Those who are watching the UK government's moves to "deregulate" (remove regulatory controls from) GMOs will have noticed the attempts to normalise genetic engineering in the mind of the public, policymakers and regulators by using the terms "nature", "natural" and "naturally" to describe the changes brought about by GM techniques like gene editing. The motivation appears to be to create a sense of safety and familiarity around genetic engineering that will defuse opposition to deregulation. Now similar Orwellian moves are happening in the area of gene drives. Some researchers have begun to describe so-called "selfish genetic elements" found in nature as "natural gene drives" and to present gene drive as a "ubiquitous natural phenomenon". In line with this trend, in an opinion piece published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a group of gene drive developers attempt to redefine gene drives as natural. GMWatch

 

 

A heated, plant-based foam has been shown to kill weeds as effectively as glyphosate herbicide sprays and may be a safer, eco-friendlier alternative. “It’s really fascinating, it works very well regardless of the weed growth stage,” says Ilias Travlos at the Agricultural University of Athens, who conducted an independent study of the hot foam at two small olive groves in Greece. New Scientist

 

 

A billion-dollar program meant to revolutionise African agriculture, backed by the likes of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the German government, is fighting to defend its future as more critics argue it's actually hurting farmers. AGRA — which until recently stood for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa — was founded in 2006 by the Gates and Rockefeller foundations to increase agricultural yields and farm profits in Africa by making it easier for smallholder farmers to access modern fertilisers and seeds. But a group of regional civil society, farm and faith groups has called on international donors, including in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, to defund the initiative. They argued that AGRA puts farmers at the mercy of volatile global markets while worsening the continent’s food security and harming the environment. Politico

 

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