A federal court in Missouri has determined that Texas plaintiffs alleging injury from the contamination of conventional rice crops with genetically modified (GM) rice had no reasonable basis to join non-diverse defendants and thus denied their motion to remand to state court. In re Genetically Modified Rice Litig., MDL No. 1811 (E.D. Mo., decided March 24, 2009). The 34 cases at issue were transferred from Texas to the Missouri court along with some 200 others from four other states as part of a multidistrict litigation proceeding. Rice farmers allege that the GM rice contamination adversely affected the global market for their products. The Texas plaintiffs sued the GM seed rice company and its affiliates, citizens of states other than Texas, and also sued a Texas rice grower and his affiliated companies alleging that he negligently grew the GM rice and contaminated neighboring fields or sold them GM seed rice. Plaintiffs…
Tag Archives GMO
The Union of Concerned Scientists recently criticized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failing to solicit public and scientific input before it approved “the first commercialization both of a drug from a genetically engineered [GE] animal and of the animal itself.” According to the Union, FDA has allowed a Massachusetts company to raise a herd of GE goats capable of producing milk that contains a human protein used to prevent blood clots. The consumer advocacy group has accused the agency of violating its promise to open a public comment period and to gather feedback from an FDA advisory committee before permitting the company to market the goats. “Under the FDA’s process, there were no discussions of the safety or ethical implications of the approval, nor were regulations developed to keep the goats and their milk from contaminating the food supply,” opined the Union in its March 2009 Food &…
German courts in Bavaria have reportedly been considering issues raised in a lawsuit filed by an amateur beekeeper who was forced to destroy his honey after it was found to be contaminated with pollen from a nearby field trial of genetically modified (GM) corn. Beekeeper and handyman Karl Heinz Bablok, aware that his hives were near GM cornfields, apparently had samples of honey tested and found that 7 percent of the pollen was from the GM crops. An Augsburg court ordered him to stop selling or giving away his honey, so he sued the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture to recover his costs and lost sales of about US$12,900. Now before a third court, the case reportedly raises significant GM-related issues: if Bablok wins, the GM corn would be discredited; if the court decides that Bablok’s honey is not subject to licensing regulations under the European Union food law,…
EU environment ministers have reportedly upheld the sovereign right of nations to outlaw genetically modified (GM) crops even when approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The European Commission (EC) had asked the ministers to overturn Austria’s and Hungary’s ban on a GM maize produced by Monsanto, but 22 states backed the countries’ measures over the opposition of the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Finland, and Sweden. Green MEP Caroline Lucas then accused the commission of trying to “bulldoze through their pro-GM agenda in spite of public opposition.” “I just hope that [EC President José Manuel Barroso] will realize the commission needs to change its position of GMOs,” Lucas was quoted as saying. The ministers will next week consider a similar GM maize ban pending in France and Greece. Although the European Union currently imports animal feed made with GM crops, member states have balked at allowing farmers to cultivate…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which will hold hearings on genetically modified (GM) crops during the first week of March 2009, has reportedly received a statement submitted anonymously by 26 corn-insect specialists who apparently contend that biotechnology companies are preventing them from fully researching the effectiveness and environmental impact of the industry’s GM crops. To conduct their research, the scientists must evidently seek permission from the GM seed companies because the buyers of these products are often restricted by agreements requiring them to honor patent rights and environmental regulations. The researchers reportedly claim that the companies sometimes deny permission or insist on reviewing findings before they can be published. “No truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions,” according to the statement. The scientists also apparently claim that the industry’s control of GM research means they are unable to provide farmers with some information about how to…
The European Commission’s (EC’s) Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health reportedly deadlocked on February 16, 2009, over whether France and Greece should be forced to lift their bans on a genetically modified (GM) corn seed that is the only one approved for planting in the European Union. According to a biotechnology industry spokesperson, the increase in votes favoring the cultivation of GM crops signals a new momentum in Europe to open markets to these controversial crops. EU environmentalists and consumers have long opposed their introduction, citing environmental risks and the unwelcome intrusion of large corporate interests into agriculture. A larger vote next week may, say biotech industry executives, lead to the approval of two additional GM corn seeds for marketing in the EU. Mike Hall, a spokesperson for the developer of one of them, has reportedly indicated that the company is waiting to see if the EU…
The FDA has issued its final guidance on regulating genetically engineered (GE) animals under the new animal drug provisions of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The guidance clarifies FDA’s regulatory authority “and provides recommendations to producers of GE animals to help them meet their obligations and responsibilities under the law.” It is intended to apply to GE animals with heritable rDNA constructs. According to the guidance, GE animals are being developed for a number of purposes, including the enhancement of production or food quality traits, improvements to animal health, the production of products for human therapeutic uses, and enhancement of animals’ interactions with humans (e.g., hypoallergenic pets). The FDA explains when GE animal producers must comply with labeling and record-keeping requirements or submit information for agency approval.
Roll International Corp. Senior Counsel and former Agricultural Law Professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law, Michael Roberts discusses how disputes over the use of synthetic hormones in animal husbandry and food produced from genetically modified organisms are handled from the perspective of international trade law and international agreements addressing health, safety and environmental issues. Thus, he sets the stage to speculate how international disputes over cloned animals and nanotechnologies used in the human food chain may be addressed in the future. Among the legal issues the author sees arising from cloning and nanotechnology are (i) what international institutions and instruments will regulate these emerging technologies; (ii) whether religious, scientific, moral, and ethical concerns implicated in these technologies will change the international regulations pertaining to food safety and labeling, (iii) what role private standard-setting will take in the international regulation of cloning and nanotechnology, and (iv) how private…
The GAO, which serves as the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, has released a report that analyzes federal oversight of genetically engineered (GE) crops and recommends steps the agencies could take to better address the unauthorized release of these crops into food, animal feed or the environment. Titled Genetically Engineered Crops: Agencies Are Proposing Changes to Improve Oversight but Could Take Additional Steps to Enhance Coordination and Monitoring, the 109-page report discusses the roles that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) play in regulating GE crops. It also notes how six unauthorized releases of GE crops in recent years may not have adversely affected human or animal health, but did result in lost trade opportunities. The GAO’s assessment was undertaken at the request of Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), the chair and ranking member respectively of the Committee on…
A study commissioned by the Austrian Ministries for Agriculture and Health has reportedly linked genetically modified crops to lower fertility rates in mice, prompting Greenpeace International to reiterate its call for a global ban. Led by University of Vienna Professor of Veterinary Medicine Jurgen Zentek, researchers concluded that compared to mice on a normal feed mix, those fed a diet of 33 percent GM corn produced third and fourth litters with fewer offspring of lower birth weights. The team described the results as “statistically significant,” adding that more females in the GM-diet group “remained without litters than in the control group.” In response to the finding, one Greenpeace scientist told the Daily Mail that GM food “appears to be acting as a birth-control agent, potentially leading to infertility. If this is not reason enough to close down the whole biotech industry once and for all, I am not sure what…
