Tag: GMO
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APHIS Extends Comment Period on GM Alfalfa
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has extended until March 3, 2010, the comment period for a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for genetically modified (GM) alfalfa. APHIS made an EIS available on January 12, 2010, after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the agency violated the National…
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India Blocks Commercial Release of GM Eggplant
The Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests has apparently imposed an indefinite moratorium on the commercial introduction of genetically modified (GM) eggplant, or brinjal, while the agency considers the recommendations of its Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC). In announcing the decision, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh cited negative public reactions to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) brinjal, as well…
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Western Australia Approves GM Canola
The state government of Western Australia (WA) recently announced its decisionto allow the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) canola within the region as of this year. State Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman reportedly signed the exemption order under the Genetically Modified Crops Free Areas Act of 2003, thus permitting WA farmers to grow GM…
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New Zealand Takes Stand on GM Advertising
In a development only recently noticed in the United States, New Zealand’s Commerce Commission took action in late 2009 against a poultry producer that claimed its chickens contained no genetically modified (GM) ingredients. According to a November 18, 2009, commission news release, Inghams Enterprises (NZ) Pty. Limited was warned that it risked breaching the Fair Trading…
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U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Consider GM Alfalfa Seed Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision enjoining the sale and planting of genetically modified (GM) alfalfa seed until the government completes an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the crop’s proposed delisting. Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, No. 09-475 (U.S., certiorari granted January…
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Shook Attorney Co-Authors ABA Article on ANSI Draft National Standard for Sustainable Agriculture
Shook, Hardy & Bacon Of Counsel Jim Andreasen has co-authored an article providing an update on the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI’s) draft national standard for sustainable agriculture. The article appears in the January 2010 issue of the American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) Agricultural Management Committee Newsletter. This committee is part of the ABA’s Section of…
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APHIS Issues Federal Register Notice on GM Alfalfa
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has published its notice about the availability of a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for genetically modified (GM) alfalfa. The agency was required to prepare the EIS by a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling finding that APHIS violated the National Environmental…
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Researchers Examine Effects of GM Corn on Mammalian Health
French researchers with the Committee of Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN), the University of Rouen and the University of Caen have published a paper allegedly linking genetically modified (GM) corn varieties to “new side effects” in mammals. Joël Spiroux de Vendômois, et al., “A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn…