Latest GM & Biosafety Resources

17 June 2025 UPDATE: Thank you to all who signed our petition, supporting our call to hold the South African government and chemical industry accountable for the devastating effects of toxic pesticides on our society. Following the South African People’s Tribunal on AgroToxins (SAPToA), which was held in March this year, the three jurors, Judge […]

Over the past few years, the ACB has produced and shared several briefing papers concerning new genetic engineering technologies for food and agriculture. Building on this work, and in light of the major deregulation push globally concerning genome editing, including in several countries in Africa, we have produced two updated factsheets on this dangerous distraction […]

Even though first-generation genetically modified (GM) agricultural crops have faced significant setbacks and outright failures over the last two decades, a new push for second-generation GM crops has emerged. Despite the destructive role of industrial agricultural expansion in biodiversity loss and human health, we are seeing a resurgence in its momentum, with false solutions such […]

 We call on the government to reverse approval of GM wheat into our country Thank you to the 80+ organisations, listed below, who support this ACB submission to the South African Biosafety authorities, the Executive Council (EC): GMO Act, to review and reassess its decision to grant approval for the importation into South Africa of […]

Thank you for supporting our continental campaign to ban glyphosate The deadline for signing on to the petition was Friday, 30 August, 2019. In the next phase of the campaign, many organisations around the continent are sending letters to their governments calling for a ban. In this paper we explain why. Globally, glyphosate and glyphosate-based […]

On Monday 1st July 2019, Target Malaria announced the release of 6400 genetically modified (GM) sterile male mosquitoes in Bana, a village in Burkina Faso – the first GM insects to be released in Africa. This is Phase I – by Phase III, Target Malaria aims to release gene drive mosquitoes. Gene drives are based […]

The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) is pleased to share with you a three part animation series on GMOs in South Africa. These animations (each around 5 minutes long) are available on our YouTube Channel. The animations speak to the following topics: History of Maize Cultivation and Consumption in South Africa GMOs in South Africa […]

Grab these short, easy reading factsheets and share it with your friends.

The South African government needs to ban the use of glyphosate in our food system with immediate effect. Glyphosate (most commonly known as RoundUp) is the most widely used herbicide in South Africa and its use has increased dramatically since the introduction of genetically modified maize, soya and cotton that has been engineered to survive […]

You Can make a difference by keeping the pressure on food producers. Consumer pressure works… Especially if it is constant and relentless… We have won many victories and we can win the big ones too. Consumers have the power! Let’s take back our food supply… Please sign our petition to call on South African food […]

Labelling does not give South Africans true choice; the only maize available on the market is GM. This is food fascism! Download this factsheet: English | Afrikaans | Sotho | Zulu To read the rest of the fact sheets in this series, click here.

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 […]