European Commission gives green light to genetically modified potatoes
Brussels, March 2 - A decision announced today by Europe's new health and consumer commissioner, John Dalli, to give the go ahead for genetically modified potatoes to be grown in Europe, has been condemned by Friends of the Earth Europe.
The ‘Amflora’ potato, designed to produce starch for industrial purposes by Germany´s chemical giant BASF, carries a controversial antibiotic resistant gene which it cannot be guaranteed will not enter the food chain. Read more...
Taxpayers' money involved in financing controversial tar sands companies
London/Brussels, 1 March – A new report launched today reveals that UK bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, has been involved in providing loans worth $7.5 billion in the last three years to companies carrying out highly controversial ‘tar sands’ mining in Canada.
A coalition of organisations including Friends of the Earth Europe, has released, 'Cashing in on Tar Sands – RBS, UK Banks and Canada’s ‘Blood Oil’, [3] which shows that outside of North America, RBS is involved in the highest quantity of loans to tar sands-related companies, equivalent to eight per cent of the global total. Read more...
New report: GM crops failing to tackle
climate change
Deforestation for GM soy plantations in Brazil (Photo credit: Maurício Araújo)
Brussels, 23 February – On the day of the release of annual industry-sponsored figures, a new report from Friends of the Earth International reveals that claims made by the biotech industry that genetically modified (GM) crops can combat climate change are both exaggerated and premature.
The report examines the evidence for these claims, and exposes that GM crops could actually increase carbon emissions while failing to feed the world. This is because GM crops are responsible for huge increases in the use of pesticides in the US and South America, intensifying fossil fuel use. The cultivation of GM soy to feed factory farmed animals is also contributing to widespread deforestation in South America. Read more...
|
