Genetically-Modified Corn Nearly Unavoidable in Bourbon Distilling
Nearly 90 percent of the corn in this country is genetically-modified. And as using genetically-modified—or GM—corn becomes increasingly popular in everyday foods, more people are becoming concerned about potential ill effects on human health and the environment.
Besides being used in food, that corn is also finding its way into Kentucky’s signature spirit: bourbon.
In the grain room at the Four Roses Distillery, master distiller Jim Rutledge pours corn kernels into a small glass.
“I’m just going to heat this up,” he says.
HEARING WEIGHS BIOTECH BEET SAFETY
SUMMARY: "The battle over genetic engineering is coming to Corvallis. Federal regulators will hold a meeting Thursday afternoon at Oregon State University’s LaSells Stewart Center to gather public comment on possible deregulation of Roundup Ready sugarbeets. The genetically engineered beet strain was created by agribusiness giant Monsanto to be resistant to the company’s widely distributed Roundup herbicide."
The battle over genetic engineering is coming to Corvallis.
WORLD’S FIRST ‘BLUE’ ROSE SOON AVAILABLE IN U.S.
SUMMARY: "Long a symbol of the unattainable, blue roses will be for sale this fall in the United States and Canada. Named “Applause,” the rose is genetically modified to synthesize delphinidin, a pigment found in most blue flowers. [...] While the flower might appear more silver-purple than sky-blue, Applause is the nearest to a true blue rose yet."
Long a symbol of the unattainable, blue roses will be for sale this fall in the United States and Canada.
GE beet battle heats up in Oregon (USA)
SUMMARY: "While [GE] sugarbeets are grown primarily in the upper Midwest and inland Northwest, all of the seed for those crops is produced here in the Willamette Valley, home to a thriving specialty seed industry. But organic and conventional seed producers, as well as some vegetable growers, are worried that their crops will be contaminated by genetically modified sugarbeets, which can cross-pollinate with non-engineered beets and related species such as Swiss chard.
FULL ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF GM-CROPS REVEALED
Brussels, March 14, 2011 – The costs of segregating genetically modified (GM) and conventional crops are much higher than originally thought, and could push up food prices, warns Friends of the Earth Europe in a new briefing today. ’The socio-economic effects of GMOs’ reveals the hidden costs of GM crop cultivation that are being unfairly pushed onto conventional and organic sectors – risking further GMO-contamination and increased food prices – and comes as environment ministers meet to discuss GM-crops in Europe. [1]
