August 2105 Genetically Modified News Highlights Summary

Starting in July, Taiwan, China's new labeling rules for genetically modified foods took effect, bringing food retailers under regulation one after another. However, the public noticed that restaurants and other places serving food were left out, so the Food and Drug Administration urgently announced in August the "Regulations Governing the Labeling of Foods Containing Genetically Modified Food Raw Materials in Places That Directly Supply Food" and the food items to which they apply, scheduled to take effect on December 31 of this year. As the new school year approaches, county and city heads who signed pledges to promote non-GMO school lunches will present what kind of policy progress, and civil groups are calling on parents nationwide to write letters to their own local leaders and publish the official replies on an action webpage.

In Europe, non-GMO has almost become a basic consensus. In March of this year, the EU approved new permits for cultivating GM crops, but also gave EU member states the power to decide for themselves whether to ban them. Latvia and Greece became the first EU countries to opt out of cultivating GM crops and be accepted by Monsanto, and Scotland and Germany have also successively announced bans on GM crop cultivation. At the same time, the Monsanto acquisition of Syngenta, which drew global attention in recent months, ultimately fell through, and Monsanto said it would focus on developing its own core business in the future.

1. River Polluted, Washington State City Sues Monsanto (2015/8/4)

The city of Spokane, Washington, recently filed suit against Monsanto in a U.S. federal district court, accusing the agricultural biotechnology giant of knowingly selling toxic chemicals for decades and causing serious pollution of local rivers. (http://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/201508040207-1.aspx)

2. Scotland Plans to Ban GM Crop Cultivation (2015/8/9)

Nearly 30 countries around the world grow GM crops, but the risks of GM crops are unclear, and Scotland announced plans to ban GM crop cultivation, unwilling to take the risk of gambling on the country's 14 billion pound food market in order to consolidate its green image. (www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20150809001091-260408)

3. FDA Announces New Rules, Restaurants Included in GM Food Labeling Regulation (2015/8/11)

The Food and Drug Administration officially announced the "Regulations Governing the Labeling of Foods Containing Genetically Modified Food Raw Materials in Places That Directly Supply Food" and the food items to which they apply, effective December 31, 2015. The applicable food items are "genetically modified food raw materials in agricultural product form, or such raw materials that have undergone simple cutting or grinding," as well as "soy milk, tofu, douhua, dried tofu, tofu skin, and vegetarian meat products made from soy protein." (http://ppt.cc/5mnjQ)

4. Platform for Collecting Opinions on the Agricultural GMO Technology Management System Goes Online (2015/8/17)

To formulate the "Agricultural Genetically Modified Organism Management Regulations (Draft)," the Council of Agriculture of the Executive Yuan specially commissioned the Science and Technology Law Institute of the Institute for Information Industry to set up a platform for collecting and exchanging opinions, hoping to use it to listen to suggestions from all sectors on formulating our country's agricultural GMO technology management standards, and to provide information on the draft regulations' progress and agricultural GMO technology management standards, so as to make the legislative process open and transparent and promote public understanding of the agricultural GMO technology management system. (https://www.discussgmo.org.tw/index.php)

5. Civil Groups Launch Action to Write to County and City Mayors Asking About Non-GMO Lunch Policy Progress (2015/8/18)

On the eve of the new school year in September, the School Lunch Non-GMO Action Team invited parents from all over to write together to the public opinion mailboxes of county and city governments to ask about the progress of the "non-GMO school lunch" policy in their own cities, and to publish the replies on the action's official webpage. (http://ppt.cc/9zKxh)

6. Germany Joins Scotland in Planning to Ban GM Crop Cultivation (2015/8/26)

According to a Reuters report on August 24, under new EU regulations, Germany will begin measures to ban GM crop cultivation within its borders. German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt has informed the state governments, saying in a letter that he is prepared to tell the EU that even though the EU previously approved cultivation permits for many varieties of GM crops, Germany will use the new "opt out" rule to ban GM crop cultivation within Germany. (http://ppt.cc/8940o)

7. Monsanto Abandons Acquisition of Syngenta (2015/8/27)

The world's largest seed maker Monsanto announced on the 26th that it was canceling its 46 billion US dollar acquisition offer to Swiss agricultural chemicals producer Syngenta and would focus on developing its own core business in the future. (http://newtalk.tw/news/view/2015-08-27/63953)

8. Latvia and Greece Become the First EU Countries to Confirm a Ban on GM Crop Cultivation (2015/8/28)

Latvia and Greece became the first EU countries to opt out of cultivating GM crops and be accepted by Monsanto. Many other EU countries, including Germany and France, are expected to make the same "opt out" request next month to ban cultivation of MON810 GM corn. (http://ppt.cc/6esg8)