[Home]   [Full version]  

EU decides against uniform GM rules

Mar 09 ,General Science


EU officials have reportedly dropped plans to enact union-wide laws regulating genetically modified crops.

In a report to be made public Friday, regulators say the situation for each crop in each EU nation is currently too complex to enforce one standard rule, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Concern has been voiced that some EU nations are imposing unfairly difficult rules regarding genetically modified crops. The World Trade Organization ruled a month ago Europe, long a biotech food opponent, has violated trade agreements for years by making it too difficult for new types of genetically modified crops to be approved, the Journal said.

The WTO also said some EU countries' bans on GM crops violate trade rules.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

Related stories:

First draft of transgenic papaya genome yields many fruits
A broad collaboration of research institutions in the U.S. and China has produced a first draft of the papaya genome. This draft, which spells out more than 90 percent of the plant’s gene coding sequence, sheds new light on the evolution of flowering plants. And because it involves a genetically modified plant, the newly sequenced papaya genome offers the most detailed picture yet of the genetic changes that make the plant resistant to the papaya ringspot virus. The findings appear as the cover article in the journal Nature.
Food biotechnology: real world challenges
Genetically modified crops have been widely adopted by American farmers. In spite of their use in the United States, the European Union (EU) imposed a 6-year freeze (1998–2004) on growing and importing transgenic crops.
Don't rely on cold reason - trust your intuition as well
Risk and uncertainty are part of modern life, but why does the possibility of terrorist bombs on aeroplanes, a new generation of nuclear power stations and a flu pandemic trigger public distrust in the powers-that-be? What can the government do to re-build trust in politicians and scientists?
Nanotech: Unpredictable And Un-Regulated - New Report From ETC Group
The ETC Group releases a new Communiqué today that provides an update on policy discussions related to nanotech health and safety issues and the glaring lack of regulatory oversight. According to the ETC Group, governments on both sides of the Atlantic are reluctantly and belatedly conceding that current safety and health regulations may not be adequate to address the special exigencies of nano-scale materials.
Eco-architecture could produce 'grow your own' homes
A bus stop that grows its own foliage as shade? A children's playground, made entirely from trees? A shelter made from living tree roots that could provide natural protection against earthquakes in California?
New bird flu strain detected in Nigeria: FAO
A strain of highly pathogenic bird flu previously not recorded in sub-Saharan Africa has been detected in Nigeria, the UN food agency said Tuesday.
Novel method to create personalized immunotherapy treatments
Argos Therapeutics and Université de Montréal today announced the presentation of new information on Argos' process for developing dendritic cell-based immunotherapies for HIV. Results from the study demonstrate that loading monocyte-derived dendritic cells with combinations of HIV antigen RNA stimulates the expansion of HIV-specific T cells, which attack and kill HIV-infected cells.
Pharmaceutical study: Less hemorrhaging after stroke, but not fewer deaths
An international study published in May 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that the coagulation factor VIIa can limit the extent of a cerebral hemorrhage. However, in the long term it does not prevent death or severe impairment.

News discussion:

Who cares what the WTO says? in General Science news

[Home]   [Full version]