globalbriefs


Last Call Endangered Species Protection Act May Go Extinct


The federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), passed in 1973, strengthened earlier federal protections for animals that had been nearly wiped out by humans. The act faces opposition from those that believe it both unfairly protects animals that poach livestock and restricts land use. At a recent hearing titled Modernizing the Endangered Species Act,


Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the ESA is not working anymore. Natural Resources Committee Chairman Republican Congress- man Rob Bishop of Utah opines that the act has never been used for the rehabilitation of species and instead has been controlling the land, saying, “It has been hijacked.” Yet Daniel M. Ashe, president and chief executive of the Association


of Zoos and Aquariums, says, “The Endangered Species Act is the world’s ‘gold standard’ for conservation and protection of animals.” According to many experts, the world’s flora and fauna are experienc-


ing a global extinction crisis caused by human activity, but we have also learned how to protect species and help them recover. Eight species that would probably have disappeared already were it not for the ESA include the black-footed ferret, humpback whale, bald eagle, American alligator, grizzly bear, Florida manatee, California condor and gray wolf.


Rigged Research


GMO Studies Compromised by Conflicts of Interest


An article pub- lished by the journal PLOS One reflects the opinion of researchers affil- iated with France’s National Institute


for Agricultural Research that a large portion of studies on genetically modified (GM/GMO) crops are rife with conflicts of interest. They state that many have been tainted because someone that worked on a study was also an employee of a company producing them. The study investigated direct financial conflicts of interest, but not other factors such as authors being members of advisory boards, co-holders of patents or consultants to GM companies. Out of 579 published studies analyzed,


some 40 percent showed a possible conflict of interest. The authors noted that the suspect studies had a much higher likeli- hood of presenting a favorable outcome for GMOs compared to others. The majority of these studies (404) were American; 83 were Chinese.


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