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News Messages |
| 27 January 2006 | | Application Submitted for Maize With Altered Amino Acid Composition | For the first time ever, an application was submitted to the EU for the authorisation of a GM crop with modified nutritional value. The new line of maize was developed by Renessen LLC, a joint venture between agribiotech giant Monsanto, and the food and feed company Cargill. Cultivation is expected to begin in the United States and in Argentina in 2007/08. The scope of the application in the EU covers import and use in animal feed.
The new maize line, known as LY038, produces kernels with significantly higher lysine content. Animal feeds, especially for swine and poultry, contain suboptimal amounts of lysine. Feed producers currently supplement feed with chemically or biotechnologically produced lysine. LY038 could eliminate or reduce the need to supplement feed with lysine.
Renessen LLC submitted the application for LY038 and for a cross between LY038 and the insect resistant, transgenic line MON 810. An authorisation decision will only be made following a comprehensive safety assessment. The assessment is expect to last several years. |
| 16 January 2006 | | European Commission Grants Authorisation to Three GM Maize Lines | | On January 13th, the European Commission granted authorisation to three new lines of genetically modified maize. The decisions pertain to the maize lines MON 863, GA21, and a cross between the insect resistant lines MON 863 and MON 810, all of which were developed by the agro-biotech company Monsanto. The first two lines were authorised for use in food. The latter, MON 863 x MON 810, received authorisation for import and for industrial processing. The authorisations will remain valid for 10 years. Because a qualified majority for these decisions could be met neither in the Standing Committee on the Food Chain nor the Council of Ministers, the final decision rested in the hands of the European Commission. Monsanto has not sought authorisation to cultivate these maize lines in the EU. |
| 13 January 2006 | | Worldwide GMO Production Reaches 90 Million Hectares | | In the 2005 growing season, worldwide production of genetically modified crops increased by 11 percent compared to the previous year. Today’s transgenic crops are predominantly herbicide and/or insect resistant soybean, maize, rapeseed, and cotton. The world’s leading GM crop producer remains the United States, followed by Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and China. The greatest expansion of GM crops took place in Brazil, where plantings of GM soybean increased from 5 to 9.4 million hectares. India also made substantial increases, expanding its production of GM cotton from 0.5 to 1.3 million hectares.
Transgenic soybean, covering 54.4 million hectares in 2005, remains the world’s most widely planted genetically modified crop. Soybean is followed by maize with a total of 21.1 million hectares, cotton with 9.8 million hectares, and rapeseed with 4.6 million hectares. Genetically modified crops are now grown in 21 countries, up from 17 in 2004. New on the list is Iran, which also became the first country to commercially grow GM (Bt) rice. |
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December 2005
