GM

The US Food and Drug Administration approved the nation’s first genetically modified animal in 2015 – GMO salmon – and scientists can’t wait to add more to the batch. Head of development biology at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, Professor Bruce Whitelaw has produced swine fever-resistant pigs through a new gene-editing technique. Yeah, he wants to see them also approved by the FDA. [1]
Whitelaw says that much more work is required to refine what he calls a ‘precise’ process.

France, Germany, and Spain filed a suit against Monsanto last year because the company tried to patent a non-GM tomato that was resistant to a common fungal disease (EP1812575). Now, the European Patent Office (EPO) is revoking another patent Monsanto has held on non-GM melons.

Next week, “Organic Ambitions: An Action Plan for organic food and farming in Scotland 2016-2020” will be unveiled in Scotland. The plan for organic food production is designed to help build a more sustainable farming future and stimulate the rural economy.
The January 27 launch will coincide with the first day of the Organic Research Center’s annual conference, being held in Bristol.

Due to the efforts of thousands in a grassroots campaign, as well as the actions of Senator Maria Sachs and Representative Vasilinda who started a campaign 3 years ago, 3 GMO labeling bills are being put forth in Florida – Senate bills SB 1700 and SB 1708, and House bill HB 1369.

As recently as October of 2015, Monsanto stated that it planned to double its sales in Mexico. The biotech giant already made around $400 million in the country in 2015. This greed to conquer the Mexican maize market has caused the company to fight resistance and GMO corn bans initiated by citizens and government, though the company continues to put 59 unique, indigenous varieties of corn at risk. [1]

During President Obama’s most recent State of The Union Address, he vowed to utilize the full spectrum of the U.S. government’s resources to create a “Moonshot-like” effort geared toward finding a cure for cancer. Why then, is Round Up, a ‘likely carcinogen,’ still being sold on markets across the United States and sprayed on our food?

The Food and Drug Administration has recently given a green light to a genetically modified potato engineered to resist a pathogen that is responsible for causing the Irish Potato Famine. No different than with their approval of GM salmon, the FDA seems oblivious to risk assessment and consumer concerns that deem a GM potato undesirable, claiming that the GE potato is indeed safe for consumption.

As of the end of December, 2015, Sikkim has become India’s first fully organic state in the country. Implementing organic farming practices on 75,000 hectares of land, the citizens of Sikkim will enjoy GMO-free, sustainable agriculture which will be certified organic.

“We have achieved fully-organic status in the end of December. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally announce this at a sustainable agriculture conference in Gangtok on January 18,” said Sikkim Organic Mission’s executive director Dr. Anbalagan.

Monsanto is trying to evict a bevy of protesters who have gathered in an agricultural province of Cordoba, Argentina. The protesters aim to stop a massive GMO seed plant which would spew vast clouds of toxic fumes and leave regular spills of the neonics, fungicides, and numerous other poisons that would be applied as seed coatings.
A Monsanto-friendly judge armed the monopolizing company with permission to evict the group, so now goons from Monsanto are trying to drive off the camp which is blockading further progress of the plant.

A USDA study has confirmed the agency’s own original forecast that GM alfalfa would promiscuously contaminate the non-GM crop. This news follows years of contamination incidents, leading to lawsuits between farmers growing orga