CANCUN, MEXICO – This week, international conservation and environmental leaders are calling on governments at the 2016 UN Convention on Biodiversity to establish a moratorium on the controversial genetic extinction technology called gene drives.
Geoengineering at COP 13 - Convention on Biological Diversity
Submitted by Veronica Villa on
Briefing for Government Delegates
Key points:
• CBD Decision X/33, 8 (w) on geoengineering remains valid and should be affirmed and strengthened.
• The potential impacts of geoengineering on biodiversity have been scarcely studied. Studies and policy recommendations on the impacts on biodiversity and associated livelihoods caused by any geoengineering intervention are, and should remain, under the mandate of CBD and its bodies.
• New research papers continue to demonstrate high risks and uncertainties associated with the full range of geoengineering proposals.
Synthetic Biology, Biodiversity & Farmers
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
Case studies exploring the impact of synthetic biology on natural products, livelihoods and sustainable use of biodiveristy
A fundamental shift is underway in how food, flavor, cosmetic, and fragrance ingredients are being produced for global markets. The new game in town is synthetic biology, or GMOs 2.0—companies are now able to create yeasts that secrete artificial compounds that taste or smell like familiar substances but don’t actually come from the natural source.
Synthetic Biology and the CBD
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
Five key decisions for COP 13 & COP-MOP 8
December 2016
Call for nominations: Captain Hook Awards for Biopiracy 2016
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
Yo ho ho! Who are the most gruesome and despicable biopirates plundering genetic resources in your country? Which corporate crooks are looting indigenous knowledge in your communities? Have any governments failed to ward off marauders, enacted bogus policies, or plotted against their own people? Which gene-jacking genome editors are carrying out dastardly digital theft via your local genome database?
New Guide IDs GMOs 2.0 in Food and Cosmetics
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Consumer and Environmental groups release “Shopper’s Guide to Synthetic Biology”
BALTIMORE, MD — Consumer and environmental groups today released the Shopper’s Guide to Synthetic Biology to help consumers avoid the new wave of GMOs in food and cosmetics, and find truly natural and sustainable options.
Gene-silenced apples that never look old, synthetic stevia created with genetically engineered yeast — these are just some of the new generation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) making their way into food and consumer products.
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