Nanotechnology. Human gene doping. Cloned meat. Fire Retardants. Gene patents. Emerging technologies and harmful chemicals are appearing in consumer products and in our communities, and they have serious impacts on people and our environment. Corporations often seek profit from scientific developments, with little regard for human health.
Friends of the Earth is a fierce advocate of scientific progress, but people must be put before profits, and we must take precaution to ensure new technologies don’t do more harm than good.
Read the latest news and updates from our Health and Environment campaigns:
Our biotechnology campaigner Eric Hoffman is going on a week-long tour of Atlantic Canada to raise awareness about the risks of genetically engineered fish on our environment and our health. Friends of the Earth has spent the past year urging the Food and Drug Administration to conduct proper environmental assessments on genetically engineered salmon, to deny approval of the so-called “Frankenfish,” or at the very least to label them so consumers know what they’re eating and feeding to their families. Click here for updates from Eric as his trip progresses.
The past four days touring Atlantic Canada have been a whirlwind!
Tonight we hosted our fourth and last public forum in St. John’s. This city is the birthplace of AquaBounty’s genetically engineered salmon, as it was a professor at a local university who first invented the technology. We had more than 80 people in attendance, and the audience was really active during the Q&A time.
Day three on the road, and things aren’t slowing down one bit! Yesterday we received news that the official opposition party here, the New Democratic Party, introduced a motion in the Canadian Parliament that would ban the introduction of genetically engineered salmon into the Canadian food supply.
The tour continues with a trip to Fredericton, New Brunswick:
Day two on the genetically engineered salmon tour, and things are coming along well. We drove four hours this morning from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to Fredericton, New Brunswick. Most of the day was spent in the car, but we also had a number of interviews with local press and got to meet our hosts from the Conservation Council of New Brunswick and the Fundy Bay Keepers, two of our allies in Canada.
Late last night, I finally arrived in Charlottetown, on Prince Edward Island, to kick off my genetically engineered salmon tour of Atlantic Canada. It was already dark when my plane landed so I couldn’t see just how beautiful the island is. Thankfully, though, I had a chance to take in the scenery today, as I drove with my fellow tourmates from Charlottetown a little more than an hour to Bay Fortune, where the AquaBounty facility is located. A few weeks ago, we requested a tour of the facility where the company plans to raise its genetically engineered salmon eggs, but our request was denied.
We all have a right to know whether the food we are eating has been genetically engineered. That’s the principle driving a new campaign that kicked off last month called “Just Label It!: We Have the Right to Know.” Friends of the Earth joined the coalition along with more than 300 environmental, consumer, health, faith-based, farmer and other organizations. Click here to read more!
For almost 100 years, we have waged a war on bacteria. In a new report by Friends of the Earth, we argue that this war, far from making people safer, may have a harmful impact on people’s health. In order to stave off these microscopic ‘enemies,’ we continue to need stronger and stronger weapons. As the bacteria have found ways to resist the effects of one antimicrobial weapon, we’ve been forced to find another.
A three-judge federal appeals court heard arguments on Monday in a case that could decide the future of human gene patents. The high-profile lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation on behalf of a number of researchers, patients, women’s health organizations and scientific organizations against Myriad Genetics and the University of Utah Research Foundation, holders of patents on genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 that are associated with elevated risk of breast cancer. The plaintiffs argue that the US Patent and Trade Office erred in granting these patents because genes are products of nature, not human inventions.
The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues today released its recommendations on the oversight of synthetic biology, provoking strong criticism from public interest watchdogs for its failure to respond to key environmental and public health risks.
In a letter sent to the commission, 58 environmental, public interest, and religious groups from 22 countries criticized the recommendations as a deeply flawed response to advances in synthetic biology, including the creation this year of the first entirely synthetic organism, that demand strong federal oversight.
On November 16 and 17, President Obama’s Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues announced its draft recommendations on the oversight and regulation of synthetic biology. These recommendations fall short of the precautionary regulations needed to protect the environment and public health from the risks posed by this emerging technology.
