Canadian TV documents Monsanto bullying of farmers (1/29/2002) Every morning I wake up and what's in my mind? I've
gotten obsessed with this stuff. If this is what farming's going to be like in the
future, even though farming's been my life and I've loved it in the past,
I'd throw it all in the can in two seconds and walk away.
GM crop trials inconclusive as Britain enters final year of testing (1/23/2002) A report last week showed that despite widespread public unease here and elsewhere in Europe
about genetically modified crops, more of them are being planted than ever before. Throughout the
world, an area twice the size of the UK is now cultivated with GM cereals. In Britain a series of new
crop trials is under way that sooner or later will re-ignite the controversy about so-called
'Frankenstein foods'.
Philippine mayor orders Bt-corn uprooted (1/23/2002) ILAGAN, Isabela-Mayor Delfinito Albano has ordered the agricultural firm Monsanto-Philippines here
to explain why it defied a local council moratorium on the field trials of the Bacillus
thuringiensis-injected corn (Bt-corn) in the town.
Land Rich in Subsidies, and Poor in
Much Else (1/22/2002) STUTTGART, Ark. — From a distance, the
rice capital of America resembles a small
metropolis; its grain elevators and processing
mills rise from the delta plains like so many
skyscrapers plunked in the middle of unending rice
fields.
Up close, however, this town of 10,420 people
gives an entirely different impression.
Smack up against two of the United States' biggest
rice processing businesses lie neighborhoods of
rundown houses and shanties. In the surrounding
countryside, decaying towns like Altheimer offer
evidence that the area's smaller rice farmers are
going out of business at one of the fastest rates in the country.
U.S. Pressures Europe to Drop GMO Labeling Rules (1/17/2002) BRUSSELS, Belgium, January 16, 2002 (ENS) - Confidential documents obtained by
Friends of the Earth Europe underline American opposition to European Union plans
for compulsory tracing and labeling rules for all food and animal feed containing
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) above a certain threshold. The United
States is concerned that tracing and labeling rules would limit imports of American
crops such as GM soy and corn.
Gene-altered wheat breeds concern (1/14/2002) FARGO, N.D -- A launch of genetically modified spring
wheat varieties is "on the doorstep" and could cause huge
marketing implications for U.S. producers, say experts who
addressed the North Dakota Wheat Commission in Fargo,
N.D., last week
Europe and United States still at odds over modified foods (1/8/2002) Protectionism remains the key stumbling block to an understanding between the European Union and
the United States that could lead to agreement on food and agriculture in the current round of trade
liberalisation talks under the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The opening day of the annual Oxford Farming Conference yesterday heard government speakers
demonstrate the clearest acceptance yet of the need for fundamental reform of farm policies on
both sides of the ocean to boost trade and help kickstart the global economy. However, they remain
at variance over the EU's "precautionary principle" concept.