Major U.S. food and chemical companies are pouring millions of dollars into efforts to block approval of a ballot initiative in Washington state that would make it the first in the United States to require labelling of foods containing genetically modified crops. Despite early strong support for the measure, a recent poll suggests sentiment against […] Read more
Food giants pour millions into defeating Washington GMO label measure
Food safety group demands U.S. probe in tainting of alfalfa crop
The farmer purchased the contaminated seed before the USDA granted full approval for genetically modified alfalfa in 2011
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters / A food safety advocacy group has demanded that the U.S. government investigate how a Washington state alfalfa crop became tainted with a genetically modified trait that was illegal when the seed was purchased. The Center for Food Safety said it was basing its legal petition on evidence that the seed used by farmer […] Read moreMonsanto posts deeper Q4 loss, unveils acquisition
Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, reported a deeper quarterly loss on Wednesday as seed sales slipped, and announced the acquisition of a high-tech climate data firm it touted as a “transformational” growth engine. Investors initially appeared unimpressed with the $930 million purchase of Climate Corp and instead eyed Monsanto’s 2014 profit forecast and […] Read more
Farmers appeal complaints about Monsanto to U.S. Supreme Court
Reading Time: 2 minutes A group of U.S. farmers, seed companies and others challenging patents on genetically altered crops held by biotech seed giant Monsanto Co. appealed their case to the U.S. Supreme Court Sept. 4. The group, made up of 73 organic and conventional family farmers, seed companies and public advocacy interests, sued Monsanto in March 2011 seeking […] Read more
Oklahoma winds may spread deadly swine virus
Since June, when PEDv first hit, workers have quarantined the area, scrubbed vehicles and sprayed buildings with antiseptic
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters / On the windswept prairies of the Oklahoma Panhandle, the hog barns of Prestage Farms are lined up like military barracks. The 20,000-sow operation near the Texas border stands at the front lines of a months-long battle to contain a virus that has already killed some 1.3 million hogs in the United States. Since […] Read moreU.S. lays charges in $100M biofuels fraud
Six people and three companies, including an Indiana operation claiming to make biofuel from chicken fat and vegetable oils, were charged with defrauding investors and consumers out of more than US$100 million, prosecutors in Indianapolis said Wednesday. The indictment alleged four men operating E-Biofuels of Middletown, Indiana and two others with New Jersey-based Caravan Trading […] Read more
USDA won’t take action in GM alfalfa case
The detection of a small amount of genetically modified material in a Washington state farmer’s non-genetically-modified (GM) alfalfa crop constitutes a “commercial issue” only and does not warrant any government action, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday. The Washington state farmer had complained in late August to state agricultural officials that his alfalfa hay […] Read more
Washington state testing farmer’s alfalfa for GM contamination
Agriculture officials in Washington state are testing samples of alfalfa, after a farmer reported his hay was rejected for export because it tested positive for a genetically-modified (GM) trait that was not supposed to be in his crop. If it’s confirmed that the alfalfa in question was genetically modified, it could have broad ramifications, said […] Read more
GMO companies launch website to fight anti-biotech movement
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – A group of biotech seed companies on July 29 launched an online forum to combat mounting opposition to genetically modified foods among consumer groups and activists. The website, www.GMOAnswers.com, is designed as a “central online resource” for information on genetically modified organisms and their use in agriculture and food production, the Biotechnology Industry […] Read more
GMO companies launch website to fight anti-biotech movement
A group of biotech seed companies on Monday launched an online forum to combat mounting opposition to genetically modified foods among consumer groups and activists. The website, www.GMOAnswers.com, is designed as a “central online resource” for information on genetically modified organisms and their use in agriculture and food production, the Biotechnology Industry Organization said. The […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
