News regarding the dangers of GMOs and biotech, and the advantages of organic sustainable agriculture.
Small poultry farmers grapple with lack of slaughterhouses
by Carla A. Wise
Producers in Oregon and beyond can’t find places to butcher chickens
On a brilliant fall day at Afton Field Farm, Tyler Jones shows off his butchering shed. Jones’ farm in Oregon’s fertile Willamette Valley boasts an overgrown orchard, a rambling farmhouse and sheds filled with freezers. Jones and his crew will butcher […]
China boosts funds for public debate on GM crops
by Li Jiao
[BEIJING] Scientists in China have been given government funding to discuss genetically modified (GM) crops with the public following protests against the technology.
The ministry of agriculture has made available 2.6 million yuan (US$400,000) since late last year, and some communication on GM crop science has now started.
Buoyed by high-level support from China’s premier, Wen Jiabao, […]
F.D.A and Dairy Industry Spar Over Testing of Milk
by WILLIAM NEUMAN
Each year, federal inspectors find illegal levels of antibiotics in hundreds of older dairy cows bound for the slaughterhouse. Concerned that those antibiotics might also be contaminating the milk Americans drink, the Food and Drug Administration intended to begin tests this month on the milk from farms that had repeatedly sold cows tainted by […]
Mutant mosquitoes: Malaysia release of genetically modified insects sparks fears of uncontrollable new species
by DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Malaysia has released 6,000 genetically modified mosquitoes into a forest in the first experiment of its kind in Asia aimed at curbing dengue fever.
The field test is meant to pave the way for the official use of genetically engineered Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes to mate with females and produce offspring with […]
Potential dangers of the Food Safety Modernization Act
Could the United States government make it illegal for its citizens to grow their own food? Check out this exclusive video RT got from George Hemminger (George4Title). He will be on later to discuss the new genetic fish made by AquaBounty.
“MK Group” denies importing genetically modified seed
by Emg.rs
“MK Group” underlines that it has never imported genetically modified seed and that any other information is untrue.
In regard to media reporting on the alleged import of genetically modified seed to the Republic of Serbia and false claims of Mr Nikola Aleksić, President of the Ecological Movement of Novi Sad, that “MK Group” […]
A Tale Of Two Seed Farmers: Organic Vs. Engineered
by DAN CHARLES
The Cold War phrase “peaceful coexistence” has been revived in a new context: as a potential solution in the clash between organic agriculture and genetic engineering.
This agricultural battle is global in scope, but one place where the tension is most tangible — and where its consequences are most concrete — is the […]
Monsanto’s latest farmwashing ad campaign debuts
by Kerry Trueman
Now that the Supreme Court has declared that corporations are people, too (happy birthday, Citizens United!), Monsanto is apparently out to put a friendly, slightly weather-beaten, gently grizzled face on industrial agriculture. The above ad (the lefthand one) is part of a campaign currently appearing in bus shelters in D.C., including just outside USDA headquarters, […]
Cuban Urban Sustainable Agriculture creates 300,000 jobs – lessons for US?
by Livable Future
I’ve just returned from eight days in Cuba studying their sustainable agricultural system — especially their urban agriculture sector — and I have several key take-aways.
One of the biggest insights was the untapped potential of urban agriculture as a creator of good jobs. The Cuban system was reported to have […]
Science under attack? Not exactly…
by GMWATCH
1.Science under attack? Not exactly…
2.Jonathan Jones – a profile
NOTE: Below’s an interesting critique by Dr Michael Brooks of last night’s BBC2 Horizon documentary “Science Under Attack” presented by the new President of the Royal Society, Sir Paul Nurse. Dr Michael Brooks notes the programme’s total failure to address the distorting influence on science and […]
GMOs: Myths, Falsehoods, Superstitions
by Vandana Shiva
In February, the Minister of Environment Mr. Jairam Ramesh put a moratorium on Bt. Brinjal. He is now pushing trials of GM rubber on Kerala which is a GMO free State. The Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Kerala Agriculture Minister, Mullakkara Ratnakaran have both reiterated their commitment to keep Kerala GMO […]
Whole Foods Supports…GE Alfalfa?
by Sarah Parsons
Whole Foods boasts one of the most extensive selections of certified organic products, and the store earns many (many) of my hard-earned dollars by claiming to care about personal and environmental health. So you can imagine my surprise when I received an action alert e-mail from the grocer that actually supported the […]
Global Food and Farming Futures: the case for urgent action
by Nick Saltmarsh
Foresight, the Government’s futures thinktank, today published the final report of its Global Food and Farming Futures project to explore the increasing pressures on the global food system between now and 2050.
The report argues for fundamental change to the global food system and beyond, highlighting the decisions that policy makers need to take today, and in […]
China’s organic farms rooted in food-safety concerns
by Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY
BEIJING — It’s quite a shopping list — wine, mushrooms, bean curd, rice noodles, dairy drinks and cooking oil — but buyer beware. In recent months, fake or toxic batches of all these items have worried Chinese consumers nationwide and are a reminder that food safety is a major issue in […]
Karnatak farmers reiterate resolve to oppose GM
by Bosky Khanna
While the central government and environment minister Jairam Ramesh are mulling over the idea of promoting genetically modified (GM) crops, farmers in the state are strongly opposing it.
“We will not allow GM crops to be grown or even tested in the state. Land for such tests will not be given on lease, even […]
World hunger best cured by small-scale agriculture: report
by Nidhi Prakash
The key to alleviating world hunger, poverty and combating climate change may lie in fresh, small-scale approaches to agriculture, according to a report from the Worldwatch Institute.
The US-based institute’s annual State of the World report, published yesterday, calls for a move away from industrial agriculture and discusses small-scale initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa that work towards […]
USDA Sees the Danger of GMO Crops Tainting Pure Organics
by Sara Novak
Marion Nestle said in the Atlantic this week that it seems the USDA will again approve a genetically modified crop but this time they seem to realize the threat that GMOS will have in the future if mixed with pure organic crops. This is especially true of alfalfa, the latest crop up for approval, […]
GMOs Present Potential Unknown Risks to Children with Allergies
On January 24, 2011, the United States Department of Agriculture will consider the approval of the biotech industry’s newest product, a livestock feed given to our nation’s dairy cows – genetically engineered alfalfa. This livestock feed (alfalfa) will not only affect our nation’s milk supply, given the novel proteins and allergens […]
Top USDA bee researcher also found Bayer pesticide harmful to honeybees
by Tom Philpott.
Remember the case of the leaked document showing that the EPA’s own scientists are concerned about a pesticide it approved that might harm fragile honeybee populations?
Well, it turns that the EPA isn’t the only government agency whose researchers are worried about neonicotinoid pesticides. USDA researchers also have […]