Category:Media/News

The Union (CA) By Laura Brown It was 1871 when a “testy little Frenchman” named Felix Gillet first opened his Barren Hill Nursery to the public on 16 acres of logged property at the top of Nevada Street. During Gillet’s lifetime, he imported and bred thousands of varieties of old world fruit and nuts from… Read more »

* Dow AgroSciences awaiting regulatory approval * Says ramping up seed production, hopeful for 2014 sales * Critics oppose use of Enlist herbicide and Enlist crops Reuters By Carey Gillam (Reuters) – A controversial new biotech corn developed by Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical, will be delayed at least another year as the… Read more »

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition On Thursday, USDA published a notice in the Federal Register reminding the 16 states eligible for the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) program to submit their application by February 7 for federal assistance in order to be able to provide cost-share assistance to their certified organic farmers. Those 16 states – the… Read more »

Eat, Drink, Politics Public health attorney and author Michele Simon asks: Are America’s nutrition professionals in the pocket of Big Food? While the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ 74,000-member trade group partners with the likes of Coke and Hershey’s, the nation’s health continues to suffer from poor diet. The largest trade group of nutrition professionals—the… Read more »

thenewstribe.com Brussels: The European Commission has decided to freeze the approval process for genetically modified food crops through the end of its mandate next year while it works towards an agreement with EU member states. “The Commission, if it wants, could launch a procedure to authorise the farming of one GM soya and six corn… Read more »

Independent Science News By Jonathan Latham and Allison Wilson How should a regulatory agency announce they have discovered something potentially very important about the safety of products they have been approving for over twenty years? In the course of analysis to identify potential allergens in GMO crops, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has belatedly… Read more »

Optimistic folk have higher levels of plant compounds called carotenoids in their blood Orange produce and green veg are rich in carotenoids It’s thought they might have a de-stressing effect The Daily Mail By Anna Hodgekiss People who eat plenty of fruit and vegetables tend to be more optimistic about the future, new research suggests. … Read more »

New Worldwatch Institute report examines the growth of global organic agricultural practices and their impact on food security and the environment Worldwatch Institute Washington, D.C.—Despite a slight decline between 2009 and 2010, since 1999 the global land area farmed organically has expanded more than threefold to 37 million hectares, according to new research conducted by… Read more »

 Iowa Farmer Today WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will keep his job in President Obama’s second term. USDA communications director Matt Paul said Monday Obama asked Vilsack to stay in his post and Vilsack accepted. Vilsack is the former Democratic governor of Iowa. The farm economy has thrived under Vilsack’s tenure, but… Read more »

The Guardian By Damian Carrington Campaigners say the conclusion by the European Food Safety Authority is a ‘death knell’ for neonicotinoid pesticides The world’s most widely used insecticide has for the first time been officially labelled an “unacceptable” danger to bees feeding on flowering crops. Environmental campaigners say the conclusion, by Europe’s leading food safety… Read more »