Monsanto’s Death Patents Friday, 22 March 2013 09:19 By Randall Amster JD, Counterpunch | Op-Ed Monsanto has yet another case pending in the court system, this time before the U.S. Supreme Court on the exclusivity of its genetically modified seed patents. Narrowly at issue is whether Monsanto retains patent rights on soybeans that have been…
FOCUS: Vandana Shiva | Monsanto and the Seeds of Suicide Vandana Shiva, The Asian Age Shiva writes: "Control over seed is the first link in the food chain because seed is the source of life. When a corporation controls seed, it controls life, especially the life of farmers." READ MORE
March 26, 2013, 8:30 pm Slow Food Quickens the Pace By MARK BITTMAN Mark Bittman on food and all things related. AMSTERDAM — It may be that Slow Food’s original focus on taste and the quality of food — on gastronomy — simply seemed too narrow, and therefore elitist. But at least since its “Puebla…
COOL itself is not ruled illegal by WTO but finds label wording to be a problem On Friday, March 8, 2013, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a new rule to bring the mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) regulations into compliance with the July 2012 decision of the World Trade Organization (WTO)…
Join 200,000 Americans to Veto the Monsanto Protection Act! Tell President Obama: "It’s time to Vote for Peoples’ Rights not Corporations!" SOS: Last Chance to Stop the Monsanto Protection Act! Dear Mike, We have to take a moment to say that you’re incredible! Food Democracy Now! is literally on the front lines of protecting our…
Lights! Camera! Farmers and ranchers? By Chris Scott on 3/25/2013 James Moll, an Academy Award- , Emmy- and Grammy-winning film director, is embarking on a documentary film project with the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) that will spotlight the next generation of American farmers and ranchers. The feature-length film will follow five young people…
Studying the ‘ag-gag’ bill 7 hours ago • JOAN BARRON Star-Tribune Capitol bureau During the recent legislative session, a bill to make it a crime to photograph or video farm operations without the owner’s consent passed the House but foundered in the Senate Agriculture Committee. Sen. Gerald Geis, R-Worland, the chairman, said House Bill 126,…
Big Agriculture flexes its muscle By: David Rogers March 25, 2013 04:34 AM EDT Congress holds the purse strings but who holds Congress these days when it comes to farm policy: the meatpackers and Monsanto? So it seemed last week as lawmakers sent the White House an updated budget for the Agriculture Department complete with…
Senate Passes Monsanto Protection Act Anthony Gucciardi, NaturalSociety Gucciardi reports: "The biotech giant is now virtually guaranteed the ability to recklessly plant experimental GM crops without having to worry about the United States government and its subsequent courts." READ MORE
Groups sue EPA over honey bee deaths, blame some insecticides Honey bees swarm around a small piece of honeycomb on a farm in North Carolina, December 14, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Chris Keane By Carey Gillam Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:36pm EDT (Reuters) – U.S. environmental regulators are failing to protect honey bees and their role in…