Latest Resources

13 February 2008

Hot Potato: GM Potatoes in South Africa – a critical analysis

This research is not home grown or ‘truly South African’. The ARC is part of an international consortium, which includes the Michigan State University (MSU), the International Potato Centre in Peru and gene giant, Syngenta. Syngenta has quietly been cornering the GM food potato market; lodging a stream of patents in the US and other […]

7 February 2008

GMO Field Trials – A briefing document

Questions around GMO field trials in South Africa continue to be asked. Where exactly are they happening, when will there be adequate environmental risk assessment and post-release monitoring, what are the effects on neighbours of GMO field trials and what are the cumulative affects of all the field trials that have happened in South Africa? […]

4 February 2008

GM Vaccines in South Africa – a case for the precautionary principle

Vaccines containing living genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are still at an experimental level in the world today. In South Africa, the first clinical trials for genetically modified (GM) vaccines were approved in 2003. These included several trials for HIV and TB vaccines, while several more applications for trials are pending, including those for other GM […]

28 January 2008

Marine Bioprospecting – key challenges and the situation in South Africa

Marine bioprospecting, also known as marine natural products research, is concerned with the exploration and exploitation of the rich biological and chemical diversity found in marine organisms which inhabit the oceans. Marine bioprospecting is a relatively new endeavour, having its origins in the late 1940’s, 8 when Werner Bergman ‘discovered’ arabinoside sugar in marine sponges, […]

10 October 2007

Bioprospecting, Biopiracy and Indigenous Knowledge: Two Case Studies from the Eastern Cape, SA

This book provides a critical overview of South Africa’s legal regime with a view to investigating its ability to stem the tide of biopiracy involving indigenous knowledge. Against this backdrop, two case studies are discussed from the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In this province, the vast majority of inhabitants rely on traditional medicine […]

21 September 2007

Prof Thompson’s GM Maize Streak Virus

There have been several reports in the media recently about the development of the first genetically engineered crop developed and tested solely by Africans for Africans. Professor Jennifer Thompson and scientists at the University of Cape Town South African, in collaboration with colleagues from seed company, PANNAR Pty Ltd have reported on the development of […]

14 August 2007

Regulation of GMOs in South Africa

The ACB has been motivated to write this paper by the coming into effect on the 17th April 2007, of the Genetically Modified Organisms Amendment Act (No. 23 of 2006). (ii) This amends the Genetically Modified Organisms Act No. 15 of 1997 (‘GMO Act’), 10 years after it became part of the body of post-apartheid […]

26 July 2007

Monsanto’s “Seed of Hope Campaign” in South Africa: A Briefing document, Januar...

Monsanto has conceived of an ingenious smallholders’ programme known as the ‘Seeds of Hope Campaign’, which targets the ‘bottom of the pyramid’-very low-income consumers who have substantial purchasing power as a group. Closed markets in Europe, worldwide consumer rejection, heated international debates about the risks of GMOs, and the intransigence of Africa, sans, South Africa, […]

20 June 2007

Regulation of GMOs in South Africa: details & short comings

The ACB has been motivated to write this paper by the coming into effect on the 17th April 2007, of the Genetically Modified Organisms Amendment Act (No. 23 of 2006). (ii) This amends the Genetically Modified Organisms Act No. 15 of 1997 (‘GMO Act’), 10 years after it became part of the body of post-apartheid […]

3 February 2007

Africa’s Sorghum Saved: Applause for Second GM Sorghum Rejection

The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) hails the decision taken by the Executive Council (EC)-South Africa’s GM regulatory body on the 30 January 2007 to turn down an application by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) to conduct experiments with genetically modified (GM) sorghum in a level three containment facility. This decision was […]