The Hill By Dr. Hans Herren and Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman The Senate is considering a bill that would overhaul the way Americans deliver foreign aid. With more people going hungry than ever before, the bill's attention to global hunger could not come at a better time. The Global Food Security Act would streamline the aid process and focus on long-term agricultural development. But something has gone awry inside the bill. A closer look reveals that its otherwise commendable focus may be seriously undermined by a new clause lobbied for by one of America's largest seed and chemical companies. This bill includes a mandate that we spend foreign aid dollars developing genetically modified (GM) crops. No other kind of agricultural technology is mentioned. Unsurprisingly, Monsanto has lobbied more frequently on this bill than any other entity.

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Rodale Institute By Jim Riddle Despite fundamental differences in what they represent, there are occasional calls to allow the use of genetic engineering (which produces genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs) within the USDA National Organic Program. GMO varieties are currently most widespread in corn, soybean, canola and cotton crops, in dairy production, and in minor ingredients, such as dairy cultures, used in food processing, but new products are being introduced and commercialized. Here are 10 essential points that I believe show why GMOs are incompatible with organic production:

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(Sewage sludge is specifically, by federal law, prohibited in certified organic production. In today's marketplace labeling fertilizer as "ORGANIC," when it would be banned from use on organic farms, is exceedingly misleading.) PR Watch . org by John Stauber Fifteen years ago, the Center for Media and Democracy in my book Toxic Sludge Is Good for You first exposed the deceptive PR campaign by the municipal sewage industry that has renamed toxic sewage sludge as "biosolids" to be spread on farms and gardens. Unfortunately, the scam continues to fool more people than ever, even in San Francisco which is often dubbed the country's greenest city.

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John Kinsman What is the latest taxpayer-subsidized economic stimulus scheme? Why, manure digesters on factory farms, of course! At the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled plans to promote manure digesters as a way to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent. The trick is that you have to be a factory farm to qualify. In his State of the State address in January, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced his latest round of tax credits for factory farm expansion, including a whopping $6.6 million for two manure digesters in Dane County catering to just a handful of mega-dairies. Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has also been pushing for $1 million in her budget for these digesters. The real tragedy is that manure digesters actually make global warming worse while "solving" a manure problem that would not even exist if cows were allowed to graze on pasture rather than being confined indoors.

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The American Meat Institute says zapping meat is the answer for addressing safety concerns. Dave Carter, exectuive director of the National Bison Association isn't so sure. Natural Foods Merchandiser By Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association. The meat industry took a public relations shellacking in 2009. The constant barrage of stories regarding E.coli, salmonella and ammonia-washed ground beef did little to instill consumer confidence in the nation's meat supply. To address these concerns, Patrick Boyle, president of the American Meat Institute, urged USDA to approve AMI's long-standing petition to allow slaughterhouses to irradiate beef carcasses to eliminate the E.coli. Say again? Irradiation is the answer?

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