September 2006

Food Standards Authority faces legal action over GM rice in UK supermarkets

Posted by jamie — 18 September 2006 at 8:00am - Comments

The rice contamination scandal continues to grow but the Food Standards Agency isn't enforcing the law

It never rains but it pours, and the scandal of US rice contaminated with an illegal genetically modified (GM) variety shows no signs of slowing down. In the latest twist, Friends of the Earth has indicated it intends to launch legal proceedings against the Food Standards Authority (FSA) after finding contaminated rice on sale in UK supermarkets.

Article tagged as: bayer, FSA, GM, GM food, rice, supermarkets, USA

One fifth of US rice contaminated with illegal GM strain

Posted by jamie — 14 September 2006 at 8:00am - Comments
'Genetic engineering - hands off', the label says on a plate of rice contaminated with an illegal GM variety

'Genetic engineering - hands off', the label says on a plate of rice contaminated with an illegal GM variety

Up to one fifth of rice entering the EU is contaminated with an illegal genetically modified (GM) strain from the US. Those are the findings of the European Commission's own investigation into EU rice imports, following the admission in August by the US government that untested strains of GM rice had entered the food chain.

Article tagged as: bayer, china, germany, GM, GM food, rice, USA

Climate change: the untold story

Posted by bex — 13 September 2006 at 8:00am - Comments

A UN jeep driving through flood water

It has facts, it has suspense, it even has Futurama clips: Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth launches in the UK today, bringing with it mind-blowing descriptions of the destruction facing earth unless we pull our acts together in the next 10 years.

Article tagged as: central america, climate change, development, extreme weather, impacts, south america

Bad vibrations? We expose an EU sex scandal

Posted by bex — 8 September 2006 at 8:00am - Comments

How safe is your sex toy?

Is nothing sacred? A new report released today by our Dutch office reveals that the plastics used to construct a wide range of sex toys contain very high concentrations of hazardous phlalates, toxic chemical softeners used in PVC to make it soft and flexible.

Article tagged as: EU, phthalates, PVC, REACH, toxics

GM rice contamination reaches the UK

Posted by jamie — 5 September 2006 at 8:00am - Comments
Greenpeace has discovered illegal GM (Genetically Modified) rice from China has contaminated food products brought in the UK.

Greenpeace has discovered illegal GM (Genetically Modified) rice from China has contaminated food products brought in the UK.

Illegal, genetically modified (GM) rice - unapproved for human consumption and containing a toxin that may cause allergic reactions in humans - has been found in food products in the UK, Germany and France.

Article tagged as: bayer, china, GM, GM rice, UK

Going up in smoke

Posted by admin — 4 September 2006 at 8:00am - Comments

Forest fires are raging across Brazil and Indonesia

In tropical latitudes, months pass without any rain and in the dry season forests become susceptible to fire. These can occur naturally and would normally not pose a serious problem, but clearing land as a result of logging or to make way for plantations is exacerbating the problem and every year the fires spread faster and further.

Article tagged as: amazon, brazil, destructive logging, drought, forest fires, forests, indonesia