GMOs
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What we know — and don’t know — about the safety of eating GMOs
GMOs ahead: Proceed at your own risk.Are genetically modified foods safe to eat? The conventional answer is “yes,” and it’s not hard to see why. Since their introduction in 1996, genetically modified (GM) or genetically engineered (GE) corn and soy seeds quickly conquered U.S. farm fields. Today, upwards of 70 percent of corn and 90 […]
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Monsanto-tied scientist abruptly quits key USDA research post
Roger Beachy: back from whence he came. On a slow Friday afternoon, a surprising bit of news came down the pike: Roger Beachy, head of National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the main research arm of the USDA, has officially resigned his post, effective May 20. Who is Beachy? When Obama hired Beachy in […]
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USDA moves to let Monsanto perform its own environmental impact studies on GMOs
“Everything looks A-OK. What a surprise!”Last August, Federal Judge Jeffrey White issued a stinging rebuke to the USDA for its process on approving new genetically modified seeds. He ruled that the agency’s practice of “deregulating” novel seed varieties without first performing an environmental impact study violated the National Environmental Policy Act. The target of Judge […]
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Reversing roles, farmers sue Monsanto over GMO seeds
Genetically modified seed giant Monsanto is notorious for suing farmers [PDF] in defense of its patent claims. But now, a group of dozens of organic farmers and food activists have, with the help of the not-for-profit law center The Public Patent Foundation, sued Monsanto in a case that could forever alter the way genetically modified […]
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A well-fed world is a vegetarian world
Samuel Fromartz doesn't like genetically modified food, but not for the reasons you think. We don't need more food, he argues in the Atlantic, but better access to food — there's actually plenty of food in the world for everyone to have enough, but most people can't get at it. GMOs don't do anything to […]
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Forbes writer: GMO labeling would violate corporate speech rights
Civilization goes on in the Netherlands, despite the menace of mandatory GMO labeling. Photo: GMO CompassIn a blog post on Forbes.com, Glenn Lammi, general counsel for the right-wing, pro-business think tank the Washington Legal Foundation, goes on the attack against Mark Bittman’s recent New York Times op-ed column calling for the labeling of genetically engineered […]
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The case for labeling GMOs, food for environmentalist thought, and more
When my info-larder gets too packed, it’s time to serve up some choice nuggets from around the web. Bittman: Time to label GMOs With the USDA’s recent flurry of green lights for genetically modified crops — evidently at the urging of the White House — the Obama administration should brace itself for a big push […]
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Dear Obamas: Let’s move … on food policy reform
Gardening is great, but food policy reform is even better.Photo: The White HouseMichelle Obama recently celebrated the first anniversary of her Let’s Move campaign to inspire healthier eating. But as the popular face of the Obama administration’s advocacy for healthy, nutritious food, the first lady has conveniently side-stepped several critical consumer food issues like organics, genetically […]
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Four things you can do to defend organic against the GMO alfalfa threat
Members of the sustainable food movement are furious and, frankly, we have a right to be. Last month’s decision by the USDA to fully deregulate GE alfalfa isn’t just a minor skirmish in a long and exhausting battle. It threatens the existence of organic farming and organic food, and flies in the face of USDA’s […]
