John Kerr • Dec 11, 2016 •
John T Lang’s new book tackles a tough question: What’s so controversial about genetically modified food? The answer is: It’s complicated. While far from satisfying, this conclusion isn’t a cop out. The staggering complexity of our modern food systems is a returning theme in Lang’s small treatise on genetic modification (GM) and food. His observations and insights are … Read More
Guest Author • Nov 16, 2016 •
By Fern Wickson, GenØk – Centre for Biosafety Biotechnology is rapidly evolving through developments in genome editing and synthetic biology, giving birth to new forms of life. This technology has already given us genetically modified (GM) plants that produce bacterial pesticides, GM mosquitos that are sterile and GM mice that develop human cancers. Now, new biotechnological techniques … Read More
Peter Dearden • Sep 12, 2012 •
Peter K. Dearden Today saw some discussion in the press about a statement by Canterbury University’s Prof Jack Heinemann, Prof Judy Carmen (Flinders University) and Prof Michael Antoniou (King’s College, London), around the risks of a new transgenic wheat variety being assessed for release by CSIRO in Australia. These statements released by the Safe Food Foundation, provide an opinion … Read More
Robert Hickson • Sep 07, 2012 •
Some of the keynote speakers at the recent Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference brought to mind the scene in Finding Nemo of the three sharks grinning at Marlin and Dory. Not, I hasten to add, because I view Monsanto, Du Pont, et al., as sharks out to gobble us, or NZ’s agriculture up. Or that I view GMOs as dangerous … Read More