In a gutsy move, Kenya's government has banned all imported GMO goods - effective immediately. They are also suspending all sales of genetically modified produce and foods with GM ingredients until health safety is confirmed. The ban is not permanent, however - it depends on what evidence the ministry concludes. Biotechnology research can continue. 
 On November 8th, Health Minister Beth Mugo made the annou ...

From the start, I thought it was a bit useless to petition the FDA to label genetically modified food.  There has been plenty of documented evidence of the FDA’s charge forward onreleasing GMOs to the American public despite safety concern amongst FDA scientists when GMOs were first introduced into the food supply. Regardless, I drank the Kool Aid that the Just Label It campaign was pouring.  Why not?  At l ...

The Budget Control Act of 2011 goes into affect at midnight on December 31. That is the bill already passed that raises taxes and cuts the budget. Congress does not like this scenario, so it is working on an omnibus 2013 Appropriations Bill that will address tax and spending cuts before January 1. Even though no bill has yet been introduced, if Congress and President Obama reach agreement, the bill will be ...

There's an age-old tradition in Washington of making unpopular announcements when no one's listening—like, you know, the days leading up to Thanksgiving. That's when the Obama administration sneaked a tasty dish to the genetically modified seed/pesticide industry. This treat involves the unceremonious end of the Department of Justice's antitrust investigation into possible anticompetitive practices in the U ...

Cheerios just faced a humiliating public relations failure thanks to the undiscriminating nature of free speech through social media. Just a few days ago, Cheerios (General Mills) released an app on Facebook asking 'fans' to gratefully show what Cheerios means to them. Users could write their own sentiments by placing Cheerios' iconic black font over a yellow template, complete with little cheerios for peri ...

According to a top Mexican government, as reported by Reuters, the approval of the highly controversialgenetically modified (GM) corn fields will be determined next year after President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party takes office on December 1. 
 Mariano Ruiz, a deputy agriculture secretary, said in an interview that he does not expect permits to be approved for four to fi ...

The team of researchers who caused uproar when they claimed a variety of genetically modified corn causes cancer has insisted the crop 'cannot be regarded as safe'. Leading scientists lined up to condemn the study after it was published two months ago, saying it lacked scientific rigour and had made a series of basic errors. Russia banned the import of the corn and a group of six French scientific instituti ...

While many of us are disappointed with the results of the CA proposition 37 ballot initiative, to say the least, the political process is so corrupted with unlimited corporate spending1 that the real surprise for me would have been if ithad passed. Whereas the two-party system enables corporations to equally fatten the campaign larders of both "flavors" of senator, or president – Coke or Pepsi; Democrat or ...

Monsanto and other agribusiness and food companies have spent more than $45m (£28m) to defeat a California ballot measure that would require labelling of some GM foods. 
 The measure, proposition 37, is one of the most contentious initiatives on California's election ballot on Tuesday. If it passes, it would require labels on GM food sold in supermarkets, but would not cover restaurants. It also has a numbe ...

Experts say that the GM wheat currently in development by an Australian governmental research agency could, if ingested, shut down certain genes, leading to premature death or risk thereof to multiple generations. The GM wheat developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) using public funds is engineered to turn off genes permanently. The organization’s intent to turn ...