Two Midwestern states in the U.S. are offering farmers three years of support to move to organic crop production. Farmers would ditch GMOs along with their toxic pesticides and herbicides. The aim is to boost acreage of organically-grown crops in the U.S. once the upper Midwest is well on its way to sustainable farming.
Russia’s food safety regulator Rosselkhoznadzor just announced a complete ban starting February 15 on all US corn and soy imports. This is a huge blow to organic and GM farmers alike, though the ban will be instated due to genetically modified crop and microbial contamination.
The world is in a state of panic over the Zika virus, an infection spreading like wildfire and is believed to cause microcephaly in babies. But Latin American doctors believe something else is causing microcephaly in Brazil: Pyriproxyfen, a pesticide used in that country since 2014 to halt the development of mosquito larvae in drinking water tanks.
John Purcell, Hawaii Business and Technology Lead for Monsanto, the largest genetically engineered seed-producing company in the country, explains in a video why he chose to work for Monsanto.
When speaking of why he went to work for Monsanto, Purcell also said:
“This is a company that has a vision for change in what agriculture is about…this is really something that matters.”
New Yorkers may soon be able to shop without the confusing sift through GM food packaging marked, “all natural” or “100% wholesome.”
This is thanks to a pending mandatory GMO labeling bill which recently, passed through New York State Assembly’s Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection. [1]
VICE’s entire third season of its HBO show is now available online for free! The May 2015 episode focuses entirely on genetically modified crops.
In the video, host Isobel Yeung traces GM ‘super-crops’ from the headquarters of American agribusiness titan Monsanto to the soy fields of Paraguay. She also visits the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which is financed by Bill Gates and the biotech industry. Seeds are stored there in case of widespread crop disasters.
A controversial fertility treatment requiring 3 genetic parents was recently approved by an elite panel of U.S. scientists and ethicists.
The 12-member panel, assembled by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, released a 164-page report outlining how scientists could ethically carry out such genetic engineering for the purpose of eliminating rare mitochondrial diseases – a process that would exclude girls.
Scientists in Britain have recently been given the green light to edit the genes of human embryos for research, leading to fears the practice could lead to “designer babies.”
Chinese scientists set off a firestorm of controversy a year ago when they announced they had begun genetically modifying human embryos. Now, British researcher Kathy Niakan, from London’s Francis Crick Institute has a received a license to carry out similar experiments.
At the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), fruit growers have asked the government to de-register the genetically modified (GM) Arctic Apple until further studies can be conducted.
Senator from Vermont and Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has been standing up for sustainable farming and non-GMO food. This piece isn’t meant to prop Sanders up on a pedestal but rather is meant to be a reminder to consider how your favorite presidential candidate will vote on GMOs once elected.
