The UK’s leading independent voice on genetic technologies in food, farming and environment.
London, UK
Joined June 2014
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Beyond GM retweeted
MI5's DG warns that AI could raise the stakes on existing or even new biological weapons. His warning brings renewed urgency to big #engineeringbiology questions: how openly are we discussing what gets engineered and who gets to shape its purpose?abiggerconversation.org/armo…
We agree with this excellent analysis. The approval of the Tropic banana, ahead of any actual fruit to sell, was based on theoretical evidence when actual evidence was available. So what were they trying to hide?
New #GMO (gene-edited) banana may not be “precision bred” after all. Developer did not look properly for unintended changes and Prof Michael Antoniou says there are indications it may contain unintended changes that pose risks to health & the environment. gmwatch.org/en/latest-news/2…
A food system built on healthy soils and diverse farming could build resilience and see the country through tough times. But, as our latest Beyond the Headline briefing suggests, don’t hold your breath for a miracle gene-edited self-fertilising crop. beyond-gm.org/dont-hold-your…
Beyond GM retweeted
No Patents on Seeds! today handed over a new report to the Administrative Council of the European Patent Office (EPO). The report shows that the @EPOorg is still granting patents on plants and plant traits which contradict European law.
We are back in court on November 12 to hear how what remedy will be ordered after our judicial review found that the Genetic Technology Regulations were unlawful. We’d like to see the regulations quashed and will keep pushing for that. There’s more to come from us so please use this link to donate to our legal fund and help us keep going crowdjustice.com/case/stop-h…
New organisms are being 'designed' by AI all the time and as the Director General of MI5 has warned this week, this raises the stakes considerably on the risks of biological weapons. Renaming genetic engineering 'engineering biology' temporarily obscures the problem, it doesn't lower the risk... abiggerconversation.org/armo…
1/ Thanks to our co-claimant Patrick Holden at @SusFoodTrust for posting this impassioned plea on his Insta to support labelling of all GMOs & protect citizens & farmers. We're all back in court in November. Please donate (see link in following post) instagram.com/reel/Dd4DVtwDn…
2/ We and our co-claimants are back in court in November. Our case has grown bigger and more urgent over the summer with government ignoring the Court's finding that the new regulations were unlawful and granting "marketing notices" for 6 new gene edited crops. So please donate now to help us push it forward. crowdjustice.com/case/stop-h…
Worth noting the contrast between the report and how Defra tried to ‘sell’ it. The GovUK landing page said publishing the assessment highlighted ‘growth’ opportunities - innovation, green finance and global partnerships. The available text of the report was considerably more cautious about techno-fixes than that grow-baby-grow framing suggested. To our knowledge, the Guardian has never acknowledged this.
NEW: Excellent Guardian explainer (from Fiona Harvey) on the meaning of the intelligence services’ suppressed National Security Assessment on ECOSYSTEM COLLAPSE.
Building of food resilience is a primary priority.
Do read and share!
theguardian.com/environment/…
Beyond GM retweeted
'£54m accelerated adaptation Tree vaccines & gene-edited butterflies among biotechnology projects funded by UK Invention agency Aria brainchild of Dominic Cummings theguardian.com/environment/… @GMWatch @GMFreeze @hawkins_carole @RandolphTrent @torysmasher @vamroses @greenarteries
Beyond GM retweeted
Some of us have lived through this one or six times before. Food strategy after food strategy has been kicked down the road and eventually handed to corporates or supermarkets to preserve the failing status quo. Good reporting by @TheGrocer. thegrocer.co.uk/news/food-st…
Another legal challenge to the new EU deregulation of gene edited organisms. It’s led by the German small farmers association, AbL,with 11 co-claimants from across the farming and food sector, who claim the new rules create a unique and existential threat to their businesses. We hear that! Our successful judicial review highlighted the same existential threats. saveourseeds.org/de/news/bre…
Beyond GM retweeted
🚨 Tuna farming is rapidly expanding - and there are warning signs that wild populations could once again become at risk.
Help us #KeepThemWild - sign our petition to end tuna farming: bit.ly/4iliQjP
Beyond GM retweeted
Take Action: Sign the letter to Canada's Minister of the Environment today — asking him to stop the release of genetically engineered American chestnut trees into the wild! cban.ca/take-action/stop-ge-…
Beyond GM retweeted
Our latest Beyond the Headline briefing examines claims that gene editing could future-proof cacao, separating scientific progress from hype and asking whether technological fixes can address the economic, ecological and ownership problems shaping cocoa production. beyond-gm.org/can-gene-editi…
Beyond GM retweeted
We wrote to Prime Minister @andyburnham to welcome him and to talk about why food sufficiency, rather than economic growth, was the basis of genuine food security. The letter never made it to his desk. It was diverted to an anonymous staffer (or likely an AI bot) in @DefraGovUK for a reply. Here’s why that’s a problem: beyond-gm.org/so-thats-a-no-…
Beyond GM retweeted
U.S. Genetic Engineering Experiment Threatens Endangered Chestnut Trees in Canada Via Contamination. It would be the first-ever genetically engineered plant released into the open environment with the purpose to spread freely through ecosystems. cban.ca/u-s-approval-of-gene…
Slovakia says it will mount a legal challenge the EU’s new gene-editing regulation, citing threats to precaution, transparency and consumer choice. The move comes as England’s weaker precision-breeding regime faces court-ordered reconsideration over labelling and traceability failures in its framework. beyond-gm.org/slovakia-to-ch…
Important piece on the need to ask much deeper questions about digital agriculture and whom it really serves.
Digital agriculture is often sold as inevitable progress, but behind the “cloud” lie corporate power grabs, exploited mine and data workers, and huge water and energy costs – raising urgent questions about who digitalisation really serves. abiggerconversation.org/caug…
