News

We are surrounded by regulation. Every moment of our waking and sleeping lives is populated with a vast regulatory network. There are thousands of regulations relating to our homes, our clothes, our foods, the...

Members of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (MEPs) last week voted for a moratorium on the use of nanomaterials in food until have undergone safety assessments by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The...

In a stunning example of regulatory capture and ignoring the precautionary principle when it comes to protecting human health, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has decided not to assess the risks of the...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) embrace of geoengineering proposals, which began very tentatively with the release of their fourth assessment report, is beginning to shape up as a dangerous romance. The IPCC’s...

In a unanimous decision of 194 countries, the United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has formally urged nation states to regulate synthetic biology (synbio). The landmark decision follows ten days of hard-fought negotiations...

As global governments meet to discuss synthetic biology (synbio) at the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting (COP12) in South Korea, Friends of the Earth is calling for a moratorium on the commercial release of...

As the Australian Pest and Veterinary Medicine Authority (APVMA) attempts to grapple with the issue of nanomaterials in agricultural chemicals, Friends of the Earth have warned that unregulated nanomaterials are already being used in...

A recent Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) survey of packaging manufacturers and the food industry reveals that FSANZ is failing to protect consumers from the risks associated with the use of nanomaterials in...

Since it was first proposed that synthetic biology be looked at as a new and emerging issue under the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD), the Australian Government − under both the ALP and the...

“A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated.” These are the first words in a 2013 US Supreme Court decision regarding a...