African Covid deaths top 100,000
The 54 countries in the region have a death toll of 100,000 from 3,793,660 reported cases, according to an AFP tally.
THE ENTIRE CONTINET IS LESS THAN THIRD WORLD USA
BY CLAIRE DOYEN (AFP) 18 HOURS AGO IN HEALTH
Africa on Thursday recorded more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19, a grim milestone likely to understate the real toll, as the continent of 1.2 billion people battles a second wave of infections.
The 54 countries in the region have a death toll of 100,000 from 3,793,660 reported cases, according to an AFP tally.
The continent, relatively spared by the pandemic, is the last except Oceania to reach the threshold of 100,000 deaths, which Europe crossed in April 2020.
South Africa -- the worst hit African country -- rolled out a mass testing campaign at the start of the pandemic.
To date, the country has recorded nearly 1.5 million cases and more than 48,000 deaths.
But those figures, based on daily reports communicated by health authorities, only reflect a fraction of the actual case load, health specialists say.
"The cases are clearly under-reported because of poor access to healthcare facilities and under-reporting of milder cases," South African virologist Barry Schoub, also a member of the Scientific Council at the South African Ministry of Health told AFP.
Understaffed health facilities and lack of means have meant many African countries have been unable to do mass testing.
"Many countries have mainly PCR tests in the capitals. And the further one moves away from the urban centres, the less there are tests," explained French epidemiologist Emmanuel Baron from Doctors Without Borders.
"It is a disease that can go unnoticed with asymptomatic patients, or with symptoms that can be confused with others," he added.
- Covid found in pawpaw -
In Zimbabwe, a country with a devastated economy and mismanaged health system, hospitals are filled with Covid patients, exhausted doctors and overwhelmed nurses. But the official number of cases remains low.
Tanzania stopped testing in May 2020 after claiming it had found a positive Covid case in a pawpaw, a quail and even a goat. The Tanzanian government last released official figures in April.
"If someone had told me a year ago that we, as a continent, would see 100,000 deaths from this infection, I probably would not have believed it," John Nkengasong, the Africa Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC), told reporters on Thursda
y
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/african-covid-deaths-top-100-000/article/585713#ixzz6myZtebWW
Friday, February 19, 2021
Chief Raoni on 'final mission' to protect Amazon lands
Raoni Metuktire speaking with journalists in Feburary 2020. President Jair Bolsonaro is pushing to open protected lands to mining and agribusiness
One of the most iconic defenders of the Amazon rainforest, 91-year-old indigenous chief Raoni Metuktire, will launch a worldwide appeal Thursday for help with his "final mission": gaining protected status for his people's ancestral lands.
Raoni, a chief of the Kayapo people in north-central Brazil, will make the appeal as part of a live webcast called "Protecting the Amazon," organized by several environmental groups to pressure President Jair Bolsonaro's government to better protect the world's biggest rainforest.
"I'm overwhelmed with sadness when I see how our lands are being destroyed more each day," Raoni said in a video pre-recorded for the event and shared with AFP.
"I want (the government) to officially demarcate the Kapot-Nhinore indigenous reserve. It's my final mission. I'm very old, but I have to do this," said the chief, who is known for his colorful feather headdresses and the large disc inserted in his lower lip.
Raoni, who survived a bout with Covid-19 last year, was born in the Kapot-Nhinore territory, a once-isolated strip of rainforest that is today encroached upon by illegal farming and ranching.
Environmentalists say one of the best ways to protect such areas is to demarcate them as indigenous reserves, officially protecting the land and its tribes.
However, the demarcation process is threatened under Bolsonaro, a far-right climate-change skeptic who is pushing to open protected lands to mining and agribusiness.
Raoni and another top indigenous leader, Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui, last month asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Bolsonaro for crimes against humanity, accusing him of unprecedented environmental damage, killings and persecution in the Amazon.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has surged since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, destroying an area larger than Jamaica last year.
"We have an absolute state of emergency in the Amazon today, because Bolsonaro is blowing up every single measure to protect the rainforest and indigenous lands," said Gert-Peter Bruch, an organizer of Thursday's webcast and the founder of environmental group Planet Amazon.
Thursday's event will feature a slate of prominent environmentalists, including primatologist Jane Goodall, Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, Princess Marie-Esmeralda of Belgium and young Belgian climate activists Adelaide Charlier and Anuna de Wever.
It will be broadcast on Facebook, YouTube and EarthX TV at 1900 GMT
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/chief-raoni-on-final-mission-to-protect-amazon-lands/article/585645#ixzz6myYOSDe4
Indoor farms gaining investors as pandemic disrupts food supplies
Seed money from investors is helping indoor farms to position themselves as one of the solutions to climate change and pandemic-induced disruptions to the harvesting, shipping, and sale of food.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, it also exposed major issues with our food supply chain, including some issues that have already been attributed to climate change-related impacts.
There is a whole list of companies that are planning to build on their newfound momentum in 2021. And indoor farming is expected to grow. In 2019, revenue from vertical farming alone was estimated at $212.4 million. Forecasts now call for the industry to hit $1.38 billion by 2027, a compound annual growth rate of 26.2 percent from 2021 to 2027.
There are a number of established key players in the indoor and vertical farming industry, including Amazon-backed BrightFarms, AeroFarms, and Plenty, reports Reuters.
An acceleration in funding for this industry lies ahead, after pandemic food disruptions - such as infections among migrant workers that harvest North American produce - raised concerns about supply disruptions, said Joe Crotty, director of corporate finance at accounting firm KPMG, which advises vertical farms and provides investment banking services.
“The real ramp-up is the next three to five years,” Crotty said.
First developed around a decade ago, vertical farms have taken off in Asia and the United States
Thibault Savary, AFP
Vertical farming saves space
Vertical farms are a type of controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth using soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. Vertical farms grow leafy greens indoors in stacked layers or on walls of foliage inside of warehouses or shipping containers.
The main advantage of utilizing vertical farming technologies is the increased crop yield that comes with a smaller unit area of land requirement.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), says urban farming increases food security at a time of rising inflation and limited global supplies. And the USDA is seeking members for a new urban agriculture advisory committee to encourage indoor and other emerging farm practices.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/technology/indoor-farms-gaining-investors-as-pandemic-disrupts-feeo-supplies/article/585761#ixzz6myW7Br9u
BY KAREN GRAHAM
Seed money from investors is helping indoor farms to position themselves as one of the solutions to climate change and pandemic-induced disruptions to the harvesting, shipping, and sale of food.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, it also exposed major issues with our food supply chain, including some issues that have already been attributed to climate change-related impacts.
The COVID-19 pandemic created shipment delays, and with inadequate demand forecasting, store produce departments suffered. This is when local vertical farms and indoor growing operations were able to step in and "fill in the gaps in a way that was unprecedented," writes GreenBiz
Water scarcity has been exacerbated in recent years by growing urbanisation and increasing demand from agriculture and industry
Fethi Belaid, AFP/File
Water scarcity has been exacerbated in recent years by growing urbanisation and increasing demand from agriculture and industry
Fethi Belaid, AFP/File
There is a whole list of companies that are planning to build on their newfound momentum in 2021. And indoor farming is expected to grow. In 2019, revenue from vertical farming alone was estimated at $212.4 million. Forecasts now call for the industry to hit $1.38 billion by 2027, a compound annual growth rate of 26.2 percent from 2021 to 2027.
There are a number of established key players in the indoor and vertical farming industry, including Amazon-backed BrightFarms, AeroFarms, and Plenty, reports Reuters.
An acceleration in funding for this industry lies ahead, after pandemic food disruptions - such as infections among migrant workers that harvest North American produce - raised concerns about supply disruptions, said Joe Crotty, director of corporate finance at accounting firm KPMG, which advises vertical farms and provides investment banking services.
“The real ramp-up is the next three to five years,” Crotty said.
First developed around a decade ago, vertical farms have taken off in Asia and the United States
Thibault Savary, AFP
Vertical farming saves space
Vertical farms are a type of controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth using soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. Vertical farms grow leafy greens indoors in stacked layers or on walls of foliage inside of warehouses or shipping containers.
The main advantage of utilizing vertical farming technologies is the increased crop yield that comes with a smaller unit area of land requirement.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), says urban farming increases food security at a time of rising inflation and limited global supplies. And the USDA is seeking members for a new urban agriculture advisory committee to encourage indoor and other emerging farm practices.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/technology/indoor-farms-gaining-investors-as-pandemic-disrupts-feeo-supplies/article/585761#ixzz6myW7Br9u
Kerry: We have nine years to avert the worst of global warming
BY KAREN GRAHAM
"There is no room for B.S. anymore. There's no faking it on this one"
BY KAREN GRAHAM
Even as President Joe Biden acknowledged the U.S. has officially rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement on Friday, Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry warned that the Earth has just nine years left to avert the worst possible climate change consequences.
Canada and the United States have been experiencing extremely cold winter weather the past couple of weeks and it is best described as being historic and unprecedented, and we can expect more of the snow and ice. John Kerry doesn't want this type of weather to become typical, according to CBS News.
"Obviously we want to prevent this from becoming the new normal to the degree that we can," Kerry told CBS News' Ben Tracy. “The scientists told us three years ago we had 12 years to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis. We are now three years gone, so we have nine years left," Kerry said.
Kerry may have been referring to the 2018 United Nations report, which warned that global emissions needed to decrease 45 percent by 2030 in order to avert 1.5 degrees of global warming.
Canada and the United States have been experiencing extremely cold winter weather the past couple of weeks and it is best described as being historic and unprecedented, and we can expect more of the snow and ice. John Kerry doesn't want this type of weather to become typical, according to CBS News.
"Obviously we want to prevent this from becoming the new normal to the degree that we can," Kerry told CBS News' Ben Tracy. “The scientists told us three years ago we had 12 years to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis. We are now three years gone, so we have nine years left," Kerry said.
Kerry may have been referring to the 2018 United Nations report, which warned that global emissions needed to decrease 45 percent by 2030 in order to avert 1.5 degrees of global warming.
People wait in line at a mall to get inside an H-E-B supermarket in Round Rock, Texas, on February 16, 2021 as millions were left without power as a deadly winter storm gripped the southern and central United States
Suzanne CORDEIRO, AFP
What the U.S. is experiencing this winter is why it is necessary and even vital to maintain the global temperature increase below 1.5°C versus higher levels. Our world will suffer less negative impacts on the intensity and frequency of extreme events, on resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, food security, cities, tourism, and carbon removal.
Citing what Texas is going through today, Kerry said, "It is directly related to the warming, even though your instinct is to say, wait a minute, this is the new Ice Age. But it's not. It is coming from global warming and it threatens all the normal weather patterns."
Global warming is due in large part to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions that are pumped into the sky from power plants, cars, planes, and industry, including the way we raise and grow our food. The U.S. is the second-largest emitter behind China of greenhouse gases that are warming the planet.
Hurricane Harvey, which flooded these homes near Lake Houston, Texas, in August 2017, cost $125 million and was the second-most expensive hurricane in US history
WIN MCNAMEE, GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
The cost of not taking global warming seriously
Even as some lawmakers cringe at the thought of the funding needed to mitigate the impacts of global warming, it’s nothing compared to the money we’ve had to spend cleaning up from climate disasters we haven’t adequately prepared for.
The U.S. spent $265 billion cleaning up after just three storms—Maria, Harvey, and Irma. “You spend $265 billion to clean up after the storms, but we can’t put a hundred billion together for the clean green climate fund?” Kerry says in a conversation with Al Gore for TED Countdown.
Wildfires and hurricanes have increased in frequency and ferocity in recent years, with many scientists pointing to human activity as a driver of the climate change that is fueling such phenomenon
Robyn Beck, AFP/File
“That’s what this year has to be about. We got to break that cycle.” Kerry's comment is appropriate in light of the crisis currently unfolding in Texas, which didn’t winterize its power plants, and an example of the upgrades we need to make across our entire electric grid in order to be more resilient.
Climate change mitigation and the need to transition to cleaner energy has acquired a great deal of urgency. Kerry says there's been too little action and too much hot air. "There is no room for B.S. anymore. There's no faking it on this one," Kerry said.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/kerry-we-have-nine-years-to-avert-the-worst-of-global-warming/article/585772#ixzz6myQf4APw
Suzanne CORDEIRO, AFP
What the U.S. is experiencing this winter is why it is necessary and even vital to maintain the global temperature increase below 1.5°C versus higher levels. Our world will suffer less negative impacts on the intensity and frequency of extreme events, on resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, food security, cities, tourism, and carbon removal.
Citing what Texas is going through today, Kerry said, "It is directly related to the warming, even though your instinct is to say, wait a minute, this is the new Ice Age. But it's not. It is coming from global warming and it threatens all the normal weather patterns."
Global warming is due in large part to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions that are pumped into the sky from power plants, cars, planes, and industry, including the way we raise and grow our food. The U.S. is the second-largest emitter behind China of greenhouse gases that are warming the planet.
WIN MCNAMEE, GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
The cost of not taking global warming seriously
Even as some lawmakers cringe at the thought of the funding needed to mitigate the impacts of global warming, it’s nothing compared to the money we’ve had to spend cleaning up from climate disasters we haven’t adequately prepared for.
The U.S. spent $265 billion cleaning up after just three storms—Maria, Harvey, and Irma. “You spend $265 billion to clean up after the storms, but we can’t put a hundred billion together for the clean green climate fund?” Kerry says in a conversation with Al Gore for TED Countdown.
Wildfires and hurricanes have increased in frequency and ferocity in recent years, with many scientists pointing to human activity as a driver of the climate change that is fueling such phenomenon
Robyn Beck, AFP/File
“That’s what this year has to be about. We got to break that cycle.” Kerry's comment is appropriate in light of the crisis currently unfolding in Texas, which didn’t winterize its power plants, and an example of the upgrades we need to make across our entire electric grid in order to be more resilient.
Climate change mitigation and the need to transition to cleaner energy has acquired a great deal of urgency. Kerry says there's been too little action and too much hot air. "There is no room for B.S. anymore. There's no faking it on this one," Kerry said.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/kerry-we-have-nine-years-to-avert-the-worst-of-global-warming/article/585772#ixzz6myQf4APw
Libertarian or Orwellian: What to make of the vaccine passport?
Heralded as key to returning to normal, the digital "vaccine passport" may offer a way to make things easier. However, there are many who baulk at the idea of the mass holding of personal data along with security concerns.
How likely is a digital vaccine passport? Quite probable in some parts of the world. For example, Denmark has put forward plans to develop a digital vaccine passport, designed to identify those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Is this concept a force for freedom, allowing people to travel widely? Or is it an unwanted extension of state control? And what happens to the data held within the passport, and what are the concerns of these data falling into the wrong hands?The concept has, inevitably, attracted interest from technology firms: From facial recognition businesses to digital identity experts, as the BBC reports. But what of cybersecurity?To look more deeply at the security implications of the digital vaccine passport concept, Digital Journal sought the opinion of Erez Yalon, senior director of security research at Checkmarx. Yalon has especially strong thoughts around cybersecurity and the use of electronic medical records.Digital Journal: What are the cybersecurity concerns with digital vaccine passports?Erez Yalon: These ‘software passports’ present a variety of challenges pertaining to security and privacy. Some immediate considerations that should be taken into account include identification: "Who am I?” – Passport carrier identification – There will be a need to ensure that the individual carrying the passport is who they claim they are. This is relatively easy to solve if the process is done manually, where a person can check a picture or ID, but if required to be done automatically, there is a challenge.DJ: Who can pull (read) the information?Yalon: System user identification – Who will be allowed to check the data? Anyone? Police? Airline personnel? Bouncers at the doors of clubs and arenas? Authentication of system users, and the correct authorization, are needed to avoid malicious use.Also, “who can push (write) information?” This is about system component identification. Such a system is complex when considering the multitude of responsible ‘contributors.’ Vaccination information is going to be submitted by various medical outlets including hospitals, public and private clinics, independent doctors and nurses, and more. These submissions will be communicated and reported to local, regional, and national medical centers that should eventually aggregate all information under one organization. Each step of the way must be correctly authenticated and authorized to make sure that data is added to the system only by individuals who are allowed to do so.DJ: What are the data handling concerns?Yalon: There is data transfer: The complex network described earlier requires the handling of a lot of “moving data” when being sent and received. It only takes one branch of this network to not be secure enough to place the data at risk.We also need to be concerned with privacy. Leaking data, especially medical data that is considered sensitive, can cause a huge issue of privacy breach. Considering these ‘software passports’ will potentially hold everything from medical information to travel logs to biometric data, the importance of placing privacy at the forefront is clear.And there is integrity, If the transportation of data is not secure enough, it might be corrupted or forged, which could damage the integrity of the information and the entire system at-large.Finally, with data retention. Even when not “on the move,” sensitive data needs to be protected and secured. Controls need to be implemented to ensure that the data cannot be accessed by malicious actors.DJ: What happens if data needs to be shared?Yalon: With data sharing and minimization, this is similar to as we saw with contact tracing applications, if individuals will not be mandated to opt-in to this digital identification system, then an opt-in / opt-out mechanism must be made available. Additionally, the PII data that is collected should be kept to a minimum, only gathering the essential information that makes this a viable solution.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/life/health/libertarian-or-orwellian-what-to-make-of-the-vaccine-passport/article/585513#ixzz6myOz3r42
Spain's PM condemns riots as protests over jailed rapper enter fourth day
BARCELONA (Reuters) - Spain’s prime minister on Friday condemned the riots that have rocked major cities after the arrest and imprisonment of a rapper for glorifying terrorism and insulting royalty in his songs, as rallies went into their fourth day.
The nine-month jail sentence of Pablo Hasel, known for his fiercely anti-establishment raps, has galvanised a debate over freedom of expression in Spain, prompting the government to announce it would make freedom of speech laws less restrictive and sparking protests that, at times, turned violent.
“Democracy protects freedom of speech, including the expression of the most awful, absurd thoughts, but democracy never ever protects violence,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told an event, promising to “widen and improve freedom of speech”.
On Friday, a few hundred university students marched in Barcelona demanding Hasel’s release in a largely peaceful rally, whose most dramatic moment was when some protesters tossed eggs at the police headquarters.
The mood was in marked contrast to the last three nights when police fired tear gas and foam bullets at demonstrators who set fire to trash containers and motorcycles and looted stores. There were also clashes in the capital Madrid and other cities.
Organisers have called more protests on Friday night and over the weekend.
Officials said around 60 people have been arrested across Catalonia, where Barcelona is located. One woman lost an eye during clashes in Barcelona, triggering calls from politicians to investigate police tactics.
Rights group Amnesty International called for legal changes in Spain, saying that anti-terrorism and gagging laws also unfairly limited people’s right to demonstrate their disapproval in the streets.
“Spain is a country with freedom of expression, of course, but there are threats to that freedom,” Amnesty head for Spain, Esteban Beltran, told Reuters.
Reporting by Joan Faus, Nathan Allen, Luis Felipe Castilleja, Guillermo Martinez and Silvio Castellanos; Writing by Joan Faus; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Barbara Lewis
Sahara dust chokes Senegal's capital, disrupts fishing
DAKAR (Reuters) - A cloud of dust brought by dry winds from the Sahara has settled over much of West and Central Africa, reducing visibility, choking residents, and disrupting fishing in the Senegal’s capital Dakar.
Each year, dry, dusty winds sweep in from the Sahara and cover much of West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea. The yearly phenomenon, known as the Harmattan season, runs from November through March.
“Those who have toddlers with poor health like mine, who is not yet one year old, cannot work properly,” said Khoudia Ndiaye, who sells fish at a market in Dakar. “Yesterday I couldn’t work because of the dust, I had to go home.”
The hazy weather has blanketed Senegal’s capital since the start of the week, coating the city with fine dust particles that have prompted health and air quality warnings from the environment ministry.
In a statement, the ministry urged people to curb outside sporting activities and suggested that children, the elderly and those suffering from respiratory problems remain indoors. The importance of wearing face masks, which have become commonplace in the COVID-19 era, was reinforced.
Authorities in Cameroon this week also warned that a huge plume of Saharan dust carried by Harmattan winds was expected to hit its three northern provinces, reducing visibility. It urged residents not to travel.
The dust cloud in Senegal reduced visibility to a few dozen metres, leading to a reduction of fishing, an essential source of income for many families, along Dakar’s shoreline.
At Soumbedioune, one of the city’s main fish markets, a few fishermen loiter around the shipyard. A barely visible red flag flutters in the wind.
“You can see the red flag behind me indicates that it is still dangerous,” said Moustapha Ndoye, the head of the fishmongers’ association.
Some fishermen have been unable to fish for several days, he added
DAKAR (Reuters) - A cloud of dust brought by dry winds from the Sahara has settled over much of West and Central Africa, reducing visibility, choking residents, and disrupting fishing in the Senegal’s capital Dakar.
Each year, dry, dusty winds sweep in from the Sahara and cover much of West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea. The yearly phenomenon, known as the Harmattan season, runs from November through March.
“Those who have toddlers with poor health like mine, who is not yet one year old, cannot work properly,” said Khoudia Ndiaye, who sells fish at a market in Dakar. “Yesterday I couldn’t work because of the dust, I had to go home.”
The hazy weather has blanketed Senegal’s capital since the start of the week, coating the city with fine dust particles that have prompted health and air quality warnings from the environment ministry.
In a statement, the ministry urged people to curb outside sporting activities and suggested that children, the elderly and those suffering from respiratory problems remain indoors. The importance of wearing face masks, which have become commonplace in the COVID-19 era, was reinforced.
Authorities in Cameroon this week also warned that a huge plume of Saharan dust carried by Harmattan winds was expected to hit its three northern provinces, reducing visibility. It urged residents not to travel.
The dust cloud in Senegal reduced visibility to a few dozen metres, leading to a reduction of fishing, an essential source of income for many families, along Dakar’s shoreline.
At Soumbedioune, one of the city’s main fish markets, a few fishermen loiter around the shipyard. A barely visible red flag flutters in the wind.
“You can see the red flag behind me indicates that it is still dangerous,” said Moustapha Ndoye, the head of the fishmongers’ association.
Some fishermen have been unable to fish for several days, he added
Mexico pressing ahead with GMO corn, glyphosate bans, says key official
By David Alire Garcia
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico is sticking to a plan to stop importing genetically modified corn and a ban on a widely used herbicide, a senior official told Reuters, doubling down on a policy that has pleased green advocates but alarmed industry leaders.
The plan announced late last year by executive order aims to replace some 16 million tonnes of yellow corn imported mostly from U.S. farmers and nearly all of it genetically modified, with new, local production by 2024. The imports represent more than a third of the country’s demand for the grain, and mostly feed Mexico’s large livestock industry.
Victor Suarez, the deputy agriculture minister and a key architect of the order, argued that GMO corn and the herbicide glyphosate are too dangerous and that local output and sustainable “agroecological” practices must be prioritized.
Hi cited studies linking glyphosate to cancer and saying that it harmed pollinators like bees and separately alleged that GMO corn contaminates Mexico’s native strains of the grain.
Bayer AG, one of the main producers of glyphosate, has said decades of studies have shown that the substance is safe for human use.
Backers of GMO crops, including corn, argue that they have dramatically boosted farmer productivity and that studies have shown no ill effects on humans.
“We are moving in this direction, and this must be clear: No one should think that they can bet that this decree will not be implemented,” said Suarez, an agronomist and long-time ally of leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has pledged to wean Mexico off its dependence on foreign supplies.
If it does take effect, the end of GMO corn imports would be a heavy blow in particular to the mostly American farmers who for years have relied on Mexico as their top export market.
He described GMO corn and glyphosate as “undesirable and unnecessary” to reach the government’s goal of making Mexico self-sufficient in food.
“We have to put the right to life, the right to health, the right to a healthy environment ahead of economic and business (interests),” said the former congressman, who also manages Lopez Obrador’s direct cash-payment program for some 2.3 million smallhold farmers with a budget of 13.5 billion pesos ($662 million) this year.
Critics counter that the self-sufficiency plan’s local production goals are wildly unrealistic and would lead to higher consumer prices.
Mexico is mostly self-sufficient in white corn, used for the country’s staple tortillas, but meat producers have for years relied on growing volumes of yellow corn imports to fatten cows, pigs and chickens.
Asked if the Dec. 31 decree applied to animal feed as well processed foods that include GMO corn, Suarez said that the law covers all food that “will eventually reach human consumption.”
While Suarez sees no need to modify the decree, which he acknowledged will be difficult to carry out, he did leave open the possibility that as the 2024 deadline approaches, the government could show some flexibility.
“Let’s say we don’t reach the goal of substituting the 16 million tonnes (of imports), and we only reach the substitution of 10 million,” he said.
“Well, we would evaluate that along the way and we could eventually make the necessary adjustment,” he added, providing a strand of hope to those in the industry hoping moderate voices in the government will prevail.
Suarez noted that over the past couple years domestic corn production grew by about 7%, as the government seeks to boost farmer productivity. Local output, however, would need to increase by nearly 60% to make up for present import volumes.
He also cited ongoing research into alternatives to glyphosate, but did not name specific products.
Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Christian Plumb and Nick Macfie
By David Alire Garcia
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico is sticking to a plan to stop importing genetically modified corn and a ban on a widely used herbicide, a senior official told Reuters, doubling down on a policy that has pleased green advocates but alarmed industry leaders.
The plan announced late last year by executive order aims to replace some 16 million tonnes of yellow corn imported mostly from U.S. farmers and nearly all of it genetically modified, with new, local production by 2024. The imports represent more than a third of the country’s demand for the grain, and mostly feed Mexico’s large livestock industry.
Victor Suarez, the deputy agriculture minister and a key architect of the order, argued that GMO corn and the herbicide glyphosate are too dangerous and that local output and sustainable “agroecological” practices must be prioritized.
Hi cited studies linking glyphosate to cancer and saying that it harmed pollinators like bees and separately alleged that GMO corn contaminates Mexico’s native strains of the grain.
Bayer AG, one of the main producers of glyphosate, has said decades of studies have shown that the substance is safe for human use.
Backers of GMO crops, including corn, argue that they have dramatically boosted farmer productivity and that studies have shown no ill effects on humans.
“We are moving in this direction, and this must be clear: No one should think that they can bet that this decree will not be implemented,” said Suarez, an agronomist and long-time ally of leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has pledged to wean Mexico off its dependence on foreign supplies.
If it does take effect, the end of GMO corn imports would be a heavy blow in particular to the mostly American farmers who for years have relied on Mexico as their top export market.
He described GMO corn and glyphosate as “undesirable and unnecessary” to reach the government’s goal of making Mexico self-sufficient in food.
“We have to put the right to life, the right to health, the right to a healthy environment ahead of economic and business (interests),” said the former congressman, who also manages Lopez Obrador’s direct cash-payment program for some 2.3 million smallhold farmers with a budget of 13.5 billion pesos ($662 million) this year.
Critics counter that the self-sufficiency plan’s local production goals are wildly unrealistic and would lead to higher consumer prices.
Mexico is mostly self-sufficient in white corn, used for the country’s staple tortillas, but meat producers have for years relied on growing volumes of yellow corn imports to fatten cows, pigs and chickens.
Asked if the Dec. 31 decree applied to animal feed as well processed foods that include GMO corn, Suarez said that the law covers all food that “will eventually reach human consumption.”
While Suarez sees no need to modify the decree, which he acknowledged will be difficult to carry out, he did leave open the possibility that as the 2024 deadline approaches, the government could show some flexibility.
“Let’s say we don’t reach the goal of substituting the 16 million tonnes (of imports), and we only reach the substitution of 10 million,” he said.
“Well, we would evaluate that along the way and we could eventually make the necessary adjustment,” he added, providing a strand of hope to those in the industry hoping moderate voices in the government will prevail.
Suarez noted that over the past couple years domestic corn production grew by about 7%, as the government seeks to boost farmer productivity. Local output, however, would need to increase by nearly 60% to make up for present import volumes.
He also cited ongoing research into alternatives to glyphosate, but did not name specific products.
Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Christian Plumb and Nick Macfie
Exclusive: Facebook and Google could lose bargaining power under upcoming U.S. bill to help news outlets
By Diane Bartz, Helen Coster
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bipartisan members of Congress plan to introduce a bill in coming weeks to make it easier for smaller news organizations to negotiate with Big Tech platforms, said Rep. Ken Buck, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.
The U.S. bill would be introduced at a time when Australia is in a pitched battle with Facebook. The social media giant blocked news feeds and other pages - including those of charities, and health and emergency services - as part of a dispute over a proposed law that would require it and Google to pay news outlets whose links drive traffic to their platforms, or agree on a price through arbitration.
Buck, who was named the ranking member this month, told Reuters on Thursday the panel would bring out a series of antitrust bills and the first one in the coming weeks would allow smaller news organizations to negotiate collectively with Facebook and Alphabet’s Google.
Social media companies use news to attract customers and have been accused by news publishers of not sharing enough advertising revenue with them. The legislation could boost sales in the struggling news business.
While Facebook has fought publishers, Google has struck deals with them in France, Australia and other countries.
Google announced this week that it had agreed to a global deal with News Corp that involved “significant payments” to the news organization, in one of the most extensive deals of its kind.
Smaller publishers using Google’s ad sales technology have for years griped about their bigger competitors getting more favorable revenue-sharing deals from the search giant.
The news industry is undeniably struggling, with employment at U.S. newspapers down by half since 2008 amid tumbling advertising revenue and changing media habits, according to data from Pew Research.
Buck said the expected legislation would be similar to a 2019 bill co-sponsored by panel chair Rep. David Cicilline which would have allowed small publishers to band together to negotiate with big gatekeepers like Facebook and Google without facing antitrust scrutiny.
Facebook, Google and Cicilline’s office did not respond to requests for comment after working hours.
That bill specified that only small publishers could take advantage of the group negotiation.
“What publishers have experienced is that platforms go to them one by one, make them sign NDAs and try to optimize per publisher without publishers being able to compare notes,” said David Chavern, president and chief executive officer of the News Media Alliance, an industry trade group that is promoting the bill.
“Big national publishers probably have the capacity to get their own deals. If you look at smaller publishers, the only way to get some fair value is if they act together.”
In October, the antitrust subcommittee’s majority report detailed abuses by tech giants such as Google and Facebook. In his own report, Buck and three fellow Republicans expressed interest in some changes in antitrust law aimed at strengthening enforcers.
Buck said he wanted the focus to remain on the tech giants. “The biggest threat to the free market economy is big tech and it (potential legislation) should be fairly tightly focused on that,” he said.
Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington and Helen Coster
By Diane Bartz, Helen Coster
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bipartisan members of Congress plan to introduce a bill in coming weeks to make it easier for smaller news organizations to negotiate with Big Tech platforms, said Rep. Ken Buck, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.
The U.S. bill would be introduced at a time when Australia is in a pitched battle with Facebook. The social media giant blocked news feeds and other pages - including those of charities, and health and emergency services - as part of a dispute over a proposed law that would require it and Google to pay news outlets whose links drive traffic to their platforms, or agree on a price through arbitration.
Buck, who was named the ranking member this month, told Reuters on Thursday the panel would bring out a series of antitrust bills and the first one in the coming weeks would allow smaller news organizations to negotiate collectively with Facebook and Alphabet’s Google.
Social media companies use news to attract customers and have been accused by news publishers of not sharing enough advertising revenue with them. The legislation could boost sales in the struggling news business.
While Facebook has fought publishers, Google has struck deals with them in France, Australia and other countries.
Google announced this week that it had agreed to a global deal with News Corp that involved “significant payments” to the news organization, in one of the most extensive deals of its kind.
Smaller publishers using Google’s ad sales technology have for years griped about their bigger competitors getting more favorable revenue-sharing deals from the search giant.
The news industry is undeniably struggling, with employment at U.S. newspapers down by half since 2008 amid tumbling advertising revenue and changing media habits, according to data from Pew Research.
Buck said the expected legislation would be similar to a 2019 bill co-sponsored by panel chair Rep. David Cicilline which would have allowed small publishers to band together to negotiate with big gatekeepers like Facebook and Google without facing antitrust scrutiny.
Facebook, Google and Cicilline’s office did not respond to requests for comment after working hours.
That bill specified that only small publishers could take advantage of the group negotiation.
“What publishers have experienced is that platforms go to them one by one, make them sign NDAs and try to optimize per publisher without publishers being able to compare notes,” said David Chavern, president and chief executive officer of the News Media Alliance, an industry trade group that is promoting the bill.
“Big national publishers probably have the capacity to get their own deals. If you look at smaller publishers, the only way to get some fair value is if they act together.”
In October, the antitrust subcommittee’s majority report detailed abuses by tech giants such as Google and Facebook. In his own report, Buck and three fellow Republicans expressed interest in some changes in antitrust law aimed at strengthening enforcers.
Buck said he wanted the focus to remain on the tech giants. “The biggest threat to the free market economy is big tech and it (potential legislation) should be fairly tightly focused on that,” he said.
Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington and Helen Coster
Exclusive: White House working with Facebook and Twitter to tackle anti-vaxxers
By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has been reaching out to social media companies including Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc’s Google about clamping down on COVID misinformation and getting their help to stop it from going viral, a senior administration official said.
President Joe Biden, who has raced to curb the pandemic since taking office, has made inoculating Americans one of his top priorities and called the move “a wartime effort.” But tackling public fear about taking the vaccine has emerged as a major impediment for the administration.
Since the onset of the pandemic, calls from lawmakers asking the companies to tackle the spread of COVID misinformation on their platforms have grown.
The White House’s direct engagement with the companies to mitigate the challenge has not been previously reported. Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain has previously said the administration will try to work with Silicon Valley on the issue.
“Disinformation that causes vaccine hesitancy is going to be a huge obstacle to getting everyone vaccinated and there are no larger players in that than the social media platforms,” said the source, who has direct knowledge of the White House’s efforts.
“We are talking to them ... so they understand the importance of misinformation and disinformation and how they can get rid of it quickly.”
The Biden White House is especially trying to make sure such material “does not start trending on such platforms and become a broader movement,” the source said.
The source cited the example of the anti-vaccine protests at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in early February, and said the White House wants to stop events like that from happening again.
The protest, organized on Facebook through a page that promotes debunked claims about the coronavirus pandemic, masks and immunization, briefly blocked public access to the stadium - one of the largest vaccination sites in the country, where health authorities are administering more than 8,000 vaccines a day.
The event illustrated the extent to which social media platforms have become a critical organizing tool for movements such as the anti-vaccine drive, that spread misinformation and disinformation.
A growing number of anti-vaccine activists, emboldened by their rising social media following, have helped the movement gain strength in the United States. A report by the Center for Countering Digital Health in July 2020 found social media accounts held by anti-vaxxers have increased their following by at least 7·8 million people since 2019.
The companies have repeatedly vowed to get rid of such material on their platforms but gaps remain in their enforcement efforts.
On Thursday, Senator Richard Blumenthal criticized the platforms in a tweet for carrying ads that he said funds and promotes “dangerous conspiracy theories, COVID-19 disinformation and malign foreign propaganda.”
A Facebook spokeswoman said that the company has reached out to the White House to offer “any assistance we can provide” and has recently announced a new policy to remove COVID and vaccine misinformation along with pages, groups, and accounts that repeatedly spread such material.
A Twitter spokesman said the company is “in regular communication with the White House on a number of critical issues including COVID-19 misinformation.”
Alphabet Inc’s Google did not comment on engagement with the White House, instead pointing to a company blog on and how it stops misinformation.
The source said the companies “were receptive” as they engaged with the White House. “But it is too soon to say whether or not it translates into lessening the spread of misinformation.”
There will be more details on how the White House is engaging with the social media companies on this issue in the “next ten days or so”, the source added.
Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington, Editing by Chris Sanders and Nick Zieminski
By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has been reaching out to social media companies including Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc’s Google about clamping down on COVID misinformation and getting their help to stop it from going viral, a senior administration official said.
President Joe Biden, who has raced to curb the pandemic since taking office, has made inoculating Americans one of his top priorities and called the move “a wartime effort.” But tackling public fear about taking the vaccine has emerged as a major impediment for the administration.
Since the onset of the pandemic, calls from lawmakers asking the companies to tackle the spread of COVID misinformation on their platforms have grown.
The White House’s direct engagement with the companies to mitigate the challenge has not been previously reported. Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain has previously said the administration will try to work with Silicon Valley on the issue.
“Disinformation that causes vaccine hesitancy is going to be a huge obstacle to getting everyone vaccinated and there are no larger players in that than the social media platforms,” said the source, who has direct knowledge of the White House’s efforts.
“We are talking to them ... so they understand the importance of misinformation and disinformation and how they can get rid of it quickly.”
The Biden White House is especially trying to make sure such material “does not start trending on such platforms and become a broader movement,” the source said.
The source cited the example of the anti-vaccine protests at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in early February, and said the White House wants to stop events like that from happening again.
The protest, organized on Facebook through a page that promotes debunked claims about the coronavirus pandemic, masks and immunization, briefly blocked public access to the stadium - one of the largest vaccination sites in the country, where health authorities are administering more than 8,000 vaccines a day.
The event illustrated the extent to which social media platforms have become a critical organizing tool for movements such as the anti-vaccine drive, that spread misinformation and disinformation.
A growing number of anti-vaccine activists, emboldened by their rising social media following, have helped the movement gain strength in the United States. A report by the Center for Countering Digital Health in July 2020 found social media accounts held by anti-vaxxers have increased their following by at least 7·8 million people since 2019.
The companies have repeatedly vowed to get rid of such material on their platforms but gaps remain in their enforcement efforts.
On Thursday, Senator Richard Blumenthal criticized the platforms in a tweet for carrying ads that he said funds and promotes “dangerous conspiracy theories, COVID-19 disinformation and malign foreign propaganda.”
A Facebook spokeswoman said that the company has reached out to the White House to offer “any assistance we can provide” and has recently announced a new policy to remove COVID and vaccine misinformation along with pages, groups, and accounts that repeatedly spread such material.
A Twitter spokesman said the company is “in regular communication with the White House on a number of critical issues including COVID-19 misinformation.”
Alphabet Inc’s Google did not comment on engagement with the White House, instead pointing to a company blog on and how it stops misinformation.
The source said the companies “were receptive” as they engaged with the White House. “But it is too soon to say whether or not it translates into lessening the spread of misinformation.”
There will be more details on how the White House is engaging with the social media companies on this issue in the “next ten days or so”, the source added.
Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington, Editing by Chris Sanders and Nick Zieminski
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