Following The Ecologist's revelation about Ecover's use of synthetic biology to make laundry detergent, the company has put its trials on hold, writes Jim Thomas. But to regain public trust, the company must re-engage honestly with its critics, and its customers.
… Synthetic biology - Ecover must come clean Jim Thomas | … revelation about Ecover's use of synthetic biology to make laundry detergent, the company … using an algae oil produced using synthetic biology (Syn Bio), sometimes called 'extreme …
Green soap-maker Ecover is the first company to openly admit that that it's using ingredients derived from 'synthetically modified organisms' - the next wave of GMOs - writes Jim Thomas. So why are they risking their ‘natural' brand for this experimental biotechnology?
… Ecover pioneers 'synthetic biology' in consumer products Jim Thomas | … in the world to reveal its use of synthetic biology in the manufacture of consumer … set of techniques called synthetic biology. Like many green-minded folks of my …
Ecover refutes allegations that it has been using 'synthetic biology' to make soap ingredients from algae. On the contrary, write Tom Domen & Dirk Develter, it's just old fashioned fermentation, and the company remains at the forefront of sustainability and responsible practice.
… allegations that it has been using 'synthetic biology' to make soap ingredients from algae. … produced by a process known as 'synthetic biology' that the process causes deforestation … Ecover as irresponsible. Synthetic biology The article states that Ecover …
Advocates claim that synthetic biology and the so-called New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) are distinct from genetic engineering (GE), write Helena Paul, Elisabeth Bücking & Ricarda Steinbrecher. In fact synthetic biology and NBTs carry similar risks to old-style GE, and even create novel hazards. The 'new GE' techniques - as they should be named - and their products deserve regulation at least as strict as those applying to GMOs.
… 'New Breeding Techniques' and synthetic biology - genetic engineering by another name … Advocates claim that synthetic biology and the so-called New Breeding … & Ricarda Steinbrecher. In fact synthetic biology and NBTs carry similar risks to …
A synthetic biology plant producing the anti-malarial drug artemisinin has just shut down as it's much cheaper to use wormwood grown by African farmers, writes Almuth Ernsting. The technology is even further from making affordable diesel, with a production cost of $20-50 per litre. No wonder investors are losing patience - and confidence - in loss-making synbio companies.
… Oil: $30-35 per barrel. Synthetic biology diesel: $3,180 to $7,949 per barrel. … Renewables Ecology synbio.jpg A synthetic biology plant producing the anti-malarial drug … - in loss-making synbio companies. Synthetic biology is being heavily promoted and funded …
The biofuels of the future will depend on microbes, writes Almuth Ernsting: algae to produce the biomass, and fungi or bacteria to break cellulose down into useful molecules. Just one problem: wild strains aren't up to the job. So scientists are trying to genetically engineer supercharged 'synthetic biology' variants - which will inevitably enter the environment. What could possibly go wrong?
… genetically engineer supercharged 'synthetic biology' variants - which will inevitably … such as Abengoa and BP, and synthetic biology companies such as Amyris, Solazyme, … aren't up to the job. E nter synthetic biology Cellulosic biofuels thus rely on …
Following the retraction of the Seralini et al scientific paper which found health damage to rats fed on GM corn, over 100 scientists have pledged in this Open Letter to boycott Elsevier, publisher of the Journal responsible.
… B Cking PhD, GERMANY Michel B Gin Ph D Microbiology, CANADA Alick Bartholomew MA in … UNITED STATES Dr Maria Caparis PhD Marine Biology Marine Scientific Expert Consultant to … Botany ethnobotany systematics, Plant Biology Research Institute, Montreal, CANADA …
Following allegations of defying India's Biological Diversity Act (BDA), Monsanto faces a lawsuit from the Indian government, reports Rosie Spinks
How India squared up to Monsanto’s 'biopiracy' Rosie Spinks | 12th October 2011 News News Focus Food And Farming Monsanto GMOs Biopiracy India bt_brinjal_monsanto.jpg Following allegations of defying …
Three in one: EFSA set to re-licence glyphosate based on secret industry studies; Monsanto moves against IARC verdict that glyphosate is a 'probable carcinogen'; and new science shows that FDA principle of GMO 'substantial equivalence' is bunk.
… Disrupt Molecular Systems Equilibria? Systems Biology May Provide Answers ', authors V A … Prabhakar Deonikar report on their 'systems biology' approach to the question, and find … targeted GM is not plant breeding." "Systems biology" , they propose, "which aims to …
With Monarch butterfly numbers down by 90% in 20 years - largely as a result of GMO crops in key feeding areas - the US Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the insect's status with a view to granting it legal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
… period, including: The subspecies' biology, range and population trends, habitat …
India's decision to release GMO cotton seeds that incorporate genes for Bt toxins into indigenous 'desi' varieties threatens disaster for the country's small and organic cotton farmers, writes Vandana Shiva. The danger is that the GMO characteristics will spread rapidly into the gene pool, contaminating India's unique heritage of cotton seed diversity.
GMO versions of 'desi' indigenous cotton threaten our organic future Dr Vandana Shiva | 9th September 2015 News GMOs Farming India weeding-cotton-s-india-cut.jpg India's decision to release GMO …
Will food regulations be thrown on the Brexit bonfire?
Genetically modified crops Natalie Bennett | 4th February 2020 News GMOs Food And Farming Brexit Thought Leaders farming-climate-change-3449647_1280.jpg Will food regulations be thrown on the Brexit …
Campaigners against GM foods have long reviled 'terminator technology' - GM plants whose seeds are engineered never to grow. But are fears of the so-called 'suicide seeds' misplaced?
Terminator technology - what's the fuss about? Mark Lynas Lúcia de Souza | 27th November 2013 Comment Gm Gm Food GMOs Food Farming Health terminator-technology.png Campaigners against GM foods have …
The very term 'genetic engineering' implies high precision in the alterations made to genes and deep understanding of their consequences, writes Jonathan Latham. In fact, we have never had either. And even with the arrival of CRISPR and other 'gene editing' systems, that remains the case: technologists are thrashing about in a perilous sea of unfathomable complexities and unknowable outcomes.
… genetic modifications: a new era in molecular biology and crop improvement . Planta 239: …
With USDA proposing to redefine GMOs for the purposes of food labeling, the issue is more important than ever, writes Jonathan Latham. It's not just to give consumers' the 'right to know' when they buy GM food, it's also a vital means to empower citizens to fight back against the industrialisation of food and farming, and the monopolies of agribusiness corporations.
… the private sector ( Lima, 2015 ). It's the biology, stupid! The biological truth of GMOs …
Eco detergent or washing at 30°C? Laura Sevier cuts through the greenwash at the laundry level
Is turning to 30°C enough? Laura Sevier | 27th July 2009 Ethical Living Detergent Eco Ecover Green Living Home Washing washing-dilemma.jpg Eco detergent or washing at 30°C? Laura Sevier cuts through …
You don't need a smallholding and a meadow to be a budding apiarist - a few sensible precautions will let you fight honeybee decline with a hive in your own backyard
… of things you've got to be aware of: bee biology, bee pests and diseases, the … Hay House) gives a great insight into bee biology and recipe and craft ideas for honey …
160 global groups have called for a moratorium on new 'genetic extinction' technology at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Cancun, Mexico. Gene drive technology, they say, poses serious and irreversible threats to biodiversity, national sovereignty, peace and food security.
Biodiversity Convention call to block new 'genetic extinction' GMOs GMWatch The Ecologist | 6th December 2016 News GMOs Science Biodiversity Un Mexico aphids-cut.jpg 160 global groups have called for …
Are GMOs safe? Up to a point, writes Jonathan Latham - provided you're not eating them. That's certainly not proven to be safe, indeed the hazards are numerous: protein encoding viral DNA fragments, herbicide metabolites, biotoxins whose operation is not understood, poorly conducted experiments ... and those are just the ones we know about.
… feeling my way in the complex world of biology and of scientific research. Another …
The US looks set to approve GM crops that resist the 'Agent Orange' pesticide 2,4-D as well as glyphosate, writes Helena Paul. If it does, the toxic chemical - created in WW2 to destroy enemy food supplies - will soon end up in animal feeds, and the food we eat.
Coming to your table? GMO crops resistant to 'war herbicide' 2,4D Helena Paul | 8th May 2014 News GMOs USA Brazil Argentina Toxics Farming Food EU crop duster-cut.jpg The use of 2,4D - a toxic …
A broad community of independent scientific researchers and scholars challenges claims of a 'consensus' that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are 'safe' to grow and eat. The claims - which continue to be widely and often uncritically aired - are a false and artificial construct that have been misleadingly perpetuated through diverse media.
… funding and/or those trained in molecular biology were very likely to have a positive …
The Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology appears to have violated scientific standards by withdrawing a study which found that rats fed on a Monsanto GM corn were more likely to develop cancer than controls. William Engdahl investigates.
Scientific journal retracts study exposing GM cancer risk F. William Engdahl | 5th December 2013 News GMOs Food Health lab-rats.png The Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology appears to have …
The Precautionary Principle must mean, above all, avoiding the risk of ruinous outcomes for people or the wider environment, write Rupert Read & David Burnham. When the Philippines Supreme Court applied that test to GMOs, they found they had to ban them - not as a moral choice but pragmatically, to avoid potentially devastating consequences.
… introduction of alien species; and synthetic biology. Precaution is simply the new …
The US Environmental Protection Agency has just withdrawn its authorization for a toxic mix of two herbicides, glyphosate and 2,4-D, to be used on GM crops. The move came in response to a lawsuit claiming the initial registration was unlawful.
EPA bans toxic pesticide mix on GM crops The Ecologist | 26th November 2015 News Farming Toxics Regulation Corporations USA Law GMOs pesticide-spray-field-cut.jpg The US Environmental Protection …