EcoFarm Blogs

The EcoFarm Blogs seek to nurture and support sustainable and organic farmers and food system change agents. Through sharing entertaining and informative essays, we hope to promote important voices to a wider audience, create a platform for interactive dialogues on important issues and increase communication among diverse groups.

New Book - Genetically Engineered Backslide

Posted on July 19, 2010 in the Genetic Engineering Blog

The widespread planting of “Roundup Ready” crops that are genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate has led to the emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds in fields in the United States. Of these weeds, the species believed to pose the greatest threat to agricultural productivity is Palmer amaranth - more commonly known as Palmer pigweed - which has infested cotton and soya farms across the southern US and is expected to spread to new areas and crops.

Bayer Loses Fifth Straight Trial Over U.S Rice Crops

Posted on July 15, 2010 in the Genetic Engineering Blog

Bayer AG lost its fifth straight trial over contaminated U.S. long-grain rice to a Louisiana farmer who claimed the company’s carelessness with its genetically engineered seed caused exports to plunge.

Lawmakers Propose Labeling in Response to Supreme Court’s Monsanto Decision

Posted on July 14, 2010 in the Genetic Engineering Blog

Ever since the Supreme Court handed down its mixed 7-1 decision, ruling that the lower court overstepped its boundary by issuing an injunction on the planting of genetically modified alfalfa, some lawmakers were spurred to action. Reuters, for example, reported that more than 50 U.S. lawmakers called on the U.S. Agriculture Department to keep Monsanto’s biotech alfalfa out of farm fields. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, and Rep. Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon, were joined by 49 other representatives and five other senators in asking Tom Vilsack, the Agricultural Secretary, to ensure that Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa is not approved for commercial use.

Europe’s New Approach to Biotech Food

Posted on July 9, 2010 in the Genetic Engineering Blog

BRUSSELS - After decades of pushing nations to surrender more power to Brussels, the European Union is about to throw in the towel on one highly contentious issue: genetically modified foods.

Pigweed threatens Georgia cotton industry

Posted on July 9, 2010 in the Genetic Engineering Blog

“We’re talking survival, at least economically speaking, in some areas, because some growers aren’t going to survive this.” Several years ago, pigweed found the weakness and breached the defense that Georgia cotton growers used to control it. It now threatens to knock them out, or at least the ones who want to make money, says a University of Georgia weed expert.

Court of Justice ruling restricts scope of biotech patents

Posted on July 8, 2010 in the Genetic Engineering Blog

Europe’s Court of Justice has delivered its first-ever judgment on the extent of protection of biotech patents under the EU Biotechnology Directive, ruling that Monsanto cannot prevent soy meal that contains a DNA sequence it holds the patents on being sold in the EU (Monsanto v. Cefetra, Case C-428/08).

GM Watch Report

Posted on July 7, 2010 in the Genetic Engineering Blog

Current law prevents the cultivation and exportation of transgenic crops from Chile, but not the cultivation and export of transgenic seeds.

The New Frontier: Genetically Modified Oil Wars

Posted on July 7, 2010 in the Genetic Engineering Blog

Consumer Beware: the next generation of biotech crops focus directly on you. Unlike most of GM crops currently on the market, which are genetically altered to be herbicide and pesticide resistant, the new generation of GM crops are designed to express alleged nutritional benefits. Focusing on soybean oil - the fastest way to reach the broadest number of consumers because of its ubiquitous presence in many foods - biotech companies are mutating seeds used to produce oil designed to express various types of “nutritional” benefits.