FARM GROUP SEEKS U.S. HALT ON ”DANGEROUS” CROP CHEMICALS
SUMMARY: "A coalition of more than 2,000 U.S. farmers and food companies said Wednesday it is taking legal action to force government regulators to analyze potential problems with proposed biotech crops and the weed-killing chemicals to be sprayed over them.
TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT GMO CONTAMINATION
SUMMARY: "the excessive use of GMOs in the U.S. it is crucial for organic farmers to be aware of where contamination can occur and how they can take steps to prevent it. “There are ways to minimize the risk of GMO contamination,” says Jim Riddle, Organic Outreach Coordinator at the University of Minnesota. According to the National Organic Program the USDA organic seal verifies that irradiation, sewage sludge, synthetic fertilizers, prohibited pesticides, and GMOs were not used in growing the product.
Farmer suicides: Secret govt note says Bt cotton failing
India's Bt cotton dream is going terribly wrong. For the first time, farmer suicides, including those in 2011-12, have been linked to the declining performance of the much hyped genetically modified (GM) variety adopted by 90% of the country's cotton-growers since being allowed a decade ago.
Policymakers have hailed Bt cotton as a success story but a January 9 internal advisory, a copy of which is with HT, sent out to cotton-growing states by the agriculture ministry presents a grim scenario.
MODIFIED ALFALFA STIRS DEBATE IN TEXAS
SAN ANTONIO, March 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. government’s approval of genetically modified alfalfa is generating controversy in Texas, with organic farmers saying it will contaminate their crops.
Cameron Molberg at the Coyote Creek Organic Feed Mill outside Austin compares genetically modified alfalfa to a plague.
Its spreading use means pollen blown in or carried from the bio-engineered alfalfa could contaminate organic alfalfa fields, forcing feed mills like his and organic dairies to find other feed stock to keep going, he says.
GM: higher production doesn't mean wider acceptance
Luisa Massarani, Ildeu de Castro Moreira and Ana Maria Vara 19 May 2010
GM production is up, but that doesn't mean Latin Americans like or want it, say Luisa Massarani, Ildeu de Castro Moreira and Ana Maria Vara*.
