Latest Resources

2 April 2013

NEW SEED LEGISLATION SPELLS DISASTER FOR SMALL FARMERS IN AFRICA

Civil society organisations from the SADC region, and around the world have condemned the SADC draft Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (Plant Breeders’ Rights) as spelling disaster for small farmers and food security in the region. These groups, representing millions of farmers in Africa and around the world have submitted their […]

19 March 2013

SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT BLASTED OVER APPROVAL OF ‘AGENT ORANGE’ GM SOYA

Groups appeal to UN High Commissioner For Human Rights, Secretary-General of CBD Civil society groups from South Africa, Latin America- especially Brazil, Argentina- and the United States are deeply disturbed by the recent decision by the South African GMO authorities to grant approval for the import into South Africa, of Dow’s genetically engineered (GE) soybean […]

25 February 2013

GM Industry Called to Account: ISAAA’s report mischievous and erroneous

The Africa Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has dismissed the findings of the biotechnology industry’s flagship annual report, published by the GM industry funded ‘NGO’, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), as mischievous and erroneous. According to the report, South Africa’s GM crop area increased by a record 26% or 600,000 hectares […]

17 February 2013

Feeding the Dragon: Durban conference to promote massive GM soya push in Africa

Durban will host the 9th World Soybean Research Conference in February 2013, sponsored by the Ethekwini Municipality and agrochemical corporations Monsanto, Syngenta and Dupont. The theme of the conference is “From China to Africa. Can research close the gap between soy production and increasing global demand?” According to Mariam Mayet, Director of the African Centre […]

19 November 2012

ARIPO’s PVP law undermines Farmers’ Rights & Food Security in Africa

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) has proposed a draft regional harmonized policy and legal framework on Plant Variety Protection (PVP), based on the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Convention of 1991. The draft legal framework, if adopted, will have significant adverse consequences for small-scale farmers that dominate […]

11 October 2012

Consumers win GM labelling victory

Consumers in South Africa have won a hard earned victory with regard to the labelling of genetically modified (GM) foods. Yesterday, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published draft amendments to the regulations governing the labelling of GM food. According to the draft amendments, all locally produced and imported food containing 5% or more […]

8 October 2012

Glyphosate in SA: unregulated and contaminating our water and soil: ACB calls for a moratorium on...

The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has today released its new research on glyphosate, titled “Glyphosate in SA: Risky pesticide at large and unregulated in our soil and water”. The research shows that although glyphosate (a weed killer) is ubiquitous throughout South African agriculture, there is precious little research done to monitor and manage its […]

27 September 2012

South Africans call for immediate ban on GM maize after shocking cancer study

Explosive results from a new French study conducted on the long-term health impacts of genetically modified (GM) foods published in the peer reviewed journal ‘Food and Toxicology’ last week, suggest that consumers in South Africa face a very serious threat from one of their staple foods. The results have the biotechnology industry spin doctors, and […]

25 September 2012

Open letter to Minister of Agriculture, SA for Immediate banning of all Roundup Ready maize from ...

The ACB and several organisations and individuals have sent an open letter to Ms. Tina Joemat-Pettersson Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the immediate banning of all RR maize in SA following the release of the Seralini NK603 study (“French Study of GMOs on rats”). Read the Open Letter here. Read the French Study […]

1 August 2012

SA’s food safety compromised by lack of testing for risky glyphosate

The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has today released its new study titled, “How much glyphosate is on your dinner plate? SA’s food safety compromised by lack of testing.” This study highlights numerous risks posed by the herbicide glyphosate to human and animal health as well as worrying regulatory failures, particularly in relation to the […]