Briefs from Around the Globe

Muddled Message: GMO Labeling Diluted

Under final rules released by the current administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s national labeling standard for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) completely exempts foods made with highly processed ingredients grown with GMOs, including sugar made from sugar beets, high-fructose corn syrup and refined soybean and canola oils. The change will allow 78 percent of products containing GMOs to avoid disclosure, according to the Grocery Manufacturers Association. Companies don’t have to comply until January 1, 2022, and the new labels will use the term “bioengineered” instead of more common identifiers like “genetically engineered” or “GMO”. Small businesses, to-go food prepared at grocery stores, and meat, eggs or dairy from animals that are fed GMOs, which involves virtually all livestock not certified organic, are exempt from the labeling requirements.

Over Dose: Citrus Crops to Receive Human Antibiotics

Scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressed concern over a recent ruling by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that opens the door to widespread use of the antibiotics streptomycin and oxytetracycline to spray commercial citrus crops. The antibiotics, which are often used on people, can kill insects that transmit a bacterium that causes citrus greening, which renders fruit small and bitter. But the EPA ultimately ruled that the economic benefits outweigh concerns about antibiotic resistance and potential harm to the environment, people and wildlife. The USDA says the amount of antibiotic exposure to people who eat fruit or juices still will be far less than what people are exposed to when prescribed antibiotics by their doctor. The antibiotics will have to be sprayed repeatedly over years just to keep the trees alive and producing fruit until they succumb to citrus greening. Public interest groups are protesting the action.

Worldwide Worry: Environmental Risks Register as Top Threat

Environmental risks are the top three concerns among the 1,000 global decision-makers surveyed in the latest Global Risks Perception Survey of the World Economic Forum (WEF). For the third straight year, “extreme weather” ranked first, followed by “failed climate change mitigation” and “natural disasters”. The survey was part of a WEF annual report produced in advance of the recent confab of global leaders in Davos, Switzerland. The World Bank has calculated that the real cost of natural disasters to the global economy is $520 billion per year.

Fuel Folly: Nuclear Waste Disposal Remains Elusive

A new report issued by environmental watchdog Greenpeace details the growing global dangers of accumulating nuclear waste that will remain hazardous for hundreds of centuries. Several of the designated storage facilities in the seven countries surveyed are nearly filled to capacity now. Unresolved safety issues across the industry include fire risk, venting of radioactive gases, environmental contamination, failure of containers, terrorist attacks and escalating costs. More than 65 years after the start of the civil use of nuclear power, 250,000 tons of highly radioactive spent fuel exists in 14 countries, and underground storage, seemingly the most viable option, has encountered major obstacles.

Balancing Act: Endangered Species on the Rebound

The Endangered Species Act seems to be working, with more than 75 percent of marine mammals and sea turtles protected by the act recovering, according to a new peer-reviewed study by scientists at the Center for Biological Diversity published in the academic journal PLOS ONE. North Atlantic green sea turtle nests on Florida beaches have increased by more than 2,000 percent and Hawaiian humpback whales more than 1,100 percent between 1979 and 2005.