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So far, few genetically modified livestock have been approved for marketing. But new mutagenesis techniques could change this. One modification that has already been authorised concerns hornless beef cattle : is this really a good idea ?   The US company Recombinetics [Recombinetics] is a US biotechnology company founded in 2008, specialising in genetic modification of animals […]

More meat, milk, wool, etc. have always been some of the objectives of animal selection. For meat, two genetic modification strategies have been implemented : influencing the level of growth hormone, or blocking the gene responsible for the production of myostatin, a hormone that inhibits muscle growth. Research that is far from improving animal welfare…   […]

A certain number of insects are considered as pests, because they carry diseases or are parasites on crops. There are many ways to combat them : chemical insecticides, pheromone traps, induced sterility, etc.   Several techniques are being developed to induce sterility in an insect. These techniques – radiation mutagenesis, transgenesis, inoculation with the bacterium Wolbachia [1] […]

Jabal, a non-GMO drought-resistant wheat variety, will soon be grown commercially in Morocco. At a time when it is mentioned to adapt new plant varieties to climate change, particularly through genetic modification, we thought it would be interesting to show that other ways are possible, even if they are not farmers’ seeds and even if […]

In February 2022, Inf’OGM discovered transgenic rapeseed growing illegally in the port area of Grand-Couronne (near Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France). In July 2022, despite measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture, new GMO rapeseed plants were found in the same area. The association also discovered transgenic rapeseed in Sète (Hérault, France). In both cases, the Saipol […]

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is one of the world’s largest certifiers of ’sustainably harvested timber’. Since 1995, it has banned genetically modified trees, which limits de facto their development and marketing. Indeed, this label covers very large areas of forest and involves the main companies in the timber industry. However, the FSC has been […]

Many States currently reflect on the legal status of GMOs resulting from new genetic modification techniques, and some have already decided. It is not easy to give an exhaustive picture of all the positions and legislation adopted : it is sometimes difficult to have access to national legislation, national positions may be unclear at this stage, […]

Historically, the protection of living organisms through patents has been developed in the United States and Europe. Abandoning a then conservative position, the US Supreme Court validated a patent on a genetically modified (GM) bacterium in 1980 [1]. This institution defined the micro-organism as a « composition of matter », opening up the field of patentability of living […]

To modify genomes, new techniques of genetic modification are increasingly available. The Crispr/Cas9 system, mentioned on several occasions by Inf’OGM, is today by far the most widely used. Although this technique is less expensive, the patent law means that it does not lead to a diversification of the economic actors… The global seed market is […]