GMO

A dozen elections today may influence food and agriculture policy nationally, They range from the Kansas race that could determine the next chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee to referendums on soda taxes and GMO labeling.

Opponents held a 6-point advantage in a poll of 403 likely voters in Oregon on whether to require special labels on foods containing genetically modified organisms, says the Portland Oregonian, one of two news outlets that commissioned the survey by Elway Research.

Oregonians probably would pay a penny, or less, a day if they pass a referendum to require labels on food made with genetically modified organisms, says a study commissioned by two groups who support the initiative.

Researchers identified a wheat gene that acts as a reproductive traffic cop and which can be used to transfer valuable genes from other plants to wheat, says Washington State University. The discovery "clears the way for breeders to develop wheat varieties with the disease- and pest-resistance of other grasses...while forgoing the cost, regulatory hurdles and controversy of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs," says a WSU release.

The Agriculture Department approved for sale two soybean varieties and one corn variety genetically engineered by Dow to tolerate the weedkiller 2,4-D, a widely used herbicide. The varieties would be an alternative to Monsanto's GE crops that resist glyphosate. There are reports of "superweeds" that survive spraying with glyphosate. The Center for Food Safety, a foe of GE crops, said it "will pursue all available legal options to stop commercialization of these dangerous crops." Opponents say 2,4-D poses health and environmental risks, including its own version of herbicide-resistant weeds.

Political analysts say the outcome of Oregon's statewide referendum on labeling foods made with genetically modified organisms will depend on whether opponents can win over liberal-leaning urban voters, says the Portland Tribune. Analysts expect the opposition to out-spend the pro-labeling campaign. Around 80 percent of the state population lives in urban areas.

Monsanto agreed to settle lawsuits filed by growers of soft white wheat over the May 29, 2013, discovery of unapproved biotech wheat in an Oregon field, says broadcaster KCRU. The wheat was a strain genetically engineered by Monsanto to tolerate the weedkiller glyphosate but abandoned after field trials years ago. The growers say they lost money because Japan and South Korea temporarily curtailed purchases of U.S.-grown soft white wheat. Terms of the settlement, reached last week, were not disclosed.

Plant breeder Frank Kutka is working on corn varieties that organic farmers can plant without fear of cross-pollination from GMO corn in neighboring fields, writes Ken Roseboro at Civil Eats. It is a multimillion-dollar challenge because organic crops cannot include genetically modified organisms. Corn is the most widely grown U.S. crop. Farmers can take precautions such as planting their fields earlier or later than their neighbors so the fields mature at different times but that is an imperfect tactic.

Three groups petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren ruled that a Kauai County ordinance that restricted plantings of biotech crops is pre-empted by state law, says KHON-TV in Honolulu.

Monsanto Co, the giant seed company, expects to begin sales in 2016 of soybeans engineered for tolerance to a wider range of herbicides, says the St Louis Business Journal.

State Attorney General William Sorrell asked for dismissal of the food industry lawsuit against the Vermont law that will require special labels on foods that include genetically modified organisms.

President Vladimir Putin issued a decree that bans or reduces for one year imports of food and agricultural products from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia in the crisis over Ukraine. "The Kremlin decree doesn't specify which items will be affected," said the BBC.

China's agriculture ministry "vowed zero tolerance and harsh punishments for illegal sales and growing of genetically modified (GM) crops days after media exposure of GM rice on sale at a supermarket in central China," says China Daily. Biotech rice is not approved for use in the country.

One year after launching the GMO Answers campaign on social media, "U.S. companies that develop GMOs have further committed to a multimillion-dollar campaign to defeat attempts to add GMO labels" to genetically engineered foods, says Reuters. A spokeswoman for GMO Answers says member companies have agreed to spend millions of dollars "for several more years on this campaign," says the story.

The Des Moines Register, the largest newspaper in Iowa, often the No 1 corn and soybean state, says, "Corporate America is fighting a losing battle over the GMO issue" against a right-to-know movement among consumers for labeling foods made with genetically modified organisms.

China would be allowed to ship apples to the United States under a regulation proposed by USDA's Animal and Plant Inspection Service. In a Federal Register notice, APHIS set a 60-day comment period. The proposed rule sets out safeguards against introduction of pests. For example, fruit from areas with Oriental fruit fly infestation must be fumigated and refrigerated as well as inspected.

Farmer adoption of genetically modified crop varieties is spreading beyond the well-known dominance of the major field crops of corn, soybeans, and cotton, said a USDA report. When lesser-known GM crops such as canola, potatoes, and apples are counted, about 55 percent of U.S. cropland is planted to GM varieties, said the Economic Research Service report.