"gmo" news and stories

In the bubbling debate between genetically modified foods and organic ones, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reportedly called for a truce in an open letter released just before the clocks struck 2011. Agricultural resolution? Not so easy, Tom.

"Complexity surrounds American agriculture today," he begins. True. By the end of 2010, federal courts had barred use of Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa, even though planting continued while the USDA kept working on its Environmental Impact Statement [EIS] on the genetically engineered (GE) crop, which it completed two weeks prior to Vilsack's letter. A federal court in San Francisco ordered removal of a test plot of GE sugar beets. And the Food and Drug Administration remained indecisive over approval of GE salmon, the would-be first genetically engineered animal, which may or may not be labeled.

Vilsack doesn't appear to be pro or con for either but believes the two can cohabit. "As a regulatory agency, sound science and decisions based on this science are our priority, and science strongly supports the safety of GE alfalfa," he writes.

All you pro-organics who just felt a scrunch in your brow, follow this next line: "But agricultural issues are always complex and rarely lend themselves to simple solutions. Therefore, we have an obligation to carefully consider USDA's 2,300-page EIS, which acknowledges the potential of cross-fertilization to non-GE alfalfa."

A non-GE farmer can hope.

Things are not so sweet for the U.S. sugar beet market. A federal judge's ruling may prevent farmers from planting genetically modified sugar beets.

The controversy stems from a case in which the Center for Food Safety, Organic Seed Alliance, High Mowing Organic Seeds and the Sierra Club challenged the U.S. Department of Agriculture for allowing farmers to plant GM sugar beets before enough research had been conducted to determine their possible environmental impact. A judge ruled in favor of the environmental groups in August, but by September, the USDA had issued four "non-flowering" permits to growers in Oregon and Arizona -- where most sugar beet seedlings are grown. The action prompted environmentalists to challenge the government in court yet again.

On Friday, Judge Jeffrey White of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California will hear more arguments in the case. His ruling could have a significant impact on the industry. Nearly 95 percent of the U.S. sugar beet production is grown from GMO seeds -- a speedy and considerable change from 2005 when the GMO seeds were first approved. Over half of all U.S. sugar production comes from sugar beets; the rest is derived from sugar cane.

As we reported back in June, genetically modified Atlantic salmon are on the fast-track to your dinner plate. Massachusetts-based biotech company, AquaBounty Technologies is expected to get the final FDA nod of approval for a salmon that has been genetically tweaked to boost productivity thanks to a growth-hormone gene from a Chinook salmon and a genetic "on switch" from an ocean pout.

If approved, the salmon would be the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption. A coalition of environmental groups, including Food & Water Watch and Center for Food Safety, say the move is alarming and are strongly urging the FDA to reject the fish.

Last week, government scientists spurred debate over genetically modifying animals for food by going on record to say the AquaBounty salmon was safe to eat and posed no threat to the environment, according to a Washington Post article.

Saving whales; closing BP service stations: Greenpeace accomplishes things many of us fainter environmentalists only dream of, and last week was no different. A courageous bunch snuck into a field of GMO corn to deactivate the crop's pollinating tassels -- by way of machete or delicate plucking, we cannot say, but we'd like to think they had some fun.

The event took place in -- where else? -- Italy, the heirloom-touting country responsible for constructing Slow Food's global umbrella in the '80s, from which all sustainable, green, local and such movements have sprung since. Specifically, the crop-beheading went down on a field in the northern region of Friuli, one of the country's 16 regions (out of 20) that were gradually designated as GMO-free zones starting in 2007.

Greenpeace Italia first took a sample from the field in question and brought it to a certified lab to confirm that it was, in fact, the patented Monsanto GE maize type MON810. Since pollen can quickly spread to other fields, further contaminating non-GMO land, Greenpeace decided to nip it in the bud and send a message to the Italian government to follow through. GMO-free zone or not, a landowner would still need to obtain a permit to grow GMO crop in Italy, which Greenpeace claims the owner had not done.

Speed-to-market isn't just a slogan for manufacturing product. The concept is now being applied to genetically modified Atlantic salmon that grow to maturity in a 16 to 18 months, rather than the typical three years needed for conventionally farmed salmon.

According to an article in The New York Times, a Massachusetts-based biotech company, AquaBounty Technologies, has boosted the salmon's productivity by enhancing the fish with a growth-hormone gene from a Chinook salmon and a "genetic on-switch" from a related species, the ocean pout. That on-switch allows the salmon to continue making growth hormones during cold weather, something non-genetically modified salmon do not do.

According to a company press release, the Center for Veterinary Medicine (an agency within the FDA) has completed reviewing several sections of AquaBounty's application. The company has been seeking FDA approval for many years, and says it expects the formal process for approval of the genetically modified salmon to go forward.

AquaBounty says the genetically modified salmon will be made up of sterile females grown in closed-containment tanks, eliminating the risk of escapement or accidental reproduction with wild salmon.