April 9th, 2013

Genetically modified foods are everywhere, having crept into processed foods as key components, such as corn oil, corn flour, high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, soy isolate, invert sugar and on down the food label. How can a consumer cope? Until GE foods are labeled, shoppers have to ferret out the non-GMO foods and ingredients.

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June 6th, 2012

As Congress considers the latest Farm Bill, which will surely contain gobs of money for the row crops that support livestock, but perhaps more than before to prop up fruit and vegetable farmers, this is a 2010 graphic that brings it all into perspective:

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January 31st, 2012

A lawsuit against Monsanto filed on behalf of 33 organic farmers and 14 independent seed businesses went before a judge Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, as Monsanto sought to dismiss the case.
The suit, Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association (OSGTA) et al. v. Monsanto, asks the court for relief from Monsanto’s tactic of suing organic farmers whose fields become contaminated with Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) seeds.

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March 23rd, 2011

In 1994, I wrote an article in World Watch magazine entitled “Who Will Feed China?” that was later expanded into a book of the same title. When the article was published in late August, the press conference generated only moderate coverage. But when it was reprinted that weekend on the front of the Washington Post’s Outlook section with the title “How China Could Starve the World,” it unleashed a political firestorm in Beijing.

The response began with a press conference at the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday morning, where Deputy Minister Wan Baorui denounced the study. Advancing technology, he said, would enable the Chinese people to feed themselves. This was followed by a government-orchestrated stream of articles that challenged my findings.

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February 1st, 2011

Organic farmers, food companies and advocacy groups have united to oppose the federal government’s de-regulation of Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa.

A new 20-group coalition announced Tuesday that it also would be opposing the regulatory release of other types of GE (also known as GM or genetically modified) crops expected in the coming months if the USDA approves the unrestricted planting of GE sugar beets, corn and soy crops.

These crops have been engineered predominantly by Monsanto to resist specific Monsanto-created pesticides, including the “Roundup Ready” alfalfa, which was approved for unrestricted planting by the USDA last week.

Organic farmers fear the spread of GE crops because they’re dependent on pesticides, which harm the soil and waterways, and because they can contaminate non=GE crops via cross-pollination. When GE crops invade organically raised fields, they destroy the purity of organic row crops and produce and can cost a farmer his organic certification.

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