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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.

Tech assessments building global momentum

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

Amidst crises and buzzwords, the idea that we should examine technologies' impacts is gaining ground

The following is an excerpt from ETC Group's May 2019 newsletter. To receive regular updates, sign up (see right sidebar)!

As converging global crises – biodiversity, climate, plastic – intensify, governments and corporations are scrambling to create new institutions and investors are lining up to finance a new round of buzzword-driven techno-fixes. Talk of “rapid technological change”, “exponential technologies”, “frontier technologies” and “the fourth industrial revolution” can be heard in hallways of a variety of governments, institutions and UN bodies.

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.

VIDEO: Who Will Feed Us? The Peasant Food Web vs the Industrial Food Chain

Submitted by Trudi Zundel on

Peasant-led Agroecology and Food Sovereignty Feeds the World

More than a set of agricultural practices, agroecology is profoundly political, intertwined with food sovereignty and peasants’ and farmers’ rights. Small-scale farmers, peasants, pastoralists and small-scale fishers – who make up what ETC calls “The Peasant Food Web” – already grow 70% of the world’s food using only 25% of agricultural resources.

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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