Posted October 12, 2018
World hunger is on the rise. Scientists just moved up the deadline for addressing the looming climate crisis. Small independent farms are failing at an alarming rate. According to three recent studies, one big change could go a long way toward addressing all three of these crises. By transitioning, on a global scale, to organic regenerative agriculture, we could feed more people, sequester more carbon and improve the economic prospects for farmers. Read more.
Get Informed on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
California Judge Mulls New Trial in $289M Roundup Award
Posted October 12, 2018
A San Francisco judge said Wednesday she is considering tossing out the lion’s share of the $289 million judgment against agribusiness giant Monsanto and ordering a new trial over whether the company’s weed-killer caused a groundskeeper’s cancer. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos didn’t formally rule on any issues after a two-hour hearing to consider Monsanto’s demand to toss out the entire jury verdict in the first of thousands of similar cases across the country to go to trial. Read more.
How Most of Our Water Get Polluted
Posted October 12, 2018
In the U.S., agriculture poses the greatest threat to water quality and is single-handedly impairing drinking water supplies across the country. The key culprits are nitrogen, phosphates and other toxins that run off from industrial cropland (i.e., genetically engineered corn and soy) and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Read more.
South Koreans Take a Stand Against GMOs
Posted October 12, 2018,
Seoul, South Korea; for the first time, South Koreans hosted a Tri-Lateral Korea-US-Japan Symposium on the Consumer Right to Know GMO Labeling System. Over 200 gathered, including grassroots leaders, professors, food producers, concerned citizens, and National Assemblymen to discuss the health risks of GMOs and GMO labeling. South Korea has good reason to be concerned, they are the world’s largest importer of GMOs for human consumption and the health conditions of their citizens are skyrocketing. Read more.
Hidden Health Dangers: A Former Agbiotech Insider Wants His GMO Crops Pulled
Posted October 12, 2018
Genetic engineering isn’t everyone’s childhood dream. Even I didn’t care for it when I started studying biology at the University of Amsterdam, but my professor explained it was an acquired taste and the best option for a good job. So, I suppressed my doubts and learned to extract DNA from plants, recombine the DNA in test tubes, reinsert the fusions into plant cells, and use hormones to regenerate new plants. Read more.
“The World is Against Them”: New Era of Cancer Lawsuits Threatens Monsanto
Posted October 12, 2018
In an historic verdict in August, a jury ruled that Monsanto had caused a man’s terminal cancer and ordered the agrochemical corporation to pay $289m in damages. The extraordinary decision, exposing the potential hazards of the world’s most widely used herbicide, has paved the way for thousands of other cancer patients and families to seek justice and compensation in court. Read more.
Two island stores discontinue Roundup sales
Posted October 4, 2018
The herbicide Roundup has been in the news recently for its potential to cause cancer. Last week, Island Home Center & Lumber created news of its own when it announced it would stop carrying Roundup or any other product containing glyphosate, the active ingredient in the well-known weed killer. Read more.
Red-Fleshed Apples, CRISPR, and Shameless Hype
Posted October 4, 2018
An article in Newsweek from this summer breathlessly hypes the potential of genome editing techniques such as CRISPR by promising a supposedly “must-have” food item: a red-fleshed apple. But a closer look at the article and the work of the scientists behind it actually shows that genome editing – and genetic engineering in general – are not needed. Read more.
Patented Plants: What do GMO Patents Mean for Farmers, Researchers and Consumers?
Posted October 4, 2018
What Do Patented GMOs Mean For Farmers? When farmers choose to plant GMO seeds, they must first sign a technology use agreement or a licensing agreement. These contracts dictate what farmers can and cannot do with the seeds they buy. A typical contract: Read more.
Glyphosate Residue Free Inquiries Surge as ‘Clean Food’ Movement Gathers Pace
Posted September 28, 2018
The Detox Project – which certifies products as ‘Glyphosate Residue Free’ – has been overwhelmed by industry inquiries over the past six months as food brands seek not just to get certified, but more often, to “use us as a consultancy service” to find out how the herbicide got into their products and what, if anything, they can or should do about it, says founder Henry Rowlands. Read more.
