GMOs
A tall Senate wall for GMO-disclosure bill to climb
The Roberts-Stabenow bill to pre-empt state GMO food-labeling laws and to mandate disclosure through text, QR code or symbol will need a super-majority of 60 votes to pass the Senate, the first step toward becoming law. The bill would supersede Vermont's first-in-the-nation labeling law, which takes effect Friday and requires a special "made with GMOs" label on the package.
‘Refuge in a bag’ may backfire against Bt corn
Entomologists across the Midwest and South say a commonly used strategy to preserve the potency of GE corn that makes its own insect-repelling toxins, known as "refuge in a bag," "may actually increase the risk of Bt resistance in above-ground insects, particularly in the southern United States," reports DTN.
Bayer-Monsanto merger, in doubt for now, has farm and food implications
Monsanto says Bayer isn't offering enough to justify a merger but that it's open to continued talks with the German company. An official at Johns Hopkins' Center for a Livable Future says a merger would "be a real shock to the food system" because of the potential of higher prices to farmers for seeds and agricultural chemicals in a sector undergoing consolidation, reported Marketwatch.
Canada OKs GE salmon, no label required
The genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon is cleared for sale as food in Canada, the first food animal approved for the commercial market, said Canadian health officials. The salmon, which also was the first GE animal approved by U.S. regulators, will not be required to carry a label in stores to say it was genetically modified, said the CBC.
Two big processors say they won’t buy new GE soybeans
Bunge and Archer Daniels Midland, two of the largest grain processors in the country, say they will not accept delivery of a new genetically engineered soybean strain from Monsanto because of marketing questions, reported Bloomberg. The European Union has not approved the strain, called Roundup Ready 2 Xtend, for import.
Monsanto eyes Hawaii’s sugar fields as the last harvest comes in
Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company (HC&S) is facing a $30 million revenue loss from 2015 with worse projections to come, says The Guardian.
‘A major part of the food business’ is hostile to GMOs, says McConnell
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he hasn't given up on passing a bill to pre-empt states from requiring special labels on food made with genetically modified organisms.
Senators say EU must remove ag barriers, approve GMOs
In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, farm-state senators say Europe must take large steps toward opening its market to U.S. farm exports or prospects for approval of a U.S.-EU free-trade agreement will fade.
Caution in Britain as U.S. greenlights CRISPR crops
Two gene-edited crops -- white button mushrooms and "waxy" hybrid corn -- are years from the market yet they already are creating turmoil in Britain over the use of gene-editing technology and the propriety of importing foods created with it, says The Guardian.
EU administrators delay decision on plant-breeding techniques
The administrative arm of the European Union "has again delayed a much-awaited legal analysis of whether new plant breeding techniques should be considered GMOs," said Euractiv.com, which covers EU policy.
A checkup on EPA efforts to control super weeds
The EPA inspector general says it will assess the agency's "management and oversight of [weed] resistance issues related to herbicide-tolerant genetically engineered crops."
‘Right to farm’ amendment advances in Nebraska legislature
A proposal for a "right to farm" constitutional amendment appears headed for debate in Nebraska's unicameral legislature, says the Lincoln Journal-Star.
Corn earworm develop Bt resistance via unexpected genetic path
The corn earworm is a widespread crop pest, particularly in the U.S. South, and adept at quickly developing resistance to genetically engineered crops. Over time, researchers looking at lab-selected strains of earworm have identified 20 genes that harbor mutations conferring resistance to pest-killing proteins in so-called Bt crops, which have been genetically engineered to produce bacteria that repel the earworm.