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It has now been a year since the UK exited the EU and a matter of months since the transition period came to an end. For the most part, there have not been major changes to environmental regulation in the UK. Instead, the UK has made small tweaks to its rules so that they make sense in the post-Brexit reality. Such tweaks may appear minor, but they can have major consequences for business. On top of this, divergences between EU and UK environmental laws are starting to creep in and going forward we can anticipate more.
Mar 11 2021 Read 455 Times
Author: Gareth West on behalf of Astell Scientific Ltd
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“So, what happens with your Biosafety Level 3 lab waste?” I asked the laboratory manager. “Our safety assessment says to just mix it with sterilant wash it down the drain - there is worse stuff down there already.” “How about genetically modified material?” “Yeah, that goes the same way - It’ll die in the drains”.
Treating biologically hazardous waste in such a way is not uncommon in the UK - the combination of chemical sterilants and a well-developed system of sewerage and treatment plants can handle a wide range of biologically active substances, but it is not a failsafe system.
As the second wave of COVID-19 sweeps across Africa, bringing steep increases in infections and deaths, the battle between facts and conspiracies – especially around the safety of COVID vaccines – has also intensified.
For anyone who has worked on crop improvement in Africa over the last three decades, the flood of misinformation around vaccines evokes an eerie sense of déjà vu. It is reminiscent of the aggressively anti Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) campaign that has stalled Africa’s efforts to improve the productivity and nutrition of key crops over the past three decades. Those of us working in the GMO field grossly underestimated the power of the misinformation campaign against it.
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SAO PAULO, March 3 (Reuters) - The Brazilian unit of Bunge Ltd is launching an effort to make sure that soybean growers in the Cerrado area who indirectly supply the company are producing their crops in an environmentally responsible way, according to a statement on Wednesday.
The Cerrado biome is a vast tropical savanna or biodiversity hot spot where the bulk of Brazil’s oilseeds are planted.
The company said the move involves guiding grain resellers to implement “chain verification systems,” which include the use of satellite imaging to track the origin of the grains.
“Resellers will be able to adopt independent imaging services or use Bunge’s geospatial monitoring structure, free of charge,” the statement said.
Source: Yaro Kankani, Contributor
CIKOD has called for government’s support for the informal seed system
The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has called for government’s support for the informal seed system in the country.
Such support according to the NGO will help develop the local seed system and eliminate challenges posed by the formal seed system including difficulty in accessibility and cost.
Mr Bernard Guri, the Executive Director of CIKOD made the call during a radio discussion on Lawra FM in the Lawra Municipality of the Upper West Region.
“Rather than having our farmers battle with challenges of accessibility and cost, we are advocating for massive government support to improve the local seed system”, he said.