May. 16, 2012 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology
Synthetic biology is the newest purported cure-all technology for remedying our social, environmental, and public health ills. As many prominent synthetic biologists proclaimed in 2007, the world “face[s] daunting problems of climate change,...
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May. 11, 2012 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology
Last weekend the Keynoter newspaper in the Florida Keys reported that plans to release genetically engineered mosquitoes in Key West “remain on indefinite hold.” But Oxitec has submitted an application to the FDA for approval of its mo...
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Apr. 27, 2012 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology
Yesterday morning the White House released its National Bioeconomy Blueprint which “outlines steps that agencies will take to drive the bioeconomy—economic activity powered by research and innovation in the biosciences—and detail...
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Mar. 21, 2012 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology
On March 15th, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District hosted a town hall meeting to discuss the proposed release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in Key West. We organized our Friends of the Earth activists in the Keys to help ensure tough...
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Mar. 13, 2012 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology, Publications
Friends of the Earth is thrilled to release the Principles for the Oversight of Synthetic Biology, the first global declaration from civil society to outline principles that must be adopted to protect public health and our environment from the ris...
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Feb. 23, 2012 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology
Most people are shocked to learn that 20 percent of the human genome has been patented by corporations and scientists, granting companies ownership and sole access to these fundamental building blocks of life. Patents on genes limit the ability of...
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Feb. 1, 2012 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology
While the possible release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Florida Keys has been delayed until late spring, the debate around the possible benefits and risks these insects pose to the environment and human health continue to heat up. E...
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Dec. 21, 2011 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology, Publications
A private firm is planning to release potentially harmful genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Florida Keys as early as January, endangering human health and the environment in what would become the first-ever U.S. release of these engineered ...
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Dec. 16, 2011 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology
Yesterday morning, the Senate Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard held a hearing on the environmental risks posed by genetically engineered salmon (archived webcast of the hearing available). As you may ...
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Oct. 28, 2011 / Posted by: Eric hoffman / Categories: Blog, Food and Technology
Friday, October 28, 2011 Whew! After four-plus days of non-stop action here in Atlantic Canada, our tour is starting to slow down. We just had our last meeting this morning with the local government, and we have the rest of the day off to relax an...
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