| | 29/May/25
| | GMO design, just a prompt away Experts from Testbiotech and the Aurelia Foundation asked ChatGPT 4o to design GM plants that produce high levels of proteins toxic to insects feeding on them (so-called pests). They also asked the AI to ensure the plant would fall within the NGT1 category of GMOs, which the EU proposes to exempt from its GMO regulations. The AI suggested several CRISPR/Cas modifications in maize. These changes would enhance the production of an insecticidal protein that the plant typically produces in response to insect attacks and make its expression permanent. Insects such as butterflies and moths that feed on the engineered maize would be unable to digest it properly and would starve. This would not only affect the targeted (pest) insects but also other insects, and disrupt ecosystems, food webs and biodiversity. The novel insect-killing traits would be highly unlikely to emerge through conventional breeding. However, under current EU legislative proposals, they could nevertheless be released into the environment without any prior assessment of potential environmental risks. Save Our Seeds UK govt needs to learn: Higher yields don't mean higher profits Steven Reed, UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told the House of Commons EFRA Committee that GMO "precision breeding" will boost farm profits by increasing yields. But there's a problem: Higher yields don't always mean higher profits. In a short X thread, Beyond GM looks at how Reed's assumption clashes with economic reality. Beyond GM on X GMOs — stories from the frontlines of GM agriculture (video) An animated short video from Pesticide Action Network tells the GMO story from farmers' points of view. Corporations told farmers their seeds weren't good enough or modern enough — when the real problem was local seeds weren't profitable enough for corporate shareholders. The video explains the impacts of GMO seeds and the toxic chemicals that go with them. Pesticide Action Network Bayer's Monsanto loses appeal of $611M Roundup verdict in Missouri A Missouri appellate court has upheld a $611 million verdict awarded to three people who sued Bayer alleging that its Roundup weedkiller caused their cancer, a ruling the company says it will further appeal. The decision from the Missouri Court of Appeals’ Western District on Tuesday rejected Bayer unit Monsanto’s argument that the lower court impermissibly allowed testimony at the 2023 trial about a ruling from the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in a separate case about the cancer risks of the weedkiller. Reuters We hope you’ve found this newsletter interesting. It was made possible by GMWatch supporters. To become one, please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you! __________________________________________________________ Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
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