Latest GM & Biosafety Resources

Call for urgent Parliamentary hearing on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and transparent review of risk assessment procedures and public participation in GMO decision making To Mr. Mlungisi Lulu Johnson Chair: Portfolio Committee on Agriculture Parliament of South Africa Dear Honourable Mr Johnson, Recent events, such as the nationwide protests against Monsanto and consumer outrage over […]

In July 2012 the National Chamber of Milling (NCM) posted a position on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) on its website, in which it supports the principle of consumer choice and pledges to “encourage identity preservation within the grain supply chain to enable clear labelling of our product to the consumer market”. However, the biotech industry […]

A letter from the ACB to Tiger Brands is supported by 39 African organisations working at grass-roots on issues of agriculture, consumer concerns and primary health care calling upon Tiger Brands to go GM free. Tiger Brands operates in 25 African countries and has ownership of a number of food manufacturers on the continent including […]

Outraged by the results of tests conducted by the ACB. We, the undersigned members of civil society, are outraged by the ACB’s test results showing that Purity’s Cream of Maize tested positive as containing 56.25% GM maize; and Purity’s Purity Baby First tested positive as containing 71.47% GM maize. We note with alarm, that this […]

Request for intervention to uphold the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health GM crops engineered to be resistant to three herbicides: 2,4-D, glufosinate-ammonium and glyphosate. Previous letters sent to: Mr. Anand Grover Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest […]

Comments on: Draft amendments to regulations to the Consumer Protection Act related to labelling of GMOs 8 November 2012. Read more.

We, the undersigned, members of civil society organisations from across the African continent, hereby call for an immediate and complete ban on the growing, importing and exporting of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on the African continent. We call upon the governments of Africa to take the necessary steps to protect the health of their populations […]

Snippet from the letter below. The ACB read with interest an article published in the Business Day (2nd October, ‘AgriSA backs gene-modified maize’), in which you argue that the curtailment of cultivating GM maize in South Africa would lead to lower yields, higher maize prices, and an increase in the use of agricultural pesticides. You […]

ACB has chosen to use the AVAAZ platform to run our petitions. Please click here and sign the petition and spread the word.

On the13th of December 2009, Syngenta published a public notice of their intent to apply to the GMO Registrar for a permit for the general release of genetically modified maize, GA21. Having obtained a ‘non-confidential-business-information’ version of Syngenta’s application, it is our contention that the application cannot be adequately assessed. The information provided is sketchy […]

At the Executive Council: GMO Act meeting of 21st July 2009, the decision was taken to deny the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) permission to release genetically modified potatoes onto the market. The decision was not published on the Department of Agriculture’s (DAFF) website until the 14th of October 2009. We are aware that the ARC […]

The Opposition Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) has today revoked a patent granted to Dr. Willmar Schwabe (Schwabe) in its entirety. The patent was opposed by the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) from South Africa acting on behalf of a rural community in Alice, in the Eastern Cape, in collaboration with the Swiss […]