KIRKLAND, Wash. — Bill Gates has a terse response to criticism that the high-tech solutions he advocates for world hunger are too expensive or bad for the environment: Countries can embrace modern seed technology and genetic modification or their citizens will starve.

When he was in high school in the 1960s, people worried there wouldn't be enough food to feed the world, Gates recalled in his fourth annual letter, which was published online Tuesday. But the "green revolution," which transformed agriculture with high-yield crop varieties and other innovations, warded off famine.

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a California law requiring slaughterhouses to immediately euthanize animals that are too sick to stand up, saying the measure violated a federal meat-safety law.

The unanimous ruling today is a victory for the National Meat Association, an industry trade group that challenged the California law.

Press Release - January 10, 2012

Entire food chain found to be contaminated, from soil to pollen to dead bees

Contact Laurel Hopwood, 216-371-9779 (EST)
Tom Theobald 303-652-2266 (MST)
Neil Carman, PhD. 512-288-5772 / cell 512-663-9594 (CST)

The Sierra Club, with over 1.3 million members and supporters, calls on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to immediately suspend the registration of the insecticide clothianidin, based on new scientific evidence of extensive contamination in bees and soil.

Don Huber painted a devastating picture of glyphosate and GM crops at UK Parliament Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji

In less than an hour, Don Huber, professor emeritus at Purdue University and USDA senior scientist (see Box) delivered to the UK Houses of Parliament a damning indictment of glyphosate agriculture as a most serious threat to the environment, livestock, and human health [1].

Don Huber

Cornucopia, WI – Over the holidays, the United States Department of Agriculture announced its approval of a novel strain of genetically engineered corn, developed by Monsanto, purportedly being “drought tolerant.”

Despite receiving nearly 45,000 public comments in opposition to this particular genetically engineered (GE) corn variety (and only 23 comments in favor), the Obama administration gave Monsanto the green light to release its newest GE corn variety freely into the environment and American food supply, without any governmental oversight or safety tracking.

Jan 5, 2012

Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, posted first-quarter earnings that exceeded estimates as Latin American farmers grew more genetically modified corn and said U.S. orders are ahead of last year.

Net income climbed to $126 million, or 23 cents a share, in the three months through November, from $9 million, or 2 cents, a year earlier, St. Louis-based Monsanto said today in a statement. Monsanto said last month that earnings would be 15 cents to 20 cents a share, and the average of 10 estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for profit of 18 cents.

A federal judge has rejected allegations by biotech critics that USDA violated environmental laws by fully deregulating transgenic alfalfa.

U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti has refused to overturn the agency’s approval of the crop, which was genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate herbicides.

The Center for Food Safety and other critics claimed in its lawsuit that USDA failed to properly evaluate the potential for Roundup Ready alfalfa to cross-pollinate with conventional and organic crops.

Confusion over government permits will delay the planned release of genetically altered mosquitoes in Key West for several months.

The pilot program outlined by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District would release a test batch of about 5,000 to 10,000 mosquitoes -- the Aedes aegypti species that carries dengue fever -- that have been specifically bred to produce offspring that die young.

Once planned for January, any release now will can occur no sooner than “late spring,” said district Executive Director Michael Doyle.

By Sarah Schmidt, Postmedia News January 4, 2012

OTTAWA - Canada could have trouble keeping genetically engineered salmon out of the food supply if the U.S. government approves the first genetically engineered animal that people can eat.

And according to an internal analysis obtained by Postmedia News, one potential solution is to simply follow the U.S. lead, in order to avoid trade complications. That would mean allowing the GE fish in the Canadian market.

By Avery Yale Kamila akamila@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

A judge has ordered pre-trial oral arguments in a case pitting organic farmers against agribusiness giant Monsanto.

Headed by Maine potato farmer Jim Gerritsen, the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, with legal backing from the Public Patent Foundation, filed a lawsuit in March 2011 questioning the validity of Monsanto's patents on genetically modified seeds and seeking protection from patent-infringement lawsuits for the plaintiffs should their crops become contaminated with Monsanto's transgenic crops.