Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
The government's interventions have focused on promoting certified organic production, missing out the challenge of using the organic route to reward traditional, marginal farmers. This misplaced priority seems to be changing. A master plan for the production of organic coffee is almost ready. Formulated by the coffee board, the plan …
the us department of agriculture (usda) has for the first time adopted standards for labeling and processing of organic foods. The new standards ban the use of irradiation, biotechnology and sewer-sludge fertiliser for any food termed organic. Other major provisions include banning the use of pesticides and other fertilisers for …
The recent flooding of untested and unlabelled genetically engineered foods, such as soybean oil, potato chips and milk in the markets and also food received from some international organisations for victims of the Orissa cyclone has caused widespread panic in farmers. Reflecting the concerns, a tribunal
the European Commission (eu) has said that us agriculturists still have a long way to go before they can win over Europeans on the issue of genetically-modified organisms ( gmo ), a European Commission (ec) official said. Tassos Haniotis, counsellor (agriculture), for the ec , said Europeans are still skittish …
The Supreme Court (SC) has admitted a public interest litigation (PIL) by the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE) challenging the first major open trials of genetically-engineered BT cotton in nine states in India. The petition sought the court's intervention to check "the violation of the environmental regulations …
in the recently-concluded World Trade Organisation meet in Seattle, usa, countries fought over a variety of trade-related issues, including genetically-modified (gm) foods. Ironically, a few days before the meet, one of the biggest manufacturers of gm foods, Monsanto, won an important court case in uk. Monsanto, a us-based biotech company, …
the European Union (eu) has supported the compulsory labelling of genetically-modified (gm) ingredients that contain even more than one per cent of gm organisms. But experts feel that the move does not allay the consumers' fear of gm food. The move was also sharply criticised by environmental campaigners, who say …
The administration of Brazil's southern-most state has planned a crackdown on illegal cultivation of soyabean from genetically modified ( gm ) seeds smuggled from neighbouring Argentina. Adopting a firm stance against the growing demand for gm seeds, the Rio Grande do Sul State has launched a blistering attack on the …
THEY may have been born in dust, but seem destined to rise in esteem. Organic food -- vegetables and fruits -- is now making deep inroads into the marketplaces of the affluent economies; even carving out a niche in their cultural make-up. The interplay of both these factors in relation …
