Organic cotton 'fraud' uncovered

Leading European retailers and brands are unknowingly selling certified organic cotton clothing contaminated with genetically modified cotton from India. About 30% of the tested samples  contained genetically modified (GM) cotton which is fraud on gigantic scale. The GM cotton found in the collections of various brands  has been traced back to India which now supplies nearly half of the world’s organic cotton. India produced  61% of the total  organic cotton produced in 2008-09 which translates into 107,000 tonnes of fibre out of a total of 175,113 tonnes grown worldwide. It is obvious that the industry  needs to put in place more stringent checks on organic cotton production, while brands need to invest more in improved supply chain transparency and more thorough testing.

The brands involved in the alleged fraud have been criticised for not adequately monitoring their supply chains.  The Federal Consumer Affairs Agency  have asked the European retailers and brands to take immediate action to limit the damage. A spokeswoman for the Swedish clothing chain H&M told news agency AFP that the company became aware of the problem last year and admitted that GM cotton could have made it into H&M‘s organic range.  C&A retailers are also said to be undertaking a thorough investigation.

Rabbits Milked for Human Protein; Drug Soon for Sale?

Dutch farmers are ready to start the commercial, milking of rabbits, pending authorization from European authorities. The genetically engineered rabbits would be milked to churn out a potentially lifesaving drug, developed by Netherlands-based biotech firm Pharming. The rabbits have been outfitted with a human gene that produces a protein called C1 inhibitor. The drug made from the protein can also be used to test and treat people with hereditary angioedema. People with this condition have naturally low levels of the C1 inhibitor, which can result in episodes of severe swelling, similar to an allergic reaction. Untreated, angioedema can cause painful cramps and potentially fatal suffocation.

The therapeutic proteins have  to be made by biological processes, making transgenic animals such as rabbits a popular option as a rabbit can produce an average of 120 millilitres of milk a day and, each litre contains 12 grams of human C1 inhibitor. The ‘Human’ C1 inhibitor can be obtained from donor blood, but the product can be produced in unlimited quantities from a scaleable and stable production system, and there are no safety issues in terms of blood viruses.  Pharming  has been milking rabbits experimentally for years, and recently developed a drug called Rhucin from the rabbit milk-derived C1 inhibitor protein. If the drug is approved in Europe, Pharming would start milking a herd of about a thousand rabbits.

 What safeguards to protect traditional crops from GM crops, SC asks Centre

The proposed open field trials of Bt brinjal are drawing loud protests, the Supreme Court of India asked the Indian government to detail the steps it has put in place to protect India's traditional crops from possible contamination by field trials of genetically modified seeds.

In the more developed countries  rules and  regulations are  strictly adhered to and enforced very strictly.  But, in India, enforcement is  generally slack.  The counsel suggested that GM seed field trials be undertaken in greenhouses instead of open field  which pose grave danger to traditional crops due to pollen-inflicted contamination despite the employment of the isolation mechanism. The Gene Campaign NGO  has legally questioned the existing guidelines for approval of trials relating to GM crops and said the experts were unanimous that they need to be strengthened immediately as due to slack rules, the multinationals have made India the hub for field trials of GM vegetables like Bt brinjal, ladyfinger and peas, which no other country has allowed till date. The court ordered ____WHO? to submit the adequacy of the guidelines and rules for clearance of field trials given by the Genetic Engineering Advisory Committee (GEAC).

Turkey says ‘not to allow’ GMO imports below EU standards

Turkey has decided not to allow the imports of any genetically modified organisms which did not conform to  EU standards. The Turkish agriculture ministry said that the regulation of import, processing, export, control and supervision of genetically modified organisms was put into effect from October last year. These regulations instigated debates and were not insufficiently understood by the media, non-governmental organizations and the science world and so, several articles of the regulations were changed immediately by the ministry.

After following the legal process, the final change on the regulation was made on January 20, this year, which  stated that the import of genetically modified organisms which were not up to EU standards would not be allowed into Turkey.

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