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Topic : monsanto

Organic farmers get their day in court against Monsanto

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.

Let’s get royally concerned about Monsanto, Roundup and the food we eat

May 9th, 2011

Prince Charles might seem like an unlikely champion for organic farming. But I’ll embrace reason wherever I find it.
During a recent talk at Georgetown University, the prince extolled the virtues of organic farming over conventional farming, because it doesn’t destroy the soil with chemicals. He pointed out that our current methods of blasting crops with chemicals are endangering our ability to continue to even grow crops; which doesn’t make sense ecologically or economically.
Here’s his quote from the Des Moines Register: “Capitalism ultimately depends on capital but our capital ultimately depends on the health of nature’s capital,” the prince said. “Whether we like it or not the two are inseparable.”

How genetically modified alfalfa threatens organic milk

February 4th, 2011

Organic milk, which has won strong consumer support in recent years, is being put at risk by the government’s recent decision to deregulate genetically engineered alfalfa, says the president of one of the nation’s most successful organic dairies.
Albert Straus, president of the Straus Family Creamery in California, says that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ruling allowing genetically modified alfalfa to be planted anywhere “will deprive consumers of their right to be certain that they are feeding organic food to their families.”

Alfalfa is a key food for dairy cows, and unless cows are fed an organic diet, their milk cannot qualify to be Organically certified. Alfalfa, the fourth most-planted crop in the nation, could be changed forever if GE varieties are planted across the U.S., Straus says in a statement today.

Health, food and farm groups unite against Monsanto’s newly approved GE alfalfa

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.

EPA fines Monsanto $2.5 million for misbranded genetically engineered pesticide

July 9th, 2010

Monsanto Company Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty to resolve misbranding violations related to the sale and distribution of cotton seed products containing genetically engineered pesticides. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this is the largest civil administrative penalty settlement ever received under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

Food Inc.: Eat, drink and be wary

July 7th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Food, Inc. could easily have turned our stomachs upside down. There’s lots of raw material – cows mired in manure, pig carcasses whacked about on conveyor belts, immobilized chickens locked in dark crowded coops – to make the point about how mass food production can be an unhealthy affair.

The film does dish up selected gross-out shots of slabs of beef, downer cows, dead hens and grimy CAFOs. There are a few gasp-aloud moments, such as when chickens are beheaded (inexplicably, this hard-to-watch scene is on a small sustainable farm operation). But the beauty of this wonderful documentary lies in its restraint. Rather than beating up corporate culprits Smithfield, Cargill and others with the big stick of blood and guts, Food Inc. strolls confidently and methodically into our packaged food wonderland, armed with words, telling anecdotes and revelations of corruption and greed that make its case more compelling.

Got rBST-free milk?

February 28th, 2008

(Photo: National Milk Producers Federation)

Milk does a body good, according to the advertising slogan and nutritional guidelines. But which milk does our bodies the most good? In order to reduce fat, many of us long ago switched from whole milk to low fat or skim. And a growing number of us now buy organic milk, even though it can easily double the milk budget.