Economic Impacts

Synthetic Biology: The Bioeconomy of Landlessness and Hunger

 Economic Impacts, Educational resources
Jun 202013
 
Synthetic Biology: The Bioeconomy of Landlessness and Hunger

by  the ETC Group Originally  published by ETCGroup.org For the full briefing please download the PDF file. Synthetic biology represents a quantum advance on biotechnology, and goes beyond transferring genes between species to constructing entirely new, self-replicating microorganisms that have the potential (partially proven / partially theoretical) to convert any biomass or carbon feedstock into any product that can be produced by fossil carbons – plus many more. In other words, from the perspective of synthetic biology (“synbio”), the resource [More]

New “Semisynthetic” Anti-malarial Drug is Unneeded and Sets Dangerous Precedent while Threatening Farmer Livelihoods.

 Corporate Wheeling & Dealing, Economic Impacts, Updates
Apr 152013
 
New "Semisynthetic" Anti-malarial Drug is Unneeded and Sets Dangerous Precedent while Threatening Farmer Livelihoods.

SynBioWatch Press Release: For Immediate Release April 15, 2013 Contact: Lisa Archer, Gopal Dayaneni, or Tina Stevens, , (510) 982-1285, info@SynBioWatch.org Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Aventis and Amyris Biotech founder Jay Keasling have announced that they intend to replace the entire world supply of the World Health Organization’s preferred anti-malarial treatment derived from botanical artemisinin with a semisynthetic product which employs synthetic biology, a controversial, unregulated biotechnology. Speaking at a conference in Cambridge, UK, Keasling said, “Moves [More]

Synthetic Anti-Malarial Compound is Bad News for Artemisia Farmers

 Biotech business news, Corporate Wheeling & Dealing, Economic Impacts
Apr 132013
 
Synthetic Anti-Malarial Compound is Bad News for Artemisia Farmers

by Jim Thomas Originally published by the Guardian UK Artemisinin breakthrough by synthetic biologists threatens to open new front in battle between microbes and people   In the constant fight between microbes and people, attempts to rein in the malarial parasite have just taken an interesting turn. On Thursday April 11 the founder of Amyris Biotech triumphantly announced production of 70m doses of the anti-malarial compound artemisinin. This sounds like good news for poor people but may be [More]

WATCH: When Green Tech Isn’t Clean Tech, ETC Group’s technology watchdog Jim Thomas and Fibershed Founder Rebecca Burgess in Dialog with Gopal Dayeneni

 Bioethics, Corporate Wheeling & Dealing, Economic Impacts, Environmental Impacts, Events, Multimedia, Video
Mar 082013
 
WATCH: When Green Tech Isn't Clean Tech, ETC Group’s technology watchdog Jim Thomas and Fibershed Founder Rebecca Burgess in Dialog with Gopal Dayeneni

Watch an archived broadcast of East Bay Conversations: When Green Tech Isn’t Clean Tech (3/21/2013) Synthetic biology includes creating novel life forms using DNA not found in nature, promising “green” fuel, cosmetics, cures, and more. Geoengineering promises techno fixes for climate change, including limiting sunlight and removing CO2 from the air. ETC Group’s technology watchdog Jim Thomas and Fibershed Founder Rebecca Burgess tell us what we’re not hearing from promoters about these “false solutions” — their land grabs, environmental and safety risks, and threats to “real green” technology solutions.

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