The U.S. Agriculture Department, probing how a genetically engineered (GE) trait entered an Oregon wheat field and the extent of the contamination, has tested a dozen wheat samples and is looking at a national seed storage facility in an effort to resolve the mystery and calm a troubled market for U.S. wheat exports, a spokesman
USDA probes Colorado storage site in GE wheat mystery
Scientists say new study shows pig health hurt by GM feed
Pigs fed a diet of only genetically modified (GM) grain showed markedly higher stomach inflammation than pigs who dined on conventional feed, according to a new study by a team of Australian scientists and U.S. researchers. The study adds to an intensifying public debate over the impact of genetically modified crops, which are widely used
Tests so far show commercial wheat seed GM-free, Monsanto says
Monsanto said Wednesday that broad testing of commercial wheat seeds in Oregon and Washington state has found no sign of its long-shelved experimental biotech wheat — and company officials said it was possible the illegal wheat discovered growing in an Oregon field may have been the result of sabotage. Monsanto officials said they have supplied
USDA extends reviews on Enlist corn, dicamaba-tolerant soy
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it will extend its scrutiny of proposed biotech crops developed by Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto after receiving an onslaught of opposition to the companies’ plans. The news frustrated Dow officials who’d hoped to have secured regulatory approval and have their new herbicide-tolerant Enlist corn brand on the market
Study links heavy glyphosate use to health risks
Heavy use of the world’s most popular herbicide could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson’s, infertility and cancers, according to a new study. The peer-reviewed report, published last week in Entropy, an interdisciplinary open-access scientific journal, said evidence indicates that residues of glyphosate, best known as the active ingredient
Monsanto, DuPont settle lawsuits, set new $1.75-billion deal
The companies have dropped their lawsuits against each other and agreed to work together delivering new technology to farmers
Reuters / Monsanto Co. and DuPont have settled a bitter legal battle over rights to technology for genetically modified seeds and will drop antitrust and patent claims against each other while forging a new collaboration, the companies said March 26. The deal tosses out a $1-billion jury verdict DuPont was ordered to pay Monsanto last August. Instead,Beekeepers ask courts to ban controversial pesticides
U.S. environmental regulators are failing to protect honeybees and should immediately suspend use of some toxic insecticides tied to the widespread deaths of bees, charges a new lawsuit. “It is a catastrophe in progress,” said migratory beekeeper Steve Ellis, who maintains 2,000 hives for pollinating crops from Minnesota to California. “We have an ongoing problem
Monsanto, DuPont reach licensing deal, end lawsuits
DuPont will pay Monsanto at least US$1.75 billion in a new licensing deal as part of an agreement which also dismisses the rivals’ bitter legal battles over rights to technology for genetically modified seeds, the world’s top seed companies said Tuesday. The deal tosses out a $1 billion jury verdict DuPont was ordered to pay
U.S. animal rights groups: ‘Nay’ to horse slaughter plan
Reuters / Animal rights groups are threatening to sue the U.S. government if officials move ahead with plans to allow meat-packing companies to resume the slaughter of horses for human consumption, a practice that was banned in 2006. “It’s a big fight,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States. “We
Monsanto, DuPont take seed battle to trial
Opening arguments got underway last week in a potentially pivotal legal battle between agricultural giants Monsanto and DuPont over Monsanto’s control of a popular seed technology worth billions of dollars. The rivals have been fighting for years and the trial in federal court in St. Louis represents only part of an ongoing argument over the
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