German brewer Radeberger has ordered up 70 tonnes of a new Australian gluten-free barley for use in a new beer it plans to sell at retail. (Radeberger Gruppe KG, Frankfurt)

Brewers toast Australian gluten-free barley

Sydney | Reuters — Australian scientists say they have developed the world’s first WHO-approved “gluten-free” barley, a breakthrough for global beer manufacturers. They have had to use alternatives to barley such as rice and sorghum to brew gluten-free beer. Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) said April 8 it had sold 70 tonnes

(Dave Bedard photo)

Germany backs EU plan to approve glyphosate

Berlin | Reuters –– Germany plans to back an European Union proposal that would allow the continued use of glyphosate in herbicides, according to a letter from the agriculture ministry. Glyphosate is used in many herbicides including Monsanto’s Roundup, but has provoked a dispute between EU and U.N. agencies over whether it might cause cancers.


(Baywa.com)

German regulator investigates possible tractor cartel

Duesseldorf | Reuters –– Germany’s anti-trust regulator said Friday it was investigating a possible cartel of companies making agricultural machinery, particularly tractors. It did not name any targets of the probe. German agricultural trading group Baywa said the cartel office had searched its headquarters earlier this week on suspicion that some of its employees were

(Barry Wilmore photo courtesy NASA)

Global markets: Japan, Germany cut economic forecasts

CNS Canada –– The following is a glance at the news moving markets globally. JAPAN CUTS INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, ECONOMIC OUTLOOK – The Japanese government downgraded its assessment of industrial production and identified some areas of weakness in a monthly government report released on Wednesday. The reduced forecast for industrial production is due to weaker demand





cup of hot chocolate

Recipe Swap: Hot chocolate. Magic in a mug

The cure for homesickness (or other winter-related blues) 
is really, really, really, good hot chocolate

Food memories are vivid. We remember not just what we ate or drank, but the smallest details of when and where. Early winter recalls a year on a post-university, backpacking trip in Europe. As winter set in, the fun was over. Hostels were colder and emptier. I was homesick. Other young sojourners’ spirits were just

(Europa.eu)

Germany to press EU for national right to ban GMOs before 2015 harvest

Berlin | Reuters — Germany is pressing the European Commission to allow individual EU countries to ban cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) before the 2015 harvest. German farm minister minister Christian Schmidt said “social-economic reasons” should be taken into account to allow a European Union country to ban GMO crops even when


Genetic tweaking caused a fertility problem in Ross roosters, which sire 25 per cent of the commercial broiler flock in theU.S.and virtually all of Canada’s.

Infertile roosters increase shortage in U.S. chicken supplies

Canadian hatcheries depend on U.S. imports but have been unaffected to date

A genetic problem in a key breed of U.S. rooster could affect Canada’s broiler chicken industry, which imports nearly all its parent breeding stock from south of the border. The U.S. is already experiencing a shortage of breeder birds and the genetic issue could make supplies even tighter, American officials say. If that happens, it

Germany’s Oompah Party

Revellers at Germany s Oktoberfest, the world s largest folk festival, consumed a record 7.5 million litres of beer during the 17-day party which ended on Oct. 3 in blazing sunshine. Despite gloom in Germany about the spiralling debt crisis, the festival drew some 6.9 million visitors, many clad in traditional Bavarian lederhosen or dirndls.