(Natural Society) We’ve been reporting on the case of Steve Marsh, an organic farmer in Australia who has been fighting Monsanto and his neighbor and childhood friend Michael Baxter due to the contamination of his farm from genetically modified canola.
An important precedence has been set by a recent ruling in French Court. Even after an appeals court heard a case which attested that a farmer was poisoned by accidentally inhaling the fumes of an herbicide, they still sided in favor of the farmer. Considering that the herbicide, though not its best seller, was made by Monsanto – this news is even more important.
Josephine County voted on a genetically modified food ban that was to go into effect on September 4th, but of course rejecting GMOs can never happen without a fight. One day before the ban went live, GM sugar beet farmers, with the backing of agrichemical corporations, sued in order to halt the ban. This is a similar tactic that was used in Maui County and Kauai County, who passed similar bans via a democratic process. When will the courts uphold justice?
GM crops reportedly come with increasingly high costs and few benefits, and as a result, many farmers are refusing to plant them.
One of the most recent decisions made by US Department of Agriculture has been branded as controversial and led to numerous disputes and arguments. The USDA decided to give an organic label to produce that is grown in controlled, water-based environments. The decision to label aquaponics and hydroponics as organic has angered a lot of people.
London’s first subterranean farm, ‘Growing Underground’ is about to harvest pea shoots, radishes, celery, and other produce amounting to 2.5 acres of fresh food – all from 100 feet below ground level.
Once a recipient of food donations from around the world, Bangladesh has now become a model for reducing food hunger. By supporting small farms and women, the country has reduced the number starving citizens significantly.
A recent UN report outlines how Bangladesh, a South Asian country who was once among the poorest in the world, has turned the corner when it comes to eradicating poverty and hunger – a huge step since the country was rampaged with devastating floods in the 1970’s.
Maharastra is a large industrial state in India known for its many historic monuments, but it will now be known as the state that stopped GM field trials.
Activists’ campaigns against GM crops in India are taking their toll; now the state government of Maharashtra will halt confined GM field trials to address letters issued to them by multiple parties.
The India Express reported that a letter was released saying:
If a Roundup Ready variety of soybeans might cost $65 to $70 a bag, and conventional, non-GMO varieties are $30 to $35 a bag, you would think farmers would be eschewing GMO beans. An agronomist with the Division of Agriculture at the University of Arkansas is planting nine non-GM soybeans on his test plots, four developed by the University. Here’s why. . .
Due to ‘disappointing yields and poor quality cotton fiber,” the country of Burkina Faso in West Africa is ditching Monsanto’s genetically modified cotton.
