Genetically-engineered corn, soybeans, and cotton now account for the majority of acres planted to these three crops. A model was developed that utilizes official, U.S. Department of Agriculture pesticide use data to estimate the differences in the average pounds of pesticides applied on GE crop acres, compared to acres planted to conventional, non-GE varieties.
News Notes
One of the largest organic cattle producers in the United States, Promiseland Livestock, LLC, was suspended from organic commerce, along with its owner and key employees, for four years on November 25, 2009. Promiseland, a multimillion dollar operation with facilities in Missouri and Nebraska, including over 13,000 acres of crop land, and managing 22,000 head of beef and dairy cattle, had been accused of multiple improprieties in formal legal complaints, including not feeding organic grain to cattle, selling fraudulent organic feed and “laundering” conventional cattle as organic.
Scientists have shown for the first time that "lifeless" prion proteins, devoid of all genetic material, can evolve just like higher forms of life. The Scripps Research Institute says the prions can change to suit their environment and go on to develop drug resistance. Prions are associated with 20 different brain diseases in humans and animals. The scientists say their work suggests new approaches might be necessary to develop therapies for these diseases.
Organic produce is nutritionally superior to so-called "conventional" produce, according to a comprehensive review conducted by researchers from the University of Aix-Marseille for the French food agency (AFSSA) and published in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development.
A pesticide that could be dangerously toxic to America’s honey bees must be pulled from store shelves, says a December court order. A federal court in New York invalidated EPA's approval of the pesticide spirotetramat (manufactured by Bayer CropScience under the trade names Movento and Ultor) and ordered the agency to reevaluate the chemical in compliance with the law. The court's order goes into effect on January 15, 2010, and makes future sales of Movento illegal in the United States.
The Supreme Court said on January 15 that it would consider overturning a court order that has blocked Monsanto Co. from selling alfalfa seeds that are genetically modified to resist its Roundup weed killer. The court's decision in this case also could affect a second ruling involving the biotech company's modified sugar beets.
Michael Schmidt, operator of a raw milk cow share in Canada was found not guilty of all 19 counts against him in a Canadian court on January 21, 2010. This is a major victory for raw milk and caps years of harassment by Canadian authorities and a long court case. For details and followup, see http://hartkeisonline.com/
The nation's organic farms and ranches have higher average sales and higher average production expenses than U.S. farms overall, according to survey data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The survey counted 14,540 U.S. farms and ranches that were either USDA certified organic or were exempt from certification because their sales totaled less than $5,000. These operations comprised 4.1 million acres of land, of which 1.6 million acres were harvested cropland and 1.8 million acres were pasture or rangeland.
Green Mountain College, in Poultney, VT, has announced the creation of a new Sustainable Agriculture & Food Production major. GMC will present the major concentration as part of its curricular offerings beginning in the fall 2010 semester. The major has been developed out of a highly successful sustainable agriculture concentration in the College's environmental studies program.
The Indian minister for the environment has imposed a six-month moratorium on the launch of a genetically modified variety of eggplant, known locally as brinjal, saying that further scientific research was needed before permission could be given for its commercial cultivation. Jairam Ramesh said he had taken note of "tremendous opposition" from state governments within India, broad public resistance and the lack of a scientific consensus.
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