The Organic Center BOULDER, CO -- November 17, 2009 -- Genetically engineered (GE) corn, soybeans and cotton have increased use of weed-killing herbicides -- a type of pesticide -- by 383 million pounds in the U.S. from 1996 to 2008, according to a new Organic Center report titled "Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years" announced today by The Organic Center (TOC), the Union for Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Center for Food Safety (CFS). In addition, GE corn and cotton have reduced insecticide use by 64 million pounds, resulting in an overall increase of 318 million pounds of pesticides over the first 13 years of commercial use. Based upon data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), report author Dr. Charles Benbrook presents compelling evidence linking the increase in pesticide use on GE, "herbicide-tolerant" (HT) crops to the emergence and spread of herbicide-resistant weeds. This report comes at a time when farmers are increasingly critical of GE crops because of drastically rising biotech seed prices and increasingly resistant weeds. The agricultural biotechnology industry claims that the much higher costs of GE seeds are justified by multiple benefits to farmers, including decreased spending on pesticides.

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United States Geological Survey by Bob Gilliom and Jessica Robertson Concentrations of several major pesticides mostly declined or stayed the same in "Corn Belt" rivers and streams from 1996 to 2006, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study. The declines in pesticide concentrations closely followed declines in their annual applications, indicating that reducing pesticide use is an effective and reliable strategy for reducing pesticide contamination in streams.

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University of Wisconsin researchers' study confirms chlorpyrifos levels far below "toxic" threshold can impair learning, change brain function and alter thyroid levels into adulthood for tested mice. http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20091110/porter_chlorpyrifos_tiny_dose_pregnancy_impact_daughters

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Fort Worth STAR-TELEGRAM By Barry Shlachter, barry@star-telegram.com Organic-food shoppers are making a rude discovery at their grocers' refrigerated display case. "White Wave Silk Vanilla Soymilk is no longer Organic," declares a hand-lettered sign at the two Sunflower Shoppes in Tarrant County. Silk has more than 70 percent of the market. Until this month, Sunflower routinely re-ordered it, thinking it was certified organic. But its maker, Dallas-based Dean Foods, quietly removed the word "organic" from the familiar blue cartons Jan. 15 and switched to cheaper beans -- not genetically modified but likely grown with chemical fertilizer and possibly pesticide -- then called it "all natural" soy milk.

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Agreement Helps Organic Dairy Farmers in Northeast and Midwest Organic Valley LA FARGE, WI - CROPP Cooperative and Stonyfield Farm today announced a new phase in their partnership, a creative measure designed to sustain organic family dairy farmers and preserve consumer choice. Beginning January 1, 2010, CROPP will manage the organic milk supply for Stonyfield fluid milk products and invite the farmers producing that milk into CROPP Cooperative. It also will license the Stonyfield fluid milk brand and oversee its sales and retail distribution. For more than 11 years, CROPP has supplied the organic milk for all other Stonyfield products. The addition of the fluid milk business builds on this partnership.

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