After US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks showed that the State Department was lobbying worldwide for Monsanto and other similar corporations, a new report based on the cables shows Washington’s shilling for the biotech industry in distinct detail. Original post on rt.com Comments on reddit.com
Peru is the first country in the Americas to ban genetically modified foods, putting its food policy closer to that of Europe, than the United States or many of its South American neighbors. Original post on csmonitor.com Comments on reddit.com
A ten year ban on GMOs takes effect this week in Peru, a victory won by zealous farmers and other activists who want to protect Peru’s abundant biodiversity. Original post on foodrenegade.com Comments on reddit.com
Scientists in the Middle East have identified soil microbes that could help make desert agriculture more resistant to salinity and drought. Original post on scidev.net Comments on reddit.com
Golden rice, a new strain that boosts vitamin A levels and reduces blindness in developing countries, is about to be sown in the Philippines – and is the new battleground crop Original post on guardian.co.uk Comments on reddit.com
HIGHMORE, S Original post on tribune.com Comments on reddit.com
Some harm crops or boost plants’ ability to pick up toxic materials through their roots Original post on sciencenews.org Comments on reddit.com
The severe drought in the US has been blamed the rising prices of agricultural commodities. But that is only part of the story: Biofuels, financial speculation and changing dietary habits are also playing a role. The global food supply faces pressure from all sides. By SPIEGEL Staff Original post on spiegel.de Comments on reddit.com
(Reuters) – The drought ravaging America’s prime farmland is having an unexpected consequence that could shape the future of agricultural finance: in some cases, farmers who have amped up their insurance Original post on reuters.com Comments on reddit.com
Farmers notch up another victory in legal fight. Original post on nature.com Comments on reddit.com
ONEONTA, Ala. — Some Alabama farmers say they are planting less produce rather than risk having tomatoes and other crops rot in the fields a second straight year because of labor shortages linked to the state’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Original post on washingtonpost.com Comments on digg.com
The Colombian House of Representatives passes the first draft of a bill that seeks to legalize illicit crops. Original post on colombiareports.com Comments on reddit.com
While carbon dioxide and methane are gases that largely add to the effect of global warming, it is nitrous oxide and its increasing levels that scientists are concerned about. Scientists at the Woods Hole Research Center say the population of the world wi Original post on ecofriend.com Comments on digg.com
(PhysOrg.com) — Man-made air pollution from North America causes Europe to lose 1.2 million tonnes of wheat a year, a new study has found. Original post on physorg.com Comments on reddit.com
Taliban, corrupt politicians reap huge rewards as prices stay high on lingering market effects of 2010 crop blight… More
Grist: Unusual honeybee die-offs have become so severe that some US beekeepers will qualify for disaster relief funds… More
The United States is threatening nations who oppose Monsanto’s GMO crops with military-style trade wars, according to new WikiLeaks cables. More
A seven-year-old Indian girl was murdered in a tribal sacrifice and her liver offered to the gods to improve crop growth, police in said on Sunday. The body of was found in October one week after her family reported her missing. “A seven-year-old girl was sacrificed by two persons superstitiously believing that the act would give a better harvest,”, the police chief of Bijapur district, told AFP by telephone. The two men was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of killing the girl and offering her liver to the gods in a grisly tribal ceremony. Police said the men had confessed to the crime. The girl was murdered in a jungle district of that is a stronghold of rebel Maoists who have tapped into disaffection among local tribal groups. Human sacrifices occasionally make headlines in deeply religious and superstitious India, and usually occur in poor areas where some people revere practitioners… More
