The Obama administration has chosen Dr. Robert Califf as the next commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but at least one Senator stands in the way of the candidate’s approval by the Senate. Why? Because the ‘FDA approved the recent genetically engineered salmon days after Califf was questioned on the topic.’
ArborGen has reportedly been fined $53.5 million in compensation and punitive damages by a court that found the GM research and development company defrauded its employees using “trickery and deceit.”
After the recent press release from Monsanto announcing that the company will cut about 3600 jobs globally, more news of the biotech company’s failure rises to the surface.
Plans to construct a $90 million GM corn processing plant in Independence, Iowa have reportedly been scrapped due to a ‘struggling farm economy.’ [1]
The USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, previously indicated he would be back to business as usual as soon as government officials returned to work from their holiday break. Now he has reportedly announced a closed-door, invitation-only meeting to continue the bidding of the biotech industry. [1]
Greenpeace said in a report released last Wednesday that farmers in northeast China are illegally growing genetically modified corn. [1]
The environmental group led an 8-month investigation last year into what it describes as large-scale production of GMO corn in the northeastern province of Liaoning, a major breadbasket region. GMO strains of corn were found in 93% of field tests and in 20 of 21 samples from grain markets and supermarkets.
Panera Bread announced recently that its entire soup menu is now free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives.
There are 10 regular soups on Panera’s menu, and it also offers seasonal specials like Turkey Chili and Autumn Squash. Some 200 million Panera soups are ladled out each year, accounting for about 25% of annual sales, or $672 million. About 66 million servings of the company’s highly popular broccoli cheddar soup are served every year.
Six major food manufacturers – including Nestle, PepsiCo, and Mexican baking company Grupo Bimbo – have been slapped with fines by the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, which alleges the companies failed to include labels indicating the use of genetically modified ingredients.
The fines range from $277,400 to just over $1 million, for an estimated total of $3 million.
We had a big win against Monsanto recently when the DARK ACT (Monsanto’s favorite bill that would effectively ruin the food supply and halt GMO labeling initiatives) was stopped cold in Congress. Make no mistake, though; Senator Debbie Stabenow has been working overtime to make sure that you won’t know what’s in your food.
In a move that will likely rock the mainstream, mega-food industry, Campbell Soup Company announced that it will work to become the first major food company to adopt food labels that will disclose genetically modified ingredients.
Residents in Oregon have been trying to deflect genetically modified crops on their land for years, with numerous counties taking action against the genetically engineered crops. Recently, after some back-and-forth concerning GMO farming, a ruling was finally made that, while not perfect, is a win for farmers growing non-GM crops in Jackson County, Oregon.
