Is the UN Convention on Biodiversity losing the precautionary plot?
Submitted by Ronnie Hall on
You can listen to this 5-minute mini-podcast (in English) here.
Recent Content Related to Other technologies
Nobel Prize for a gene bomb
Submitted by Silvia Ribeiro on
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to researchers who developed the genetic engineering technique CRISPR-Cas9 – , some of which applications could have such an explosive effect on nature and people that it has been called a “gene bomb”.
English
#WorldFoodDay2020
Submitted by Ronnie Hall on
Who will control food and farming by the end of the decade?
Driven to Extinction
Submitted by Ronnie Hall on
Bill Gates and Gene Drive Extinction Technology
As part of our contribution to a new Global Citizen’s Report ‘Gates to a Global Empire’, we explore the way in which the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is forcing dangerous gene drive technologies onto the world. BMGF is either the first or second largest funder of gene drive research (alongside the shadowy U.S. military organisation Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) whose exact level of investment is disputed).
#5: Algorithmic Colonisation with Abeba Birhane
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Is there such a thing as "ethical AI"?
In this podcast episode, ETC Group speaks to Abeba Birhane, a PhD candidate in cognitive science at University College Dublin in the School of Computer Science. Birhane talks about her work on the algorithmic colonisation of Africa, why we need to normalise critical thinking on new technologies and if there is such a thing as “ethical" AI.
Has the synthetic biology industry hijacked IUCN?
Submitted by Ronnie Hall on
Gates-funded synbio lobby firm Emerging Ag Inc takes driving seat in IUCN discussion on biodiversity and synbio.
MEXICO, 3 September 2020 : Emerging Ag Inc., a synthetic biotech industry lobbying firm, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has been allowed to take a driving seat in discussions about biodiversity conservation and synthetic biology amongst members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in advance of IUCN’s next World Congress in 2021 [1].
Podcast #4: What is Technology?
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
And why do we need technology assessment? An interview with Jim Thomas
Mutual aid or digital big brother?
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Tom Wakeford on what should come after Covid-19
Video/podcast #3: Which new normal?
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
ETC Group on COVID, data giants, the food system and community responses
Those backing risky new technologies are seeing growing profits and power during the COVID-19 crisis. From fast-tracking genomic testing and novel vaccines to automation of ‘people-free’ supply chains, the pandemic is benefitting Big Tech.
From the rise of Zoom and Netflix to enhanced data-surveillance of populations, Silicon Valley and its financial backers are not only shaping how the crisis is lived, but are positioning themselves to shape behaviours and write the rules in a post-crisis new order.
Gene Drive organisms: Destructive and Uncontrollable
Submitted by Veronica Villa on
Brief video about gene drives, by ETC Group and Swissaid
Gene drive organisms have been greeted with a breathless euphoria by some geneticists, policy-makers and philanthropists. By manipulating the sexual reproductive system of organisms, the promoters of the technology claim they should be able to exterminate some species that are harmful to humans. However, once we look behind the headline-grabbing claims, it becomes clear that the use of this technology could put food systems and humanity at serious risk of irreversible harm.
See the video here:
Gene Drive Organisms
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
An introduction to a dangerous new technology putting Africans at risk
Gene Drive Organisms are built to intentionally spread their implanted traits through an entire population and could easily be designed to cause a whole species to become extinct or replaced. So far this ‘exterminator technology’ has never been tested in a natural, or even semi-natural environment but the day of GDO release is coming.
This report explains what Gene Drives are, who is behind them, and what rights and tools communities in Africa have to stop them.
Related Fora:
ETC Podcast Episode #1: Gene drives in Africa
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
ETC will be occasionally chatting with collaborators, activists and experts about emerging technologies. Check for the ETC podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or other podcast services. A full list of episodes can be found at etcgroup.libsyn.com In Episode #1 ETC's Tom Wakeford speaks with Ugandan lawyer and advocate Barbara Ntambirweki about gene drives, a powerful new genetic technology that can change species in the wild and make species go extinct.
Was world conservation agency's report on genetic engineering and gene drive organisms rigged?
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Clear evidence of bias and conflicts of interest found by monitoring group
JULY 8, 2019, MONTREAL–In a report released today, ETC Group exposes serious bias and conflicts of interest among members of an “expert” panel convened by the highly influential International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the largest international body that convenes conservation movements.
Civil Society Denounces the Release of GM mosquitoes in Burkina Faso
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
We, the undersigned civil society organisations from Africa and around the world, denounce the release of genetically modified (GM) “male-sterile” mosquitoes in Burkina Faso. The GM mosquitoes were released in the village of Bana on 1 July 2019 by the Target Malaria research consortium.i
Video: From the Lab to the Field to the Forest
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Synthetic biology on the loose
The expert group that will be filing a report with recommendations to the UN Convention on Biodiversity met in early June, and examined a variety of emerging uses of synthetic biology. Jim Thomas was there representing ETC.
Increasingly, syn bio is moving out of the lab, and companies are conducting experiments and even genetic engineering in the wild – for example, by using viruses or gene drives to change genetic structures in nature.
Driving Under the Influence
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
A review of the evidence for bias and conflict of interest in the IUCN report on synthetic biology and gene drive organisms
Executive Summary
Rise of the Petri-Proteins?
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Some likely effects of lab-grown meat-like substances on farmers, food systems and the climate
The global meat industry is estimated to be worth over $1 trillion USD in 2019, and is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2022. The dairy industry is estimated at $442 billion. Industrially processed meat and dairy are notorious for the inhumane conditions of their livestock, and are a climate menace.
Lab-grown meat and other Petri-protein industries
Submitted by Veronica Villa on
Prepared by ETC Group with additional research by Dr Elisabeth Abergel, for the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF)
2019: Naming the Now
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
A dozen ways to start making sense of 2019 and beyond
Making sense of emerging trends in science and technology is a core part of what ETC Group does. We’re impatient to grasp the implications of new realities that are emerging around us, whether they relate to artificial intelligence, social engineering, extreme forms of digital genetic modification, corporate concentration, surveillance, authoritarianism or geoengineering.
Target Malaria’s Gene Drive Project Fails to Inform Local Communities of Risks: New Film
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Target Malaria, a research consortium that aims to eradicate malaria-carrying species of mosquitoes using new genetic modification tools, does not have proper consent from communities for its experiment. That is the main message of a new short film that is being released this week.
“A Question of Consent: Exterminator Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso” documents conversations with residents of the areas where Target Malaria is conducting tests, as well as opposition from civil society groups in the region.
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