Tag: GMO
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NRC Finds Farmers Reap Economic and Environmental Benefits from GE Crops
The National Research Council (NRC) has published a report finding that U.S. farmers who grow genetically engineered (GE) crops “are realizing substantial economic and environmental benefits – such as lower production costs, fewer pest problems, reduced use of pesticides, and better yields – compared with conventional crops.” The report cautions, however, that farmers “need to…
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Arkansas Jury Awards Rice Farmers $48 Million in GM Contamination Litigation
After less than two hours of deliberation, an Arkansas jury has reportedly awarded 12 rice farmers nearly $48 million in compensatory and punitive damages for the 2006 contamination of conventional rice stocks with a genetically modified (GM) strain. The farmers alleged that Europe and Japan stopped importing U.S. rice after the contamination became known, causing…
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EU Settles WTO Dispute with Argentina over Biotech Agriculture
The European Union (EU) and Argentina have apparently reached an agreement in a dispute before the World Trade Organization (WTO) involving genetically engineered products and the application of biotechnology to agriculture. The agreement, which provides for the establishment of a regular dialogue on these issues, follows a similar agreement the EU struck with Canada, which,…
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Court Refuses to Stop Current Planting of GE Sugar Beets
A federal court in California has denied a request for preliminary injunction to halt the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets while the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) completes its court-ordered environmental impact statement (EIS) for the crop under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Ctr. for Food Safety v. Schafer,…
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EPA Supports Draft EIS in GE Alfalfa Dustup
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted comments to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) indicating that it “does not object” to APHIS’s draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa, prepared by court order after a successful court challenge to USDA’s decision to deregulate the bioengineered seed. Environmentalists convinced…
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EU High Court Adviser Rules Argentine Soy Meal Not Protected by EU Patent on GE Soybeans
A European Court of Justice adviser has determined that Monsanto Co. cannot seek royalties from a company that imported from Argentina soy meal containing residues of Monsanto’s patented gene. Case C-428/08, Monsanto Tech. LLC v. Cefetra BV (Op. of Advocate Gen. Mengozzi, delivered March 9, 2010). Monsanto has no patent on its Roundup Ready® soybeans in…
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Advocacy Groups Ask Court to Stop Planting of GE Crops in Wildlife Refuge
Three advocacy organizations have sued Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), charging them with violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for failing to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) before entering into contracts that allow farmers to cultivate genetically engineered (GE) crops at the…
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EU Approves GM Potato for Cultivation; Some Members Criticize Move
The European Commission (EC) has reportedly approved for the first time in 12 years a genetically modified (GM) crop to be grown solely for industrial or animal feed purposes in the European Union. EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli told reporters that the GM Amflora potato produced by the German company BASF…