News

Plans to make feeding studies mandatory

New draft regulation from the European Commission for the authorisation of GM plants goes too far for scientists, but not far enough for critics. (Apr 4, 2012) more…

Crop rotation, insecticides and genetic engineering: Scientists call for integrated pest control

Open letter from 22 US scientists to the EPA: Western corn rootworms are becoming resistant to Bt protein; integrated pest control is necessary. (Mar 16, 2012) more…

Hunting for abnormalities

Long-term feeding studies with GM plants show no adverse health effects. Scientists from six countries present their results in Vienna. (Mar 12, 2012) more…

National cultivation bans on GM plants: Another attempt ends in failure

Council of Environment Ministers: Blocking minority prevents Danish compromise. Germany: Renationalisation is incompatible with the EU single market. (Mar 9, 2012) more…

GM maize and the two-spot ladybird: The scientific debate continues

New laboratory results from ETH Zurich: Bt protein can harm ladybird larvae. Relevance for field situations still not clear. (Mar 6, 2012) more…

MON810 GM maize: France seeks new cultivation ban

French government applies to European Commission to suspend the reauthorisation of MON810. If its application is rejected, France is legally entitled to ban MON810 again. (Feb 23, 2012) more…

Genetically modified Bt maize is safe

During International Green Week in Berlin, scientists presented a clear conclusion drawn from 25 years of biosafety research: genetically modified Bt maize is as safe as conventional maize. (Jan 27, 2012) more…

Genetically modified Bt maize: New test with bee larvae

Scientists at the University of Würzburg publish results: No difference between bee larvae fed on conventional and Bt maize pollen. (Jan 6, 2012) more…

GM plants in animal feed: No long-term consequences

Meta-study on feeding experiments: The use of GM plants in food and feed is not likely to cause adverse long-term effects, according to the results of a new meta-study. The authors come to the conclusion that 90-day feeding trials are generally sufficient to ensure that a GM plant is safe. (Jan 5, 2012) more…

Cultivation of GM maize 1507: No concerns, but precautionary measures for butterflies and moths

EFSA publishes an expanded and updated risk assessment on genetically modified Bt maize 1507. New attempt to authorise cultivation in the EU. (Dec 2, 2011) more…

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Plant breeding and genetic engineering for improved nitrogen efficiency

Root nodules Vicia sepium

Plants take up nitrogen, a key component of many biological molecules, from the soil. For efficient crop cultivation, nitrogen has to be added to the soil at regular intervals. The large-scale use of artificial nitrogen fertilizers since the middle of the 20th century has led to considerable yield increases for farmers, but has also damaged the environment. Plant researchers are working on ways of improving the take-up and utilisation of nitrogen by crop plants. The most ambitious aim is to develop staple crops that can use nitrogen from the atmosphere.

Research Results

“The idea was to obtain more from the same land while using sustainable farming methods”

GM potatoes that produce cyanophycin, the raw material for a biodegradable plastic, in their tubers rot faster than conventional potatoes. The fear that they could survive for longer on the field has therefore not been confirmed. This is one of the findings of a biosafety research project that looked at potential environmental impacts of the cyanophycin potato. more

Research Results

Plant varieties, weather and farming methods affect the maize ecosystem

For three summers in a row, Eva Schultheis and her team at RWTH Aachen University caught countless insects on the maize trial field and then identified the species in the laboratory. They wanted to find out whether the insect communities found in genetically modified Bt maize are different from those found in conventional maize. They found differences between the years and between individual maize varieties, but were unable to detect any influence of the genetic modification. Extensive investigations in the laboratory with the rice leaf bug, which was chosen as a representative species, also failed to find any negative Bt maize effects. GMO Safety spoke to Eva Schultheis about her research work. more

Focus

Ladybird

Species diversity on farmland

Does the cultivation of GM plants affect biodiversity? This is a topic that has been discussed many times over the years. It is a fact that global biodiversity is shrinking and agriculture is one of the main causes. Monoculture and the use of pesticides and herbicides destroy large numbers of natural habitats, which reduces species diversity on agricultural land. Critics of plant biotechnology fear that this development will be exacerbated by the cultivation of GM crops. Numerous scientific studies have investigated how the cultivation of GM crops actually affects species diversity in fields. more

Focus

Citrus greening

Fruit and vegetables: Forgotten plant diseases

Until now, genetic engineering methods have been used almost exclusively on crops for which there is an international market. Many pathogens that affect regional crops could be controlled by using genetic engineering methods to develop resistant varieties. However, this is not commercially attractive for big companies. Although there are numerous public research projects in this area, there are hardly any market authorisations on the horizon. One reason for this is the high cost of the approval process.more

Focus

Ploughing, chemicals or Bt maize?

The European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) is a serious problem for maize farming in Germany. Maize is now grown on 2.5 million hectares and is still on the increase. A severe corn borer infestation can lead to harvest losses of up to 50 per cent. It is difficult to combat the pest using crop rotation or chemical and biological methods, and the corn borer continues to spread to other parts of Germany every year. The losses it causes each year are now valued at between 11 and 12 million euros. What alternative control methods can be used to halt the corn borer and how environmentally friendly are they? GMO Safety spoke to Bernd Hommel from the Julius Kühn Institute in Kleinmachnow. more

Focus

Golden Rice

Biofortification: Plants instead of pills

Millions of cases of illness and death, especially in developing countries, are caused by a lack of micronutrients like vitamins and trace elements. For this reason, nutritional supplements and industrially fortified foods are distributed in many developing and emerging nations. Now scientists are working on ways of fortifying the most important food crops with e.g. provitamin A, zinc and iron. Some of the methods used involve genetic engineering. more

Research Results

Butterflies like the peacock butterfly can come into contact with Bt maize if the pollen lands on their food plants.

“The pollen quantities that led to higher mortality rates in caterpillars in the laboratory were not detected in the field.”

Can butterflies be harmed by genetically modified Bt maize? This was the question that Mechthild Schuppener from RWTH Aachen University investigated in a three-year research project. She conducted a feeding study in the laboratory to find out how sensitive caterpillars are to Bt maize pollen. In the field, the scientist investigated how much maize pollen lands on butterflies’ food plants under natural conditions and examined where butterfly nests are to be found in farming areas. GMO Safety spoke to Mechthild Schuppener about the findings of her research project. more