Posts Tagged ‘gmo’

Seeds Of Life: Hybrids and the Emergence of Seed Monopolies

Throughout much of agriculture, a remarkable span of 10,000 years, farmers were largely the stewards of the land and the crops that they grew. Seeds collected from one year’s harvest were selected, stored, and used again for successive growing seasons. As Frank Morton, an organic seed breeder explains in this segment of the Seeds Of Life [...]

A Important Case of Preserving Food Sovereignty and Avoiding Green Revolution Calamity

March 109, 2010; Don’t overlook Malawi! In Seedling Magazine, a recent article about this tiny east African country that faces big battles ahead with how it feeds its people, and whether it can forestall the pressures of “Green Revolution” style assistance from the international community. At stake a nation, how it can reliably feed itself, [...]

Temporary Stay Against GM Introduction Granted to India’s “king of Vegetables”-the Aubergine

February 10, 2010 Jairam Ramesh, India’s minister for environment and forests, announced yesterday that India would impose a temporary moratorium on the introduction of a genetically modified Aubergine (eggplant). Bt Brinjal, would have been the first genetically modified food allowed for commercial cultivation in India. The Aubergine had been modified with a gene from the [...]

South Australia alone on GM canola ban

January 28, 2010 Western Australia recently decided to allow genetically modified (GM) canola to be planted in their fields. A statewide ban on GM food and crops was adopted in 2003. This from GeneEthics.org: “State governments agreed with widespread warnings that GM canola would adversely impact markets and trade in Australian food products. They used [...]

Monsanto’s Adventures in Court

January 18, 2010 Battle ahead: the two largest seed companies, Monsanto and DuPont, have gone to court over their seeds. Apparently DuPont created a new line of genetically modified seed by adding one of their genes to an existing genetically engineered Roundup Ready seed, which was created by Monsanto. DuPont “is challenging Monsanto’s licensing agreement [...]

Monsanto’s GMO Corn Linked To Organ Failure, Study Reveals

January 13, 2010 In a report (A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health) published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences, “researchers found that agricultural giant Monsanto’s GM corn is linked to organ damage in rats.” Monsanto refuted the study, in Monsanto Response: de Vendomois et al. 2009, and [...]

A Conversation with Claire Hope Cummings-Part 2

editor’s note: In a recently disclosed Associated Press investigative report, Monsanto is being investigated for possible antitrust violations regarding its (seed) business licensing practices by the U.S. Department of Justice, and at least two state attorneys general. The video below was originally published in February, 2009; the written post has been updated to reflect new [...]

Seeds of Life: Beta Vulgaris

Beta Vulgaris, the latin name for the beet species, includes the sugar beet, table beet, and swiss chard varieties. Although each variety is grown for different agricultural purposes, botanically, they are the same plant. Being open pollinated plants from the same species, and not hybrids, they are susceptible to cross-contamination from the pollen of other [...]