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	It’s time to defend our food supply from corporate takeover by the Avaaz team & agencies   18 July, 2013   Monsanto drops bid to grow new GM foods in the European Union. (AFP)   United States agrochemicals giant Monsanto will drop all requests to be allowed to grow new genetically modified foods in the European Union, which has for years held up approval.   The company says it would instead focus on its conventional seeds business and enabling imports of such products into the region.   "We will no longer be pursuing approvals for cultivation of new biotech crops in Europe," the company said in a statement.   The European Commission, the EU"s executive arm, said it "took note of the decision" by Monsanto which produces a whole stable of GM crops and associated agrochemicals in wide use in the US and elsewhere.   In Europe, however, there is widespread suspicion about the use of GM food products, with many fearing their use could have an unintended long-term impact on health.   Monsanto and other producers insist such fears are unfounded and that GM products are essential if growing global demand for food is to be met.   The EU allows only two GM products to be grown in the 28-member bloc - Monsanto"s MON 810 maize and German conglomerate BASF"s Amflora potato.   Brussels cleared MON 810 in 1998 for 10 years and Monsanto submitted a request in 2007 for it to be extended, but the process has been effectively frozen since then.   Environmental groups welcomed Monsanto"s announcement.   "This is great news for science and research in Europe," Greenpeace EU spokesman Mark Breddy said. "Over the last couple of decades, GM crops have proven themselves to be an ineffective and unpopular technology, with unacceptable risks for our environment and health.   "Monsanto"s retreat could finally create the space for European farming to focus on modern practices and technologies that offer real advances for food production and rural communities."   Apr 2013 (Avaaz & agencies)   It’s unbelievable, but Monsanto and Co. are at it again. These giant biotech companies have found a way to exclusively ‘own’ something that freely belongs to us all -- our food! They’re trying to patent away our everyday vegetables and fruits like cucumber, broccoli and melons, forcing growers to pay them and risk being sued if they don’t.   Companies like Monsanto have found loopholes in European law to get away with this, so we need to close them shut before they set a dangerous global precedent. And to do that, we need key countries like Germany, France and the Netherlands -- where opposition is already growing -- to call for a vote to stop Monsanto’s plans.   Many farmers and politicians are already against this -- we need to bring people power to pressure these countries to keep Monsanto’s hands off our food.   Once a patent exists in one country, trade agreements and negotiations often push other countries to honour it as well. That"s why these food patents change everything about how our food chain works: for thousands of years, farmers could choose which seeds they’d use without worrying about getting sued for violating intellectual property rights. But now, companies launch expensive legal campaigns to buy patents on conventional plants and force farmers to pay exorbitant royalty fees. Monsanto and Co. claim that patents drive innovation -- but in fact they create a corporate monopoly of our food.   But luckily, the European Patent Office is controlled by 38 member states who, with one vote, can end dangerous patents on food that is bred using conventional methods. Even the European Parliament has issued a statement objecting to these kinds of destructive patents. Now, a new wave of public outcry can push them to ban the patenting of our everyday food for good.   The situation is dire already -- Monsanto alone owns 36% of all tomato, 32% of sweet pepper and 49% of cauliflower varieties registered in the EU. With a simple regulatory change, we could protect our food, our farmers and our planet from corporate control -- and it"s up to us to make it happen. Over 2 million people have signed this petition.   http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content/20120509IPR44733/html/Conventionally-bred-plants-or-animals-should-be-exempt-from-patents-say-MEPs http://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/information/background/green-light-for-patents-on-plants-and-animals http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/02/scotus-hears-monsanto-soybean-case http://europolitics.eis-vt-prod-web01.cyberadm.net/business-competitiveness/tomato-patent-back-before-epo-s-enlarged-board-of-appeal-art336003-7.html Visit the related web page
	Skoll World Forum 2013 by Skoll Foundation, Oxford University   April 2013   The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship is a international platform for accelerating entrepreneurial approaches and innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing social issues.   Each year in Oxford, some 1,000 distinguished delegates from the social, finance, private and public sectors convene in Oxford for three days and nights of critical debates, discussions and work sessions aimed at innovating, accelerating and scaling solutions to social challenges.   The Skoll World Forum website is now a year-round platform where audiences can learn about the latest news and innovative approaches in a variety of focus areas (e.g. deforestation, education and economic opportunity, or healthcare access and treatment), and engage with some the world’s leading thinkers and doers of social change on key questions, challenges and opportunities.   We have partnered with some of the world’s leading media institutions, foundations and other organizations to provide engaging quality content. Through a combination of regular debates, individual contributions and curated insights we offer a dynamic and engaging place to discover new and relevant information on global issues.   * The Skoll World Forum is a programme of the Skoll Foundation and is co-produced with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School, Oxford University.   http://skollworldforum.org/category/original/   http://skollworldforum.org/category/curated/   http://skollworldforum.org/topics/ Visit the related web page
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