Cornucopia’s Take: The USDA has determined that no regulation is needed for food genetically engineered using new technologies like CRISPR. Even after the proposed GMO labeling law goes into effect, slated for 2019, companies using these new technologies are exempted from labeling their products as genetically modified (see Cornucopia’s GMO Voting Scorecard to learn how members of Congress voted on the labeling law). As consumers continue to express distrust of GMO food, it appears that

The Cornucopia Institute Grades Senators and Representatives Ahead of 2018 Fall Election Every member of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who voted for or against stripping states of the ability to require the labeling of genetically engineered food (“The Dark Act”) has received a grade on their votes on issues concerning transparency and the labeling of GMO food ingredients. The scorecard was prepared by The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group

Cornucopia’s Take: These farmers and their accomplices who marketed and sold the GMO grain as organic, over eight years, were thankfully caught and are on the hook for almost $11 million. While that is a substantial sum, fraud in U.S.-grown crops is a much smaller business than import fraud. Domestic organic fraud of this kind is relatively uncommon because organic farms are inspected and audited by their organic certifying agent. Organic producers must supply their

Cornucopia’s Take: The innocuously named industry think tank, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), has filed a Citizen Petition [PDF] with the FDA to request a prohibition on use of Non-GMO labeling on food. ITIF stops short of declaring all GMOs safe in their petition, but they do argue that there is no scientific difference between genetic engineering and conventional breeding. This opinion is not shared by the World Trade Organization. GMO products must be assessed for

Cornucopia’s Take: A U.S. State Department trade-policy specialist recently traveled to Africa to encourage officials to ease restrictions against, and encourage the use of, GMO seeds. The work of trade representatives is to develop and coordinate U.S. international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy. This trip benefits the biotech industry in the U.S., down to the official’s assurances regarding GMOs’ (questionable) ability to feed the people and promote good health. US seeks to push African