The New Dark Age

In 2024, the EU once again recorded alerts about GMO contamination. Of the 24 alerts, the vast majority concerned unauthorised GM rice, but also papaya, soy, flax and maize. Two cases of contamination by GM microorganisms were also reported, one of which even forced the Belgian authorities to issue a public statement recalling a product. In three cases, the nature of the illegal GMO was not specified. One GM maize, one flax, two papayas and one soybean were also found in 2024, either on European territory or at its border. The countries of origin of these contaminations are geographically diverse, including Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Thailand. As with the cases of rice contamination, GM papaya from Thailand has been a long-standing contaminant in Europe, with the first cases reported in 2004 following an alert by Greenpeace. However, it is rarer for illegally present GM papaya to come from Mexico, a country where, like Thailand, no GM papaya is authorised for cultivation. Inf’OGM (French language article)

Presented as a response to the feed crisis, a new crop is quietly taking root in Tunisian fields. Behind the soybeans are GM seeds, introduced without supervision and amid total institutional silence. Laboratory analyses carried out in Tunisia and then in France on three samples of soybean seeds distributed to Tunisian farmers show them to be GMO. The soybean samples are tolerant to several herbicides: glyphosate, glufosinate-ammonium, 2,4-D and dicamba, and produce several insecticides against lepidoptera (butterflies). These transgenes belong to Monsanto (Bayer), BASF, and Dow AgroSciences. Among the distributors of these GMO seeds in Tunisia, one company in particular is the subject of much praise from soybean farmers: WA Soja Tunisie, a supplier of “original Brazilian seeds”, as the organisation described itself. Based in Jendouba, it promoted its Intacta RR2 Pro transgenic soybean seeds, imported from Brazil, via its Facebook page, which has since been deleted. This brand was developed by Monsanto, since acquired by Bayer, and contains two of the transgenes detected in the analyses. Inkyfada (French language article)

The Irish Grain Growers’ Group (IGGG) is calling for an immediate examination of what it has described as the “now excessive use” of GM maize and soy entering the Irish food chain from third countries. The group has said that Irish consumers have the right to be informed via labelling about the expanded use of GMOs in the Irish food chain in recent years. The IGGG said: “Despite our leadership in sustainability, food safety, biodiversity, and food security, Irish grain growers continue to receive prices below the cost of production.” The IGGG claims that a major factor in these depressed prices is the influx of cheap GMO imports from third countries. [GMW: Contrary to the implication of certain wording in this article, GMOs in general are not banned from cultivation in the EU, but each individual GMO must be authorised for cultivation.] Agriland

An English-language version of a brilliant Dutch exposé of the PR tactics used by the pesticide industry to keep glyphosate on the market – and attack scientists who raise concerns about it – is finally available to watch. Harvard’s Naomi Oreskes is among the contributors. Zembla

Long before pesticides reach lethal doses, they can disrupt hormones, impair brain function and change fish behaviour. Many of these behaviours are essential for healthy ecosystems. A new scientific review has found that pesticides affect many different behaviours in fish. Overall, the chemical pesticides make fish less sociable and interactive. They spend less time gathering in groups, become less protective of their territory, and make fewer attempts to mate. Courtship was the most severely impacted behaviour — the process fish use to find and attract mates. This is particularly alarming because successful courtship is essential for healthy fish populations and ecosystem stability. Pesticides such as the herbicide glyphosate, which can disrupt brain function and hormone levels, had the strongest impacts on fish social behaviours. The authors say regulatory authorities should begin to recognise behaviour as a reliable and important indicator of pesticide safety. This can help them catch pesticide pollution early, before mass deaths occur. DownToEarth

An electric current can clear vineyard weeds as effectively as herbicides and mowing, scientists have shown. It offers growers a chemical‑free option that performs well in real‑world conditions while posing only a minor seasonal fire risk. The discovery comes from research led by Catherine Borger and Miranda Slaven from Western Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Working with the Zasso XPower system, the team compared electric weeding with glyphosate spraying and mowing during two consecutive spring seasons. The findings give fresh momentum to electric weed control at a time when herbicide resistance and consumer concern over chemical residues are on the rise. Newsbreak

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