USDA report highlights harms of seed consolidation
A new report released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds that seed industry consolidation and restrictive intellectual property regimes are stifling small, independent, and public seed breeding programs. No paywall
UC-Davis wins court fight with strawberry stars
A jury ruled that two former stars of the strawberry breeding program at UC-Davis violated an agreement with the university over control of the plants they developed while at the school.
Three years in prison for Chinese national who stole valuable seed corn
U.S. district judge Stephanie Rose sentenced Mo Hailong, a Chinese national also known as Robert Mo, to three years in prison for conspiracy to steal trade secrets, the Justice Department announced. Mo took part in the theft of hybrid seed corn, developed by Monsanto and Pioneer, for shipment to a Chinese conglomerate that owns a corn seed subsidiary.
After China allegedly stole Iowa corn seed, U.S. calls for more farm security
U.S. law enforcement officials are calling on farms growing GMO seed to bolster their security against foreign nationals set on stealing the technology, says Reuters.
U.S., EU have significant disagreements on trade pact
The United States and European Union have serious disagreements still to resolve in negotiations for a trans-Atlantic free trade agreement, say the agriculture ministers from each side of the ocean.
Quinoa, from the Andes to the Persian Gulf
The United Arab Emirates, after successful field trials in 2014, is working with its farmers to establish quinoa as a commercial crop on the Arabian peninsula, says Food Navigator.