Latest Resources
17 April 2010
140 groups & scientists urge Senate to oppose GM clause in Global Food Security Act
140 groups & scientists urge Senate to oppose GM clause in Global Food Security Act 13 Apr 2010 Dear Colleagues: Today’s press release on the Global Food Security Act below, expressing the concerns of PAN, Food First, National Family Farm Coalition, the African Center for Biosafety and partners. And MANY MANY thanks to all of […]
4 March 2010
The GM stacked gene revolution: A biosafety nightmare
Stacked GMOs are those containing more than one gene genetically engineered into a crop plant. A controversial stacked GMO, Smarstax containing 8 such genetically engineered genes, was commercially approved in the US, Canada, Japan and South Korea during 2009. Stacked gene varieties are highly complex, posing new biosafety risks that outpace the capacity of regulatory […]
7 February 2010
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa: Turning Africa into a repository for failed agricultur...
The ‘new’ Green Revolution push in Africa is directed squarely at increasing agricultural production as the continent’s most fundamental development priority. The most visible actor in the Green Revolution onslaught is the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a partnership between the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Despite initial […]
7 February 2010
Bilateral biosafety bullies: How corporations use bilateral trade channels to weaken biotech regu...
Across the world, the use of bilateral trade instruments to prise open markets for genetically modified (GM) crops is escalating. To expand business overseas, the biotech industry needs stronger intellectual property rules and weaker biosafety standards. Bilateral trade deals are an effective way to do this. This report looks specifically at how the world’s grain […]
25 January 2010
Africa – The new frontier for the GE industry
The genetic engineering (GE) industry is facing a shrinking global market as more and more countries adopt biosafety laws and GE labelling regulations. Africa and Asia are the new frontiers for exploitation by the agro-chemical, seed and GE corporations. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) appears to be at the forefront of a […]
13 January 2010
Africa’s Green Revolution Drought Tolerant Maize Scam
Prediction of exacerbated drought in Africa due to climate change is apparently the driving force behind the establishment of the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) initiative, another prong of the so-called ‘New Green Revolution for Africa’ WEMA seeks to develop drought tolerant maize varieties through a program which is being presented as a panacea […]
11 December 2009
Africa’s Granary Plundered Privatisation of Tanzanian Sorghum Protected by the Seed Treaty
A gene recently isolated from a Tanzanian farmers’ variety of sorghum may yield tremendous pros for multinational companies and government researchers in the United States and Brazil. Called SbMATE, it is not only useful in sorghum; but also may be used in other crops, including genetically engineered (GE) maize, wheat, and rice as well as […]
17 November 2009
Ongoing Concerns about Harmonisation of Biosafety Regulations in Africa
The paper is a response to concerns raised by the African Union’s Biosafety Unit about assertions made in an earlier briefing in June 2009 regarding the African Union’s biosafety harmonisation processes. In this briefing the Ms Swanby on behalf of the ACB salutes the initiatives taken by the AU in the biosafety discourse on the […]
9 November 2009
Response from the AU Commission Biosafety Unit to Briefing no. 9
In July 2009 The African Union Biosafety Unit communicated their concerns about the ACB’s briefing no.9, their letter can be viewed here. The original briefing can be viewed at here, The ACB’s response is titled On-going concerns about harmonisation of biosafety regulations in Africa, November 2009.
29 September 2009
GM climate craze seizes African food
Media Release by the African Centre for Biosafety Johannesburg 1 October 2009 The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has today released a report exposing the patents and players involved in appropriating key African food crops to produce genetically modified (GM) climate crops. According to the report, biotechnology is being used to identify ?climate genes? in […]