Articles by Grist staff

Crop Busting

Monsanto Wins Landmark Biotech Case Against Canadian Farmer The Canadian Supreme Court has ruled in favor of biotech giant Monsanto in a case widely thought to be pivotal for the biotech industry. The court determined late last week that Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser had violated a Monsanto patent by growing the company’s herbicide-resistant canola without […]

Open-source Agriculture

Smart Breeding Holds Promise of Replacing GM Foods Imagine a technology that can produce all the benefits of biotech crops — resistance to pests and pesticides, long shelf life, rapid (or delayed) ripening, etc. — without the worries about environmental harm, corporate consolidation, and international trade wars. Some researchers believe they have discovered — or […]

The Full Vermonty

State of Vermont Endangered by Wal-Mart, Group Says The National Trust for Historic Preservation released its list of endangered historic sites yesterday, citing such imperiled landmarks as Pennsylvania’s Bethlehem Works steel plant, Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon, and the state of Vermont. Yup, the whole state. According to the trust, mega-retailer Wal-Mart’s aggressive plans for expansion […]

Audit, Shucks

U.S. Nuclear Contractors Underreporting Worker Injuries Government contractors have underreported injuries and illnesses at Hanford Nuclear Reservation and other nuclear cleanup projects for years, creating a false image of safety for their own enrichment, according to a new federal audit. The Department of Energy, responsible for overseeing cleanups at the Hanford site in southern Washington […]