Court Decision Keeps Genetically Engineered Alfalfa Off the Fields
By Christine White
A recent appeals court ruling upholds a nationwide ban on GE alfalfa, claiming it can cause permanent damage to crops, the environment, and the livelihood of farmers.
In the 1990’s, Monsanto began developing a variety of genetically modified alfalfa that would be resistant to one of the company’s major herbicides. This Monsanto alfalfa, called Roundup Ready alfalfa, was approved by the USDA in 2005—but not without a significant political backlash.
Statement by Guatemalan Organizations and Communities to National and International Public Opinion
We Declare:
1. The expansion of plantations for agrofuels is advancing quickly in Guatemala. Over the last five years national and international agribusinesses have been increasing their control over land to plant sugarcane and African palm for this purpose. This is leading to a decrease in the land planted for food, putting the population’s food security at risk. It is also contributing to the weakening of many rural communities, undermining the basic elements of indigenous communities’ cohesion and identity.
Interview with Scientist, Arpad Pusztai on the Risks of Genetic Engineering of Crops
By Ken Roseboro, ed. ,The Organic and Non-GMO Report, June 2009
Ecuador Paves Way for Terminator Technology?
By Karla Peña
The Food Sovereignty Organic Law in Ecuador was approved by the National Assembly with President Rafael Correa’s Partial Veto in March of this year.
Food, Inc -- Do you know where you food is coming from?
On Friday, June 12, “Food, Inc.” the new documentary exposé of the safety hazards and corporate control of our current food system will open in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco, followed by the nationwide release on June 19th.
This is a very powerful documentary. For reviews see our blog http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2448
Documentary review is here:
http://documentaries.about.com/od/revie2/fr/FoodInc.htm
New York Times review is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/movies/07seve.html?pagewanted=1&ref=mo...
Look for reviews and listings in the media.
Transgenic Food Production in Cuba; The Need for a Participatory and Serious Debate
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By Fernando Funes Aguilar, PhD., Agro-ecologist
Introduction
You'll Never Look at Food in the Same Way Again
The new documentary, Food, Inc. by filmmaker Robert Kenner has the potential to change the eating habits of Americans in much the same way that Frances Moore Lappé’s book Diet for a Small Planet opened people to a greater understanding of our food system for another generation when it was published in the 1970s. The Food, Inc. preview I attended in San Francisco was well received by a rapt audience.
U.S. Ethanol Production in Fewer Hands
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By Annie Shattuck
What was once an industry characterized by farmer co-ops and locally owned refineries, the U.S. ethanol industry is rapidly becoming more corporate. In the past two years, farmers' share of total ethanol production capacity has fallen from 34% to approximately 16%. The top four ethanol producers in the country now own 32.7% of the nation's total production capacity. Out of 20 new plants planned or under construction, none are locally or farmer owned.
No to transgenic maize! No to genetically modified corn!
Red en Defensa del Maíz of Mexico invites you to join them in sending a strong message to:
--the Mexican government
--the Convention on Biological Diversity / Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and
--the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations / FAO.
China and Industrial Animal Agriculture: Prospects and Defects
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This backgrounder is based on a longer report by Mia MacDonald and Sangamithra Lyer published by Brighter Green.
Read that report here:
http://brightergreen.org/files/brightergreen_china_print.pdf