Landmark Supreme Court of Appeal judgment in ACB vs Monsanto and the State on the precautionary principle in GMO decision making The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) on 22 October 2024 reported on a groundbreaking ruling against Bayer-Monsanto and five state respondents in South Africa[1]: “After nine long years of arduous litigation by the … Read more
EU Parliament disregards science by endorsing deregulation of new GM plants After the EU Commission, the EU Parliament now also displays a clear disregard of science, by endorsing the deregulation of new genetically modified (GM) plants. It thereby puts EU citizens and the environment at risk, in conflict with the Parliament’s mandate to represent … Read more
Read the statement in German The European Commission’s proposal to exempt most ‘new’ genetically modified (GM) plants from regulation must be rejected as a whole. It is in conflict with science. It puts the population and the environment at risk without informing citizens by labelling and allowing them to make autonomous decisions. It prevents scientists … Read more
By Giuseppe Longo Abstract: New Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): Towards a “scientific precautionary principle”Giuseppe Longoa*a Centre Cavaillès, CNRS and Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France*Corresponding author: Giuseppe Longo, Email: giuseppe.longo@ens.fr AbstractTo the ordinary precautionary principle, we should add a more precise “scientific precautionary principle”. In short, we cannot act on nature based on ‘dogmas’ that are … Read more
By Michael N. Antoniou, Claire Robinson, Irina Castro & Angelika Hilbeck Published in: Environmental Sciences Europe volume 35, Article number: 76 (2023) Abstract Misinformation has always existed, but it became a major preoccupation during the COVID-19 pandemic due to its ability to affect public health choices, decisions, and policy. In their article, “Misinformation in the … Read more
by Giuseppe Longo https://blogs.mediapart.fr/les-amis-de-la-generation-thunberg/blog/310723/nouveaux-ogm-pour-un-principe-de-precaution-scientifique Au principe de précaution, nous devrions ajouter un « principe de précaution scientifique ». Bref, que l’on ne peut pas agir sur la nature sur la base de principes qui sont manifestement faux. La science est l’invention de cadres théoriques nouveaux, à partir d’un recul critique quant aux principes mobilisés et … Read more
Analysis statement by ENSSER (European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility) on the EU Commission’s new GM proposal Here for Annex 1 on NGT “equivalence criteria” The EU Commission’s proposal is scientifically unacceptable, removes the provisions of the precautionary principle and puts the public and environment at risk. Critical scientific expertise and its … Read more
By Rafael Fonseca Benevenuto, Caroline Bedin Zanatta, Friedrich Waßmann, Michael F. Eckerstorfer & Sarah Zanon Agapito-Tenfen Environmental Sciences Europe volume 35, Article number: 14 (2023) https://enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-023-00715-6 Abstract In Europe, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are subject to an authorization process including a mandatory risk assessment. According to the respective guidance by the European Food Safety Authority … Read more
By Nicolas Defarge, Mathias Otto, Angelika Hilbeck Published in Science of The Total Environment Volume 865, 20 March 2023, 161158 Available online 23 December 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161158 Abstract Glyphosate has and is being used extensively in herbicide formulations worldwide. Thus, glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) substantially add to the environmental load of pesticides and warrant a strict risk … Read more
The European Commission has held a severely biased public consultation about deregulating new genomic techniques (NGTs). This is the essence of a letter (1) sent by ENSSER and 39 non-governmental organisations to Commissioner Kyriakides today. In the consultation, European citizens were asked for their opinions about the question if the new techniques should be exempted … Read more
Press Release A distortion of science and a danger to public and environmental safety 26 April 2021 The EASAC-endorsed Leopoldina Statement, demanding that the EU stops regulating ‘genome-edited’ plants, represents the narrow interests of ‘genome editors’ but it does not demonstrate the scientific objectivity or balance required, nor does it represent any consensus in … Read more
An open conversation led by Maël Montévil (theoretical biologist, IRI et IHPST, Université Paris I) and Victor Chaix (AAGT-AI). with Prof. Ignacio Chapela (microbial ecologist and mycologist, University of California, Berkeley) Dr. Angelika Hilbeck (agricultural ecologist, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH, Zuerich) Prof. Giuseppe Longo (mathematician and epistemologist, CNRS-Ecole normale supérieure, Paris) Introduction Private … Read more
by Caroline Bedin Zanatta, Rafael Fonseca Benevenuto, Rubens Onofre Nodari & Sarah Zanon Agapito-Tenfen published in Environmental Sciences Europe volume 32, Article number: 104 (2020) View the full article and download the pdf Abstract Background World agricultural production of genetically modified (GM) products, in particular, the combination of different traits/genes in the same plant has been a … Read more
A series of three webinars organised by the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) Thursdays 17 and 24 September and 1 October 2020 16:00 – 17:30 Central European Summer Time European regulatory systems are often portrayed as some of the best in the world in terms of stringency and precaution … Read more
By Katharina Kawall, Janet Cotter & Christoph Then Environmental Sciences Europe volume 32, Article number: 106 (2020) Abstract Genome editing techniques, especially the CRISPR/Cas technology, increase the possibilities and the speed of altering genetic material in organisms. So-called genome editing is increasingly being used to achieve agriculturally relevant novel traits and/or genetic combinations in … Read more
Videos are available online on https://genedrives.ch/webinar-genedrives/ By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock YouTube The authors of the interdisciplinary Gene Drive Report (2019) were holding webinars on social, technological & scientific, environmental, ethical and legal questions of this new technique in June 2020 – for free. Scientists … Read more
Genetic engineering endangers the protection of species Subtitle: Why the spread of genetically engineered organisms into natural populations has to be prevented Autor(s): Christoph Then This report is primarily concerned with the consequences of genetic engineering interventions into evolutionary processes. Leading scientists working in the field of ‘new’ genetic engineering are already talking about the … Read more
The article “GMO regulations and their interpretation: how EFSA’s guidance on risk assessments of GMOs is bound to fail” by Angelika Hilbeck, Hartmut Meyer, Brian Wynne & Erik Millstone, published in Environmental Sciences Europe volume 32, Article number: 54 (2020) may be viewed here https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12302-020-00325-6 and downloaded here https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-020-00325-6.pdf
JUST PUBLISHED – February 2020 VIENT DE PARAÎTRE – Février 2020 (in french below) GMOs AND ROUNDUP: SIMILAR LONG TERM TOXICITIES DUE TO GLYPHOSATE FORMULATIONS Glyphosate is associated with carcinogenic petroleum additives and heavy metals in pesticides (formulations, which are always mixtures). This penetrates and bioaccumulates in most edible agricultural GMOs, causing liver, kidney and hormonal damages, … Read more
By Siguna Müller Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol., 29 May 2019 Sec. Biosafety and Biosecurity Volume 7 – 2019 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00121 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00121/full This article discusses a previously unrecognized avenue for bioterrorism and biocrime. It is suggested that new gene editing technologies may have the potential to create plants that are genetically modified in harmful ways, either in … Read more
Stage set for new wave of genetically engineered plants to be approved and imported after EU elections Outgoing EU-Commission might approve several controversial applications before handing over 23 May 2019 / More than 40 organisations from science, environmental protection, lobby control, food production and agriculture have today published a joint letter. They warn … Read more
In recent years, there has been much discussion of how gene editing techniques, such as CRISPR, can broaden the scope of genetic engineering in agriculture. However, it’s becoming clear that gene editing techniques are error prone. This new report from Friends of the Earth U.S., cowritten by ENSSER member Janet Cotter, compiles the growing evidence … Read more
By Dr Eva Gelinsky and Dr Angelika Hilbeck – ENSSER Introduction “Nothing has been “banned”. Interpreting laws that simply recognise the novelty and distinctiveness of different kinds of GM breeding processes, the ECJ is merely offering a consistent framework of interpretation within which continuing healthy reasoned argumentation can be more rigorously played out.”[1] With … Read more
By Irena M. Zdziarski, Judy A. Carman, John W. Edwards The paper provides evidence from a feeding experiment on rats that the authors did, that GM crops producing Cry proteins (sometimes known as Bt proteins), may not be as safe as asserted. The authors saw damage to the stomach when it was looked at under … Read more
The products of new genetic modification techniques (NGMTs), misleadingly termed by proponents New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs), are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and should be strictly regulated as such, according to a statement1 released today by the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER). The scientific evidence shows that these techniques do … Read more
Products of new genetic modification techniques should be strictly regulated as GMOs [1] 27 September 2017 New genetic modification techniques (NGMTs) are increasingly being developed and applied to generate new varieties of food crops and livestock animals. They are also being used for other purposes, such as to develop gene drives[2]. They include – but … Read more
PR 04/16 Who is to blame for the failure of GM golden rice? The recent Nobel laureates’ open letter to the United Nations and governments around the world, accusing Greenpeace of a “crime against humanity” for opposing genetically modified (GMO) golden rice, elicited a reaction from scientists Angelika Hilbeck and Hans Herren (Federal Institute of … Read more
PR 02/15 Lab rat diets contaminated: chemical and GMO safety tests invalid A new French study has shown that feeds commonly used as standard diets in safety tests performed on rats, are contaminated with hazardous substances and often also with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This may help to explain the common problem hindering safety tests … Read more
PR 01/15 “No scientific consensus on GMO safety” statement published in peer-reviewed journal A statement signed by over 300 scientists and legal experts to the effect that there is “No consensus” on the safety of genetically modified (GM) crops and foods has been published in a peer-reviewed open access journal, Environmental Sciences Europe.[1] It now … Read more
PR 01/14 Re-Publication of Séralini et al. Study on the “Long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize” RE-PUBLICATION of the Séralini et al. study on the “Long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize” ENSSER welcomes the re-publication of the data from the long-term rat feeding … Read more
PR 08/13 End double standards in evaluating GMO safety studies – say scientists Europe’s food safety agency only criticises studies that find risk, new analysis shows ENSSER Press release 17.12.2013 The controversy about the Séralini et al. study, which reported negative health effects of Monsanto’s NK603 GM maize and Roundup herbicide fed to rats over … Read more
PR 07/13 297 scientists and experts agree GMOs not proven safe *EU chief scientist Anne Glover’s backing for GM condemned as “irresponsible” *Independent researchers work double shift to address “red flags” on GMO safety Press release, European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility, 10 Dec 2013 The number of scientists and experts who … Read more
Number of scientists who say GMOs not proven safe climbs to 230 Developer of first commercialised GM food says debate isn’t over Press release 06/13, 30 October 2013 https://www.ensser.org/media/ Contact: Dr Angelika Hilbeck: ahilbeck@ensser.org / Tel.: +49 30 20 654 857 The number of scientists, physicians and legal experts who have signed the group statement, … Read more
PR 05/13 -PR is available in Française, Castellano, English, Deutsch, Nederlands – No scientific consensus on safety of genetically modified organisms – Scientists release statement as World Food Prize goes to Monsanto and Syngenta There is no scientific consensus on the safety of genetically modified foods and crops, according to a statement released today by … Read more
-the statement is also available in Francaise, Castellano, Nederlands, 普通話, Português, Deutsch – As scientists, physicians, academics, and experts from disciplines relevant to the scientific, legal, social and safety assessment aspects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs),[1] we strongly reject claims by GM seed developers and some scientists, commentators, and journalists that there is a “scientific … Read more
Press Release 03/13 New kinds of genetically modified plants and pesticides not being assessed for safety Christchurch, 22.03.2013 – In a new peer-reviewed paper published by an international team from New Zealand, Brazil and Australia in the prestigious journal Environment International, the researchers Jack A. Heinemann, Sarah Z. Agapito-Tenfen and Judy A. Carman have found … Read more
The Grounds upon which Testbiotech, ENSSER, and Sambucus challenge the Commission’s decision are, in summary: Ground A: EFSA’s assessment that the Soybean is ‘substantially equivalent’ to its appropriate comparators is unlawful, is based on a scientific assessment which was not carried out in accordance with its own guidance, and/or is based on a manifest error … Read more
PR 02/13 Lawsuit filed against EU authorisation of genetically engineered soybeans Klage gegen EU-Zulassung von gentechnisch veränderter Soja Umweltorganisationen Procès intenté contre l’Union européenne sur l’autorisation de sojas génétiquement modifiés Interpuesta una demanda contra la autorización europea de soja modificada genéticamente Interposta ação judicial contra a autorização da UE de soja geneticamente modificada Environmental … Read more
Advancing the Understanding of Biosafety GMO Risk Assessment, Independent Biosafety Research and Holistic Analysis This conference took place in the wake of the 6th meeting of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP-6) 2012. View the full documenation of the conference View the program including the ppt-presentations
ENSSER comments “Questionable Biosafety of GMOs, Double Standards and, Once Again, a ‘Shooting-the-Messenger’ Style Debate” available in English, Castellano, and 中文! 05 Oct 2012 – The European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) welcomes the study “Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize” of a group … Read more
This conference took place in the wake of the 6th meeting of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP-6) from 01-05 Oct 2012. ENSSER was represented at the MOP-6 convening 2 side events. Advancing the Understanding of Biosafety GMO Risk Assessment, Independent Biosafety Research and Holistic Analysis Co-organisers: ENSSER; Tara Foundation (TF); Third World Network … Read more
On 11 September 2012, the Science Media Centre (SMC) published response comments (by Prof. Rick Roush, Assoc. Prof. Peter Dearden, Prof. Peter Langridge and Dr. Ian Edwards) in reply to expert scientific opinions about the safety of GM wheat varieties that have been developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia. … Read more
PR 03/12 ENSSER calls for scientific debate of potential health risks of GM wheat instead of ad hominem attacks on researchers 19 Sep 2012 – On 11 September 2012, the Science Media Centre (SMC) published response comments (by Prof. Rick Roush, Assoc. Prof. Peter Dearden, Prof. Peter Langridge and Dr. Ian Edwards) in reply to expert … Read more
PR 02/12 Complaint against EU authorisation of genetically engineered soybeans with stacked genes PR 02/12 Beschwerde gegen EU Zulassung von gentechnisch veränderter Soja mit Kombinationswirkung Joint action of environmental organisations and scientists against decision of the EU Commission Munich/ Brussels, 9 August 2012. Several organisations such as the European Network of Scientists for Social … Read more
What has happened to Genetic Engineering in the world? And where are we leading now with GMOs? On August 31, 2012, a unique group of international scientists engaged with environmental and social questions around genetic engineering met for an open conversation on the state of what some have called “The GMO Planet.” About 150 people joined … Read more
PR 02/11 How much insecticide do Bt plants actually produce? New publication shows inadequacies in risk assessment Munich 21 November 2011. A new publication by an international research consortium has revealed several inadequacies in current approaches to risk assessment of genetically engineered plants. The publication deals with methods used for measurement in socalled Btplants. These … Read more
31 Mar 2011 – The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) held a consultative workshop in Brussels on 31 March 2011 to discuss the views of stakeholders on its draft guidance for the selection of Genetically Modified (GM) plant comparators. The workshop brought together various interested parties, including representatives from academia, industry, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the … Read more
PR 01/11 ENSSER and FSC welcome verdict in whistleblower case Gilles-Eric Séralini won libal case against the French Association for Plant Biotechnology read more about the case 18 Jan 2011 – The Citizen Science Foundation (Fondation Sciences Citoyennes, FSC) and the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) welcome the verdict of the … Read more
