nano.foe.org.au

No labels, no safety testing – our new report reveals high tech nanofoods pose toxic risks

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:19:01 -0600

Our new report (text only version here) reveals that at least 104 food, food packaging and agricultural products containing nano-ingredients are now on sale internationally. These include diet replacement milkshakes, cooking oil, tea and fortified fruit juice; food additives sold for use in processed meats, soft drinks, bakery and dairy products; long-life and antibacterial food packaging; and antibacterial kitchenware. In light of the evidence that many nano-ingredients used in these products pose new toxic risks for humans and the environment, Friends of the Earth is calling for a halt to the sale of nanofoods until they can be shown to be safe.

Nano agriculture to further concentrate corporate control of food?

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:10:19 -0600

Australian academics have published a wide-ranging analysis of nanotechnology's likely transformation of food and agricultural systems. Dr Gyorgy Scrinis and Dr Kristen Lyons write: "Nanotechnology is attracting large-scale investment from global food corporations, is backed by academic science, and has captured financial and ideological support from many governments around the world ... This industrial and scientific collaboration strategically place the corporate sector to shape the research trajectory and commercial applications of nanotechnology, and the future of agri-food systems".

Have your say! NSW holds nano inquiry

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:19:26 -0600

Concerned about nano? Have your say! The NSW Parliament is now holding a public inquiry into nanotechnology. This is one of the first opportunities members of the public and civil society groups have been given to make comment on Australia's handling of nano issues. The deadline for submissions is Friday 28 March. joint statement that details the principles which should underpin precautionary and democratic management of this powerful new technology.

Big risks for environment from nano

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:23:16 -0500

The nanotechnology industry is increasingly promoting nano as a “green” technology that will improve the environmental performance of existing industries, reduce our consumption of resources and energy, and allow us to achieve environmentally benign economic expansion. But Friends of the Earth is concerned that nanotechnology could facilitate the radical expansion of resource and energy consumption, and pollution and waste emission, while introducing a whole new range of serious ecological risks.

Food workers call for nano moratorium

Mon, 2 Jul 2007 18:29:22 -0500

In March this year, the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) called for a global moratorium on nanotechnology. The IUF cited concerns regarding the health and environmental risks of nanotoxicity, the broader socio-economic implications of nanotechnology, and the failure to involve the public in decision making about the introduction of this powerful new technology. The IUF represents nearly 12 million workers from over 120 countries - its call for a moratorium is the most significant to date. Guillermo Foladori and Noela Invernizzi, academics associated with the Latin American Nanotechnology and Society Network (ReLANS), have released a detailed appraisal of the IUF's response to nanotechnology and an analysis of its implications.

La nanotecnología en la agricultura y en la producción alimentaria

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:45:37 -0500

La nanotecnología representa la última de las agresiones y, en muchos sentidos, la de mayor alcance, de la alta tecnología sobre la agricultura y los alimentos frescos. La nanotecnología, que consiste en el procesamiento atómico de los sistemas alimentarios, es la antítesis de los sistemas ecológicamente sostenibles y controlados localmente. Es más, convierte la granja en una ampliación automatizada de la línea de producción de una fábrica con alta tecnología, y por otra parte utiliza productos patentados, lo que lleva inevitablemente a la concentración del control corporativo. Además, comporta nuevos riesgos muy graves para la salud de los humanos y para el medio ambiente.

Audio discussion: nano impacts & development

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 03:12:21 -0500

Chris Richards from New Internationalist magazine and Melbourne radio station 3CR interviews Georgia Miller from Friends of the Earth Australia and Nnimmo Bassey from Environmental Rights Action, Nigeria. Georgia and Nnimmo map out nanotechnology's broader implications for the developed and developing worlds. The interview looks at the "what", "where" and "why" of near term nanotechnology applications, including in textiles, agriculture and the military.

Nanotechnology – the new threat to food

Thu, 24 May 2007 06:44:59 -0500

Reprinted from “Clean Food Organic” Volume 4, May 2007

Following on from genetic engineering, nanotechnology represents the latest high technology attempt to infiltrate our food supply. Senior scientists have warned that nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at the scale of atoms and molecules, introduces serious new risks to human and environmental health. Yet in the absence of public debate, or oversight from regulators, unlabelled foods manufactured using nanotechnology have begun to appear on our supermarket shelves.

International civil society coalition rejects proposal for voluntary nano risk management

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:02:31 -0500

Friends of the Earth Australia has joined an international coalition of 20 public interest organisations in rejecting proposals to manage the risks associated with nanotechnology by using voluntary measures. The coalition has released an open letter rejecting explicitly the voluntary risk management framework proposed by DuPont and non-government organisation Environmental Defense. Voluntary risk assessment will leave the worst offenders unchecked and will be used to delay rigorous regulation and mandatory risk assessment. Protection of human health and the environment from nanotoxicity’s risks should not be optional.

International Union of Food Workers calls for moratorium on nano in food and agriculture

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:23:27 -0600

In a world first, citing concerns about nanotechnology’s health risks and social impacts, the International Union of Food, Farm and Hotel Workers (IUF) has called for a moratorium on the use of nanotechnology in food and agriculture (see full text of resolution below).

Nanotechnology, the manipulation of materials at the scale of atoms and molecules, is being used increasingly in the food and agriculture sectors. The Helmut Kaiser Consultancy Group estimates that there are over 300 nano food products now available world-wide, although very few of these are labelled as “nano”.

Widespread hypocrisy about nanotechnology is a worrying sign - Australian ethicist

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:46:37 -0600

Is nanotechnology a ground breaking powerful new technology? Or is it neither new nor really a singular technology? We are told that it heralds "the next industrial revolution". Will its effects be revolutionary? Or familiar and incremental? Is nanotechnology's development inevitable? Or precarious? Are its implications nothing to be afraid of? Or are they so profound as to give cause for alarm? Does nanotechnology raise important new ethical issues or not? Australian ethicist Dr Robert Sparrow provides a detailed new critique of the contradictions inherent in the emerging debate about nanotechnology.

Nanosilver - a threat to soil, water and human health?

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:33:58 -0600

In response to the ever increasing number of consumer products containing silver nanoparticles (cling wrap, refrigerators, washing machines, socks, tooth paste), Friends of the Earth Australia has prepared a detailed background paper on the threat of nanosilver to soil, water and human health. The paper also discusses regulatory issues surrounding the use of nanosilver and reviews the toxicological literature.

NSW Greens call for nano moratorium

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:38:03 -0600

Warning that nanomaterials could be the "21st century asbestos", NSW Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon has called for a moratorium on the sale of all products that contain nanomaterials until adequate regulation is in place to manage the health and environment risks of nanotoxicity. The NSW Greens call follows that of Greens in other countries. Caroline Lucas, the Green Party Member of the European Parliament representing south-east England, called for a nanotech moratorium in 2003.

Who's afraid of the precautionary principle?

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 20:45:40 -0600

The "precautionary principle" has become the proverbial giant elephant in the nano-living room. Leading advocates for the "responsible development" of nanotechnology acknowledge that nanomaterials may present serious health and environmental risks which remain poorly understood. Yet almost no-one is prepared to raise the question of whether a precautionary approach to managing these risks is warranted, let alone to advocate that such an approach is necessary. In recent reports from The United Nations Environment Program, the Australian Government's Nanotechnology Taskforce (now Nanotechnology Unit), the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the influential US NGO Environmental Defense and their nano-risk framework partner DuPont, neither the "precautionary principle", or a "precautionary approach", rates a single mention.