Nagpur: Two years after a special investigation team (SIT) to probe smuggling of illegal herbicide tolerant (HT) cotton seeds in the state was formed, the two-member team has prepared only a rough draft of its report. The SIT, which was formed in February, 2018, was supposed to submit its report …
Salvadoran farmers are protesting a stipulation in a $277 million U.S. aid package that would have indirectly required them to purchase American agricultural giant Monsanto Corp.'s (NYSE:MON) genetically modified corn and bean seeds rather than source seeds locally, according to a report published on Tuesday but denied by the U.S. …
An initiative requiring mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods in Oregon moved one step closer to the November ballot on Wednesday after advocates said they submitted more than enough qualifying signatures to the state. New Approach Oregon officials say they submitted more than 155,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's …
The health effects of a Roundup-tolerant NK603 genetically modified (GM) maize (from 11% in the diet), cultivated with or without Roundup application and Roundup alone (from 0.1 ppb of the full pesticide containing glyphosate and adjuvants) in drinking water, were evaluated for 2 years in rats. This study constitutes a …
Pesticide use is surging among U.S. corn farmers who are worried that some insects have become resistant to genetically modified versions of the crop. That’s an unexpected reversal since one of the promises of engineered corn when it was introduced 17 years ago was its ability to kill pests. The …
After years of fractious talks, EU states have finally reached a compromise to allow cultivation of genetically modified (GM) food crops by giving their opponents an opt out, official sources said Wednesday. European Union member states will have the right to refuse GM crops on their territory, even if they …
An organic farmer has lost a landmark court case against a neighbour who grew genetically modified food. Steve Marsh was suing his neighbour and former friend Michael Baxter for $85,000 after claiming that GM canola drifted onto his oats, rye and sheep farm at Kojonup, 260km south-east of Perth. As …
The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday approved a proposal of the State agriculture department, which shortlisted Monsanto and two other companies to provide high yielding varieties (HYV) of maize seeds to farmers at subsidised rates during the current Kharif season. According to a release quoting a spokesperson …
Sri Lanka's Department of Agriculture announced yesterday that it has officially lifted the ban on glyphosate with the Registrar of Pesticides as no justifiable reason has been found to impose a ban. Sri Lanka in March this year banned the sale of Monsanto's "Round Up" glyphosate weedicide after a study …
Vermont became the first state in the US on Thursday to adopt a law requiring labels for foods containing genetically modified ingredients. The state's governor, Peter Shumlin, announced on his Twitter feed that he would hold a signing ceremony on Thursday afternoon to sign the new measure into law. The …
A pilot study of American mothers' milk has found levels of the herbicide glyphosate around 1,000 times higher than allowed in European drinking water. Campaigners are demanding a ban on the use of glyphosate on food crops. In the first ever testing on glyphosate herbicide in the breast milk of …
The court said it will not go into the ‘politics’ behind government’s decision to either allow or restrict field trials. The Supreme Court Tuesday expressed disinclination to issue an interim order on moratorium on field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops. A bench led by Justice H L Dattu said …
France's lower house of parliament adopted a law on Tuesday prohibiting the cultivation of any variety of genetically modified maize, saying it posed a risk to the environment. France adopted a decree last month to halt the planting of Monsanto's insect-resistant MON810 maize, the only GM crop allowed for cultivation …
To accommodate high levels of Roundup residues in GM soya, limits were raised 200-fold - with no scientific justification and ignoring growing evidence of toxicity. What Monsanto calls 'extreme levels' are now the norm - but only in GM crops. Food and feed quality are crucial to human and animal …
Encouraged by the government’s recent decision to re-allow field trials of 200 transgenic varieties of genetically modified (GM) seeds, biotechnology companies have readied big investment plans on research and development (R&D;) in this regard. The environment ministry’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) last week approved 11 varieties of GM seeds …
Sri Lanka has banned the sale of Monsanto's "Round Up" glyphosate weedicide after a study found that the weedicide is responsible for the increasing number of chronic kidney disease patients. Minister off Special Projects S.M. Chandrasena said the decision to ban Glyphosate sales in the country has been taken on …
Reversing his predecessor Jayanti Natarajan’s stance, M Veerappa Moily, Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Environment, has approved the biotech regulator – Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)’s year-old decision to permit field trials of genetically modified crops such as rice, wheat and maize among others. Expert panel “We have no …
Seed companies and agriculture research institutes in India can go ahead with scientific filed trials of different transgenic varieties of GM crops which had got clearance from the government's regulatory body - Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) — in March last year. A day after agriculture minister Sharad Pawar specified …
Country's private seed companies sought government permission to produce and market genetically engineered (GE) variety Bt Brinjal, officials said. "Six Bangladeshi seed companies including Supreme Seed Company Ltd, GETCO Agro Vision Ltd and Lal Leer Seed Co Ltd, who are engaged in vegetables, rice and maize seed business, have sought …
European Union ministers hit deadlock on Tuesday on whether to let a new strain of genetically modified (GM) maize be grown on EU soil for human consumption, clearing the way for the bloc's executive arm to approve the crop automatically. European Commission endorsement of insect-resistant Pioneer 1507, developed jointly by …
The Punjab Government has decided to rope in biotechnology giant Monsanto to set up a centre of excellence for cotton in Bathinda. The move has raised many an eyebrow especially as farmer unions and other social organisations working in the field of agriculture are opposed to the company’s agro-industrial model. …
