| | 26/March/20
| | Experts say the new coronavirus is not a bioweapon – but disagree on whether it could have leaked from a research lab Where did SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, come from? Experts seem to agree it wasn’t the product of human engineering. Much research has been focused on the hypothesis that bats passed a virus to some intermediate host — perhaps pangolins, scaly ant-eating mammals — which subsequently passed it to humans. But the pangolin theory has not been proven. Some experts wonder whether a virus under study at a lab could have been accidentally released, something that’s happened in the past. Professor Richard Ebright of Rutgers University’s Waksman Institute of Microbiology, a biosecurity expert who has been speaking out on lab safety since the early 2000s, thinks that it is possible the COVID-19 pandemic started as an accidental release from a laboratory such as one of the two in Wuhan, China, that are known to have been studying bat coronaviruses. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists No place for gene editing in Commission's sustainability strategy The European Commission's Farm to Fork Strategy aims to make farming healthier and more environmentally friendly – but it might also prove to be a back-door entry point for gene-edited products. A leaked draft version of the F2F Strategy stated that the Commission plans to "assess the status of new genomic techniques under EU law and, if appropriate, follow up by submitting a proposal". This "proposal" would almost certainly be an attempt to change the GMO regulations to allow gene-edited (and possibly all GM) products easier access to market. GMWatch Coronavirus exposes economic, cultural, environmental fallacies With the coronavirus crisis, we are staring at possibly the worst economic and financial correction ever in modern times. But the disease we have is much bigger than the virus, writes big picture thinker Nate Hagens. Our political and financial systems are brittle and inflexible. Inequality is rampant. Our physical health is bad mostly because of lifestyle but partly because of ubiquitous exposures to toxics in plastics and consumer goods. We can use this external slowdown of our metabolism as an opportunity — as individuals, society and a species — to arrive at a less crazy way of interacting with each other and the planet. Environmental Health News EWG calls for measures to prevent foodborne illnesses and pesticide exposure The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has sent an open letter to members of the board of directors of the agribusiness front group Alliance for Food and Farming. The letter calls on these business leaders and the entire produce industry to step up and improve measures to prevent foodborne illnesses and protect both consumers and farmworkers from pesticide exposure. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that each year one in six Americans, or 48 million people, get sick from foodborne illnesses, 128,000 are hospitalised and 3,000 die. New Food DONATE TO GMWATCH __________________________________________________________ Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
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